Sailing Story: Rob Parke

Rob Parke is no stranger to catamarans— but sail-powered catamarans? That was a new one for him.

“My wife and I had essentially no sailing experience,” Rob Parke said about life prior to sailing with Go Sail Virgin Islands.

Rob grew up powerboating with family and friends on lakes in the Midwest and Puget Sound. He’d always loved powercats (engine powered catamarans) but his family had never thought much about raising the sails on a catamaran. 

“As a matter of fact most of my family thought it was a dumb idea. [They said] it’s too slow, you won’t get anywhere,” Rob said, describing his family’s reaction when he told them he had signed up for ASA sailing lessons in the Virgin Islands. 

At first, Rob’s wife wasn’t so sure signing up for sailing lessons had been the best decision either.

“Once the books showed up 6 inches of reading material the enthusiasm waned significantly but she was a good sport,” he laughed. Once they made it to the Virgin Islands, she realized they had made the right choice after all.

“In most cases it wasn’t nearly as complicated as the book made it sound,” Rob said of their experience on the sailboat vs reading the ASA textbooks. “You read it all and generally speaking you can understand most of it but when you get on the boat and actually see it and put it in context, it really comes together.”

The learning experience was also made easier by the great instruction Rob said they had from Captain JT. 

“He was really good. The reviews are really the reason we ended up with Go Sail,” Rob said. “He never made us feel that we were behind, shouldn’t be doing this, or in over our heads.”

Once they got the hang of the sailing maneuvers, Rob found himself pondering another one of the major differences between sailing a catamaran vs taking out a powercat. It’s about the attitude and goals you have to have on board.

“[Sailing is about] just enjoying the ride,” he said. “Sailing is more of a leisure activity than ‘i’m trying to get to point A to point B’.” 

So was the experience transformative enough to turn powerboater Rob into a sailor? 

“I think when the weather is right I would miss the opportunity to not put up the sails,” said about going back to boating on powercats. Plus, as Rob noted, he can always turn a sailboat into a powercat but can’t turn a powercat into a sailboat! 

“If something doesn’t feel right, we can just take the sails down and it’s a powercat,” he laughed. 

Rob may be too early into his sailing days to fully claim himself as dedicated sailor but he does seem to be inching towards the title – and taking his family members with him! 

“In January my wife and I and my brother and his wife are going to the BVIs,” he said. “They don’t have any sailing experience — so it will be my wife and I running it!”

Soon, Rob and his wife may not be the only sailors in their family. Next thing you know, they could be the catalyst for a new family hobby for generations to come!