Hello and welcome back to the Meet the Cruisers series! I’m excited to introduce you to Kevin and Carla, the co-captains of S/V Gargoyle, and their two crew cats, Dean and Sam! Carla and Kevin, along with eleven other people on six different boats, made up our Nicaraguan quarantine bubble. Garrett and I had just arrived into Marina Puesta del Sol in Aserradores, Nicaragua when the rest of Central America started shutting down their borders to land, sea, and air travel due to Covid-19; the Gargoyle crew had already been there for about a month. In fact, they are still there today.

Like us, Kevin and Carla planned to sail down to Costa Rica and Panama, through the canal, and into the Caribbean. They did not anticipate staying docked at a marina in northwest Nicaragua for six months. But, unlike us (or maybe just me), they have been able to keep their cool, accept this strange chapter of their cruising adventure, and make the most of the situation. Their positivity and zeal for life—along with cigars and Flor de Caña rum—are absolutely inspiring.

Garrett and I really enjoyed the two months we spent docked near S/V Gargoyle, despite the stressors of the outside world and the unprecedented changes to our cruising plans. We all created quite the community—while of course practicing social distancing and other safety measures—and felt fortunate to have access to each other’s company and the great, beautiful, empty outdoors in our little isolated slice of Nicaragua while the rest of the world was on lockdown because of Covid.

Carla and Kevin have hoped to be able to move on to Costa Rica, and then, from there, perhaps to the Galapagos, or Ecuador, or Chile…they’re routing out all of their possibilities and just waiting for the green light to be able to move forward. Until then, they’re soaking up the Nicaraguan sun and, of course, the Nicaraguan rum. Keep reading to hear how they got their start with sailing, how they’re funding this adventure, their advice for this lifestyle, and more!

meet the cruisers: kevin and carla of s/v gargole

What are your names?

Kevin and Carla Nash along with our fearless kitty crew, Sam and Dean.

If you don’t mind sharing, how old are you?

Kevin is 59 and Carla is…...39 and holding.

What is the name, make, model, year, and size of your boat?

Gargoyle is a 2011 Beneteau Oceanis 50

How did you get your start with sailing?

Kevin - When I was in the 3rd grade, my father got the sailing bug and purchased a 19’ Lightning. Since we lived in downstate Illinois, an hour east of St. Louis, our sailing options were limited to Carlyle Lake and the muddy Mississippi. We spent most of our time on Carlyle, which is a wide-open body of water surrounded by cornfields, hence a very windy lake. On a few occasions, we trailered the little Lightning over to the river. At the time I didn’t appreciate the sheer chutzpah of my father to take a 19’ sailboat out onto the mighty Mississippi without an engine and sail it for hours both up and downstream of our launch ramp, always able to sail us back to our starting point. Since leaving our home port, whenever I’ve felt daunted by a challenge I reflect back on what those experiences taught me and sail through.

Carla - Growing up on the prairie province of Saskatchewan, I had amazing summers, numerous lakes, and those amazing living skies under which to sail. My first introduction was at a summer camp where I started dinghy sailing Lasers. Later on, my brother bought a Hobie 16 and we would escape whenever possible from our life on the dairy farm to blast around Redberry Lake or Lake Blackstrap. When I moved to Vancouver, I took up dinghy sailing with the Jericho Sailing Club; however, the mild weather and ocean temperatures were too chilly for this prairie girl. I decided larger boats would be warmer and drier so I joined the local racing crew to gain more experience on larger boats.

What made you want to cruise?

We’ve always loved to be on the water for extended periods but even a two week holiday is barely time to get out of home waters. After several years of vacation trips to northern BC waters where we would spend the last two days sailing home, despondent, we decided our goal was to circumnavigate and sail on our schedule, not someone else’s.

How long have you been cruising for, and how long do you hope to keep it up?

We cast off our lines in Vancouver on May 31st, 2019. Our initial plan was to circumnavigate over a 3 year period. The COVID-19 outbreak may mean we’ll need an extra 6 months or so but we’ll sort that out as we go.

How are you funding this lifestyle?

The old fashioned way. We saved our pennies and invested over time to create enough passive income to sustain us.

What’s the most positive experience you’ve had with cruising so far? What’s the most negative experience you’ve had with cruising so far? The biggest challenge?

Our most positive experience has been the incredible people we’ve met in various countries along the way. Every interaction along the way has been great and we’ve made many new friends.

There really haven’t been any negative experiences though perhaps we can call the biggest challenge a negative. We’ve found that it’s difficult, outside of Canada and the US, to find skilled mechanics that know the intricacies of today's modern boats and electronics. It’s certainly not been a showstopper but it’s forced us to rely on our Vancouver based mechanics at First Yachts more than expected for support.

How have your cruising plans been affected by Coronavirus?

We had initially planned to spend a month in Nicaragua as we waited for family to join us for 4 weeks of cruising in Costa Rica in April. As time drew near for us to depart for Costa Rica, international borders began closing and we decided to remain in Nicaragua, where prices are significantly lower than Costa Rica or Panama. Our plan was to be through the Panama Canal by mid-May, the plan now is in flux and we’re considering heading down the coast of South America to spend time in Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina.

Is cruising what you thought it would be? Can you elaborate?

Yes though with some surprises. We have always been perfectionists when it came to our boat and our home. Something small needed repairing it was fixed and Gargoyle was always 100%. We have now learned with limited resources when cruising our boat will always have a long ToDo List and our internal mini MacGyver is constantly being channeled to keep our home running smoothly.

Is there one piece of advice or insight into this lifestyle that you would like to share?

Be prepared for the amount of time you’ll be spending aboard your boat. Even in ideal situations, you’ll be living in a very tiny home and if you are sharing this journey with a significant other, you should be prepared for it. We spent two and a half years in a liveaboard marina in Vancouver before we set sail just to make sure our marriage could survive such close quarters.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Sailing as a lifestyle isn’t for the faint of heart. Sure, there will be days where you’ll lounge in the ocean and evenings where you’ll enjoy wine and cheese in the cockpit. However, you’ll also spend long overnight passages in driving rain and rolling seas, pulling on rubber gloves to fix clogged heads and repairing the engine and electrical issues at the most inconvenient of times.

That said, while it can be a demanding and daunting lifestyle, it’s also one of the most rewarding. Where else can you meet such a diverse group of people?