NO INHERITANCE

July 2024

We just returned from our voyage on No Inheritance and as one member of our group said, “this might have been the best vacation ever.” (and we’ve had some good vacations.)  The boat was gorgeous.  Obviously, rooms are small, and bathrooms/showers were especially tiny, but overall we were certainly pleased with the amount of space on it (plus, who really spends time in their cabins other than sleeping.)  We didn’t anticipate that the 9 of us would all be able to be eat in the front of the boat (excuse me, bow) or the back (stern) or that we’d all be able to be up where the captain drives the boat (not sure what that’s called.)

As nice as the No Inheritance is, there is no doubt in any of our minds that Eric and Maddie (I’m not sure how she spells her Maddie, but we’ll got with that spelling) were what made the trip so memorable/fantastic.

Eric was a great captain.  He is one of those rare people who has the gift of making things appear effortless when he is undoubtedly putting in a lot of effort behind the scenes.  He made the effort to really understand what we wanted out of this vacation.  No doubt lots of folks love to go bar to bar (and who doesn’t like a good Caribbean bar?), but that’s not what we wanted to do on this trip.  We were with the 9 people we wanted to be with, and Eric managed to take us to uncrowded spots (even during Christmas in July) where the snorkeling, hiking, and water were all fantastic.  And, even the day when we did hit the Soggy Dollar, he made sure we got there early, had our pains killed, and were on our way before it got crowded.  We were traveling with 4 teens, and he took the time to get to know each of them whether it was keeping Emily from getting seasick, letting Michael help him man the controls, or having Will fish and wakeboard.  He seemingly knew all of their names (and all the adults’ names) immediately.  Obviously, he’s taking us to places he’s been to and seen many times before, but he made it seem like he was enjoying our discoveries just as we were enjoying them.

Maddie was a fantastic chef.  As I said to her on the boat, I expected a cook and got a chef.  We were a challenge, and meals were my greatest concern in the month leading up to the trip.  We celebrated an anniversary and two birthdays on the boat.  And, we had a vegan, a vegetarian, and someone who doesn’t eat fish.  We thought that would severely limit our dining options.  Instead, Maddie was whipping up a delicious dish from scratch every day (well, several times a day) that met (and let’s be honest greatly exceeded) our expectations every day.  Like Eric, she got to know our kids (and all of us) and paid attention to what we ate and what we didn’t eat and adjusted her plans based on that.  She was always happy to answer any questions or just to chat in the kitchen.

Simply put, I can’t imagine that there’s a better team out there.   While I was impressed with the way they handled their jobs, frankly, I was just as impressed with the fact that they are great people.  By the end of the trip, they just seemed like the 10 and 11th members of our traveling party.  We talked to them, played games with them, and hiked with them.  Now, as we get back to the grind, we miss them.

If you have people deciding among several boats, I’d say tell them to just pick the one with Eric and Maddie on it.  And, if prospective charterers want to talk to someone who has traveled on the boat, I’m guessing any of us would be happy to talk to them (while I wrote this, I’m pretty confident that Ana, Linda, and Kevin share the same view).  Now that I think about it, Linda is probably the best talker of the group.  I’m more of a writer, but you can certainly share this letter with anyone who wants an unsolicited testimonial.
John