SWAN

Captain – Adrian Wood

I grew up in several different places in England, mostly in the countryside, with my two step sisters. I also have a half brother and sister who are much older than me. Until recently I believed that I was the only child of my parents, but have now discovered that I have an older sister who I hope to meet for the first time when we return to England in the summer.

I played Rugby, Hockey (Field), and Cricket at school but soon discovered my love of sailing. This was sparked by my Step Father taking me for a sail in his dinghy on the River Thames when I was about eight.

I won a scholarship to the Royal Naval College at fifteen and left school at eighteen to train as a Navigation Officer and spent nine years serving in various roles, including Fisheries Officer, and spent six months as Boarding officer in Northern Ireland during the troubles.

After my service in the Royal Navy I pursued a career in sales and sales management in the electronics industry. I met my wife Sam in 2007 in the local bar in our village. I soon asked her out, although she will say I didn’t! Ask her the story when you meet her! We married in 2009 and decided that we would take a year off and sail around the North Atlantic, a brave undertaking for Sam as she had never sailed before we met. We set off in 2011 and have now sailed about 100,000 miles together, including three Atlantic crossings, and she also has her Captain’s License.

For 12 years we have been sailing in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, 8 of those showing guests the delights of the Caribbean. We have visited most of the islands in the chain. We have been in Grenada for a while now and when we are not taking guests to share this beautiful group of islands we will be found relaxing with a diverse group of friends we have made here.

Chef and Captain – Samantha Wood (Sam)

I grew up in a quiet village in south Wiltshire called Codford where my Grandparents were evacuated to from Alderney during the Second World War with my big brother and my mother. I was always out and about on the farm enjoying the animals and started horseback riding then. A dream I have is to ride a horse on every continent. I started working in my family’s plant nursery which I did for 20 years, then I met Adrian.

He wanted to sail around the North Atlantic. So he prepared me by taking me sailing for the first time and I was hooked!. We then purchased our own boat a small 32 ft yacht and sailed away from the UK!

We didn’t spend much time in the North Atlantic, but spent 12 years living and working on private and charter boats in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean and I as a chef and qualified captain as well.

We love welcoming new and old guests, joining our adventurers to take you snorkeling in the best spots, enjoy sailing the blue water of the Caribbean and cooking delicious food.

Our old friends and family at home describe us as mad or living the dream. I believe it’s a way of life and that I feel privileged to be here.