JASNA
I always find it hard to answer the question: “What do you do in your life?”, maybe because I do too many things! For the last decade, I have been mainly sailing around the Pacific Ocean, working as a travel writer. When I visit Italy I teach sailing and have many public speeches. I am the co-author of a sailing best-selling book, I’ve been featured on the famous UK show New Lives In The Wild and have a large following of wanna-be-sailors who read my stories and follow my adventures. I can teach you the basics of sailing, but I can also share with you many salty stories over a cocktail at sunset. If you would like to learn what does it mean to be a blue water sailor and a liveaboard cruiser, I’ll be happy to share skills and lessons I gained during my 15.000 miles of ocean sailing.
I am a happy soul above water, but what makes my eyes sparkle is the underwater world. I really love discovering and showing people the many wonders of the South Pacific coral reefs (I am also a qualified PADI Divemaster). If you love turtles, tropical fish, rays and sharks I will take you where you can have the best encounters. Just follow me underwater and enjoy the show.
For me, traveling is all about getting to know the places well, that’s why I took the time to know every bay of these beautiful islands and many people who live there. My local friends will make you feel welcome as a friend, not just as a tourist. I can also teach you some Tahitian words I learned over the years.
I am from Italy and I speak Slovene, Italian, English, Spanish and some German. You can read more about me on my blog www.jasnatuta.com
PAUL
As a boy I would stand on the shore, watch the ships go by and dreamt about sailing away… Many years later, after leaving the shore so many times, the same dream still persists.
I sailed the beautiful Mediterranean, after buying the first boat over twenty years ago. Soon this was not enough, and I went on to sail the oceans, crossing the Pacific in several directions. I have sailed over 20,000 miles on different types of sailboats, ranging in size from 31 to 60ft.
My technical background is one of the reasons why the sailboat is always “connected” by all possible ways of communication, from satellite broadband to Hamradio HF.
On remote Pacific islands, where there is no light pollution, experiencing the night sky full of stars is a very special experience. As a radio astronomer, who helped to build the most sensitive amateur radio interferometer, I possess curiosity and admiration for the secrets of the immense universe. On a dark night I can point out to you the center of our galaxy, in the constellation of the Sagittarius with a massive black hole swallowing anything that comes close.
Knowledge of the celestial bodies is also very important for another reason: it can help us find our way in the vast ocean, just like it used to guide the seamen not too long ago, when there were no GPS and chart plotters. By observing the stars and using the sextant for celestial navigation we will be able to determine our position the old-fashioned way.
As an advanced diver I know my way around the diving equipment and will be happy to fill the bottles and take you with a tender to a desired location. And if you get hungry afterwards – don’t worry! Fish is always on hand and I am happy to share my fishing expertise and equipment with you, as well as the tasty results of a successful catch – fresh carpaccio, sushi or any other delicious sea food dish.