Across the great divide

Sailing from Turkey to Greece is a relatively short journey, but it’s also a voyage between continents and the contrast is enchanting, as Trystan Grace discovered

- Trystan Grace

I have been lucky enough, since I took my first steps into the sailing world, to be asked or paid to sail to, what I would consider bucket list locations. The first of which, and as the cruising bug first bit, was Thailand, when my brother and I chartered a yacht to do some island hopping around Phuket. When I wasn’t on the water, I watched sailing channels like SV Delos and dreamt of a Polynesian island hoving into view.

One day, I found myself walking along a sparse superyacht dock in Hong Kong. I stopped next to the transom of a very stylish, very large yacht and shouted up: “Got any jobs?” A South African first mate introduced himself and asked about my experience, to which I was forced to sheepishly answer: “None”. To my surprise, he broke the silence with: “Can you start Monday?” So before I knew it, I was working as a very green deckhand on a 65m (213ft) Codecasa, sailing the waters around Hong Kong, down through the Philippines, eventually making the jump to the island paradise of Palau. I was blissfully unaware at the time of the never-ending line of dock walkers in Europe, CVs in hand and begging for even day work. I realise how lucky I was to find myself on that dock at the right time.

After working on yachts as crew, I developed my skills as a marine photographer, combining two passions and finding myself shooting beautiful yachts in exotic locations. I flew to Madagascar and Cape Town, South Africa to sail and photograph the exceptionally beautiful Kraken 66, White Dragon. The Kraken ethos of building strong, shorthanded, bluewater cruising yachts was a key factor that eventually led me to join the team at Kraken Yachts.