Episode 6: Quarter of a Century Complete

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I hope everyone is doing well and is doing something to beat the summer heat. The world is hot right now and Croatia is no exception. With most days climbing into the 90s, afternoons spent swimming and copious amounts of sunscreen is how I am surviving. Temperature records are getting surpassed all over Europe right now. England just topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) and they are now wrapping bridges in foil?? I guess the Hammersmith Bridge that was built in 1887 can’t handle the heat…

Thankfully, I am back on Tuna which means A/C is back in the picture. I’m not sure how long I will be here but for the time being, I am going to take full advantage of a cool room. Also, guests that aren’t sweating 24/7 tend to be a bit more pleasant so that also makes for an easier week.

This week's episode comes to you from the Old Town of Dubrovnik. I am on a different route this week that started in Split per usual, but instead of ending back in Split, we end in Dubrovnik. Turns out I am a big fan of the switch. One additional port, an extra night in Split, and less travel time all contribute to what I would consider a more relaxed trip.

I said in the last episode that I was going to switch it up a bit so here is my attempt. I’ll start with the same “Abridged Version” and then hit some different topics

Highlights:

• Had the chance to FaceTime both of my sisters while they hung out together in Paris. This is the first time all 3 of us have been living in the same time zone for awhile

• Got to meet the founder of WhatsApp - super cool guy and didn’t act like he sold his company to Facebook (Meta) for ~$22.0BB

• Celebrated my 25th birthday with an awesome group of people. Felt so much love from home as well as the group I had this week

Valleys:

• Miscounted the number of guests on an excursion and left 2 behind

• Messed up my phone so now my SIM cards don’t work. Again, if you need to reach me use WhatsApp with my US number or you can text me at +385 95 6112 013

• Acquired a little stomach bug to finish how my birthday - not ideal but shit happens

Things I learned:

• Diversity leads to much more interesting trips. We had ages 18-37, multiple nationalities, different occupations, etc. and the group messed together very nicely

• People outside of the United States are fascinated/confused with Fraternities and Sororities. Endless stories and pictures were shared but there are definitely some similarities to their “Societies”

• Learned how to backflip - have done a few in the past but can now confidently send it off of the top deck

  

Anecdote Of The Week:

With the day-to-day being somewhat similar as the trips continue, I figured I would save you from the boredom and only hit on one fun anecdote for the week. Not sure if I will keep this going forward so just let me know if you are a fan. This story actually takes place on my birthday, July 23rd.

If you know me, you know I am not a big birthday person. Birthdays to me just scream pressure. Pressure to put together a fun day for friends and pressure to just enjoy the day yourself. With that being said, I try to make the day as low-key as possible. Luckily for me, it worked out perfectly because we were at the National Park (Mljet) which is the most mellow and wholesome stop of the trip. I enjoyed biking, swimming, and the big BBQ that the crew puts on each week. Some guests even surprised me with a cake they picked up the day prior (Shoutout Georgia and Michael). 

The story actually starts in the evening when we were dropping anchor for the night. When we pulled into the bay, we were greeted with one of the biggest superyachts I have ever seen. I’m talking really damn big

Almost immediately, everyone started googling “Who is on a super yacht in Croatia now” and “Super yacht in Mljet today”. I then remembered that boats must have an ATIS (Automatic Transmitter Identification System) and that we can just look up the boat by their location. www.myshiptracking.com became quite the aid as I was able to see that the owner of the $220M play boat was actually the founder of WhatsApp.

Americans don’t use WhatsApp a ton but the rest of the world sure does. The simple messaging app caught the eye of Facebook in 2014 and they deemed that $16.0B would be a fair price to acquire the company, although at the end of the transaction Facebook had shelled out just shy of $22.0B. Not a bad exit I guess??

For a bit of context on the night, all the guests and I were having a party on the top deck to celebrate the birthday and the close of the trip. ABBA was lighting up the crowd and Jan Koum + Crew decided that this was a party they couldn’t miss. They hopped on their tender that costs more than the average house in San Diego and cruised on over to join our party. Long story short they came on board bearing birthday gifts and spent some of the night with all 34 of us. Money definitely can’t buy happiness, but it can buy you a nice tender to ferry you and your friends over to where the party really is. Great group of people and the first Americans that I have had on board all season.

Q&A:

Thank you to those of you who have responded to these blog posts - it makes me feel like I am not just talking to myself. I have had some questions so I wanted to answer them in this section as there may be some crossover in curiosity.

What does your room look like?

• Think small…like really small. Thankfully, I get my own room but it is definitely tight. It doesn’t help that I have my huge suitcase for the next 8 months filled with cold weather and hiking clothes covering half of my floor. I have turned my bottom bunk into my closet and use the small cabinet for all of the tour guide gear. I have definitely bought into the idea of packing cubes though…so much less time randomly digging through my bag. As for the bathroom, you get your shower, toilet, and sink all in one. In theory, you could be using the toilet while brushing your teeth and enjoying a shower all at the same time. What makes the entire room great though is that is it meant for someone who is under 5’10” (Quinn I think you’d love it). My legs are getting nice and toned from holding a partial squat all day

  

Do you get any days off?

• As of now, I don’t have anything planned. I have 2 hours off per week when I am turning over guests on Monday but that is about it. I have requested to take a week off in a bit but we will see if it gets approved. My social energy drains throughout the week but always seems to revitalize when a new group get onboard.

What is the crew like?

• On Tuna, I really am blessed with the best. Not including me, there are 5 crew on board. 4 from Croatia and the chef is from Serbia. Captain Nikola is from Omis and bought the boat 5 years ago from a friend. Unfortunately, Covid really messed up his business but he is happy things are back up and running with Sail Croatia. The 3 sailors onboard are neighbors with Nikola and this is their first season. The lead sailor, Marinko, is 18 and a real badass. He knows his way around a boat and can fix almost anything. He is also the crew member with the best English so I work with him to translate messages to and from the Captain. The other two sailors, Bepo and Josip, are 18 and 21 and are also just solid guys. Finally, there is cheffy (Zoran) who is 57 and from Serbia. His Serbian background causes a bit of tension between the rest of the crew because of the breakup of Yugoslavia, but in the grand scheme of things, everything runs smoothly. The level of service and comfort provided by these guys is definitely top tier. From spending time on other boats I know that I am getting the good end of the stick.

  

  Left to Right: Josip, Marinko, Bepo

Cheffy

How do you feel mentally?

• I swear, this question fluctuates day by day. All in all, the general vibe is positive. I love this job, love the ability to work on the water, and love getting a constant flow of great people to interact with week in and week out. However, consistent nights of little sleep and constantly being socially “on” does take its toll. There are days when I wake up in an anxiety-filled state where I think to myself “Why on earth did you do this Karl?”. But then the next morning I wake up feeling on top of the world, so this mental rollercoaster of sorts has been quite thrilling. Could I do this long-term? Absolutely not. Or at least not at the level that I am doing it now. I am definitely sacrificing sleep for the ability to spend more time with guests and foster better relationships. Also, there is a big emotional drain on these trips as well. You spend 7 non-stop days with these guests, form great relationships, and then at the end of the week you kick them off the ship at 8:30 am and know that the majority of the people you will never see again. On top of that, you have to get ready to welcome another group in 2 hours and do it all over again. The job does make relationships feel so transactional at times but I have promised myself that I will make an effort to remain in contact with people and visit them throughout my upcoming journeys. These opinions may change tomorrow as I am writing the end of this post on only 4 hours of sleep but that is where I stand now. Lots and lots of highs with the occasional low.

I hope to include a section like this in episodes going forward so if you are curious about anything or have specific questions just send me an email and I will get those included in the following updates

Weekly Group Overview:

Simply put, I was blessed this week. Blessed to be back on Tuna, blessed to be reaping the benefits of A/C, and blessed with a truly amazing group. Honestly though, if you would have asked me earlier in the week I would have been much more hesitant. It was a slow burn for sure. Multiple 5+ groups and a wide age range led to a bit of “cliqueness” at the start. If anyone has a good way to bring a group together quickly but not make it feel like summer camp, please let me know, The last thing I want to do is sit everyone down in a circle and make them say a fun fact about themselves. No one ever likes that and let's be honest, it just allows that one person to flex far too hard for day 1. 

The days kept turning and slowly but surely the group started to mesh. Groups mixed and solo travellers provided the energy needed to stir the pot. A night out in an empty nightclub and an evening spent chatting on the top of the boat was all we needed. Group meals were lively and the amount of time people spent in their rooms decreased significantly. I wish I had a psychology degree because it would be nice to make this transition on day 1. Maybe it just takes time or maybe I need to just take them to an empty nightclub early but when the transition happened I knew I had a special group.

It is groups like this that make the job special. You have the energizer bunny of the group, the mom/dad of the group, the couple that everyone loves, the morning beer guy, the nightclub extraordinaire, etc. and everyone fits into their respective roles. It has been fun to experience groups like this because as the meshing happens, I am able to take a step back and let the group determine how their trip goes. Just like a corporate team or sports group, a cohesive unit leads to significantly stronger results than solo efforts.

Photo Dump:

The last section I wanted to include was a simple photo dump for the week. Not much rhyme or reason behind this but more so just a way for you all to see what is going on and what I am doing in picture form. I found out that pictures weren’t loading in prior episodes so if this section is blank for you all, let me know and I will have a word with substack.

And just like that, the week is over. Saying goodbye to 34 friends sucks but I look forward to seeing people later down the road. Saying goodbye to them, I have a quick 2 hours to turn the boat and welcome another group of 34. How will it go? That is the magical question each week. Keeping my fingers crossed but all you can do is smile and see how it goes. 

I hope everyone is doing well and it is great hearing from you. Keep crushing whatever you are doing and don’t forget to stop and smile every so often. Finally, a big shout out to Quinn for crushing SOAS this past week. An absolute stud who somehow finds a way to laugh through the unthinkable things they put you through in that course.

All the best everyone!

Karl