CoBoat Sailing (Mis)Adventure
Part 1: Maldives to Thailand
Back in 2015, a friend sent me an ad on Facebook featuring the launch of a co-working space aboard a boat. His message to me: “This sounds like you.”
He was right. Within 24 hours, I wrote to the Captain requesting to sign on for the maritime adventure. Despite listing my crew skills as “none,” I bought my one-way ticket to the Maldives even before I heard back that I had been accepted on board.
CoBoat Here I Come
CoBoat was billed as the world’s first coworking catamaran. The 82-foot retrofitted catamaran was to circumnavigate the globe, with space for 20 nomads to live and work aboard. It was to combine life, work, and play—all while plying the seven seas.
Here’s the original description:
“Coboat wants the catamaran to be a relaxing yet productive and creative space where different teams can bounce ideas off one another and work efficiently with little distraction in a beautiful, serene, and tranquil atmosphere.
You can expect co-living intensity, a community of like-minded people, new perspectives, changing environments, and to live in your discomfort zone, along with tons of sun and fun through sailing exploration.”
CoBoat even had a social mission:
“Designed for self-sustainability, Coboat will use desalinated seawater and employ fishery practices with little impact on the ocean’s marine population and surrounding environment.
Whenever possible, we will sail. If the winds die down, we will power up our engines – using stored energy. Clean and quiet. Just like our electricity. As green as it gets. No oils or fossil fuels on board.”
Digital nomad nirvana. Sign me up!
The Delivery Crew
Luckily, the Captain, Karsten, accepted me and my limited maritime skills. The only American chosen to join the “Original Delivery Crew” for Coboat.
An intrepid group of 8 of us signed on (9 total with the Captain) to sail the newly purchased (but 18-year-old) catamaran from Malé, the capital of the Maldives, to the southern Thai island of Phuket. We were 3 women and 5 men, hailing from Germany, Austria, India, New Zealand and me, representing the U.S.
We gathered the night before our sail, and threw ourselves a bon voyage party. As we went around the table that night, all 8 of us admitted we were looking for an “adventure,” which we defined as:
Something we’ve never done before
Elements that would stretch our boundaries
Moving toward a destination without knowing how we’d get there
An event where you can’t control the outcome
Well, we certainly found the adventure we were looking for!
*Rock Star* Crew
But before we get into the thick of it, let me introduce you to the crew and the real hero of this story: Harry, our First Officer. Harry was an Austrian living in Turkey with a Serbian wife, whom he only got to see sometimes.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that it was Harry who saved the day (every day, in fact) by fixing every single piece of equipment that broke in transit. (Except the first engine—try as he might—it was beyond repair).
Other members of this band of merry men were Lilo, Uwe, and Tess, all skilled sailors who took the lion’s share of the responsibility for sailing the boat at night and in rough conditions. They were each level-headed, accomplished sailors, and we were lucky to have them on board.
The rest of us, admittedly non-sailors, Vin, Heinz, Matthias, and I did what we could to support the main crew. Truthfully, I was the least useful on the trip, but usually fairly cheery.
I spent a lot of time dancing around and trying to organize things like Talk Like a Pirate Day and Un-Birthday parties. (Look—you do what you can under the circumstances. I couldn’t just conjure up naval skills.)
Here, Harry and I are partaking in an impromptu dance party:
Below is our daily log:
Shop Till You Drop
Day 1: I arrived about midnight after 4 flights connecting San Francisco to Malé, the capital of the Maldives, about 48 hours of travel. My new crewmate Vin went to the airport to meet me, but because I wasn’t expecting a pick up, I made my own way to the boat via bus and taxi.
We completely missed one another, and Vin was stranded at the airport at closing, having to find his own way back. Looking back, this was an inauspicious beginning.
Day 2: Shopping day in Malé to buy groceries. With 5 of us selecting produce and bartering, it was a very slow process. Ever the team player, I elected to stay put and “watch” our growing pile of purchases.
While the shoppers made trips back and forth between the market and docks, I basked in the sun, making friends with the Bangladeshi dock workers, who fed me watermelon and coconut all afternoon.
Back on the boat, we all started cleaning. This is when I realized that scrubbing is the real definition of sailing. Although in truth, since I was one of the last to arrive, I had already missed a boat-load of nasty duties.
Day 3: Shopping day in Malé for boat equipment, like a foot pump for the dinghy (not to be found), electrical cables, and assorted widgets.
I can’t tell you how exhausting this shopping expedition was. We went to every boat store on the island (sometimes 2 or 3 times) trying to track down the necessary gear.
Photos flew between the ship and shore in an effort to convey exactly the right bolt and screw, with new requests constantly coming in.
Part of the reason the shopping expedition was so tiring is that Malé is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The island, only 5.8 km2 (about 3.5 miles square), is surprisingly modern and packed with traffic.
It also may have been particularly busy because the island nation was celebrating 50 years of independence that week. The capital city was festooned with bunting and lights in the flag’s colors of red, green, and white, turning the tiny metropolis into a miniature Christmas card (albeit with sweltering heat, sari-wearing women, and calls to prayer).
Launch & Learn
Day 4: Launch day. As a devoutly Muslim country run by Sharia law, Maldivians pray at least 4 times a day. In fact, all the shops close between 12:30 and 2:00 pm for afternoon prayers. Consequently, we had to wait until the late afternoon to buy a new battery for the boat.
As we waited for this crucial part, we circled the main island, during which time I took my turn at the wheel for about 10 minutes. My first time driving (steering?) a boat!
That night, we officially launched our sailing adventure. As we headed into open water, at about 8:00 pm, we all huddled on the front mats, in total darkness, to receive our 90-second safety briefing. I asked if the not-fully-inflated dinghy was the lifeboat.
Luckily no. There were two rafts situated at the back of the cat. This question, however, clearly demonstrated my utter lack of knowledge about all things boat.
Here’s a beautiful photo of the Maldives, which I didn’t actually get to see since our inter-island tour was canceled by the Captain because we were late departing.
Taking the Helm
It was that night that we received our first shift assignments. Matthias and I were to take the 2:30-5:00 am shift, and I was to be the lead sailor. What?! I had only driven the boat for 10 minutes under supervision; I was certainly not qualified to drive the boat at night.
(You would completely agree if you have ever driven with me in a car. Driving is not one of my finer skills. I drive as I talk. Very fast with lots of starts and stops.)
I strenuously objected, noting that Matthias and I were part of the non-sailor bunch, and so Harry said he would sit the shift with Matthias and me. Unfortunately, it was during this shift, that the first engine pooped out and Harry and the Captain spent the entire time trying to fix it (on a rolling boat in near-total darkness).
Around and Around We Go
While Harry and Karsten were occupied under deck, Matthias and I were in charge up top. We did the best we could in the dark, given our 10-minute lesson.
The next morning, when we woke up, groggy from the night shift, we were roundly ridiculed. The rest of the crew was laughing at a thingy with a green line that showed we had sailed in three circle-oblongs-ovals throughout the night.
After that, Matthias and I were demoted and separated, never to work on the bridge together again. Frankly, we both were relieved.
As Good As Dead
I showed up for that my first shift wearing the life jacket from my cabin. I did this because Lilo told me the day before that you must always wear a life vest at night, and I wisely decided early on to listen to everything Lilo told me.
I was again ribbed, but how was I to know that we had special life jackets to wear while on shift with transmitters or transponders (or something?) on them. It was becoming pretty apparent I was out of my depth here.
Note: The one (and only) piece of safety advice given by the Captain before setting sail was that if you fall in the water during the night, you’re as good as dead. Duly noted.
Author’s Note: Since our adventure, Harry has passed away. He was a good man, devoted friend, loud singer, and trusted sailor. The world was better with him in it. RIP.
CoBoat Sailing (Mis)Adventure is a 4-part series.
Read Part 2: Rotten Inside & Out
🌍 Read More Adventures of a Nomad
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Christened “Wander Woman” by National Geographic, Erin Michelson has traveled to 135 countries & all 7 continents. She is a professional speaker and author of the Nomad Life™ series of curated trips and travel guides, including the #1-ranked Explore the World with Nomads.
Want to read more about my adventures? Get the book “Adventures of a Nomad: 30 Inspirational Stories.”
So you actually made a circle all night long?
Fair play for just going for it with zero experience, that’s real adventure! I don’t think I’d ever handle that level of stress, but I can imagine it’s also a lot of fun and memories, and the camaraderie on the boat must be incredible.