“Our favourite spot was the foredeck trampoline at night. Lying back on it, listening to the sea hit the hulls, the whole sky overhead. I have not slept that well in ten years.”

“Three small kids on a boat in the middle of the Caribbean. I worried for weeks before. From the moment we boarded I knew they were in the best hands. We didn't worry once the entire week.”

“Booking was the easiest part. Two emails, a quick call, and the week was on the calendar. The pre-trip questionnaire about food and allergies was thorough but never overwhelming.”

“We landed at Beef Island, ferried over, and were met on the dock at West End with a cold drink. Bags onboard in five minutes. We never thought about logistics again.”

“We were celebrating my mum's seventieth. The crew had decorated her cabin with hibiscus flowers, baked a cake that morning, and remembered to bring her champagne to the cockpit at sunset. Nobody had to ask.”

“An impromptu Italian dinner in twenty-five knots of wind at anchor. Antipasti, fresh pasta, tiramisu, eaten under the awning while lightning cracked the horizon. Best meal of any trip we've ever taken.”

“I claimed the fly bridge as my reading corner. Sun, shade, sea breeze, total privacy from the rest of the boat. I finished three books in seven days.”

“The top-deck lounge at sunset became our daily ritual. Drinks, the surround sound on low, cocktail of the night making the rounds. We'd never want to be anywhere else.”

“Sandy Spit at lunchtime. Just us, no other boats, white sand we could see our shadows on. Cucumber-lime soup and lobster sandwiches handed out. That afternoon is preserved in glass somewhere in my head.”

“We hadn't sailed in years. The captain handed me the helm on a beam reach to Anegada with the sails balanced and the boat sailing herself. Eight knots, hands off, beam-on sea. I had forgotten what that felt like.”

“We didn't lift a finger and somehow felt taken care of without ever feeling fussed over. That's a real skill.”

“Our cabin had air-con, blackout curtains, a real bathroom. I slept like I was at a hotel. By day three I called my office and pushed everything back a week.”

“Disembarking was as smooth as boarding. Taxi to the ferry coordinated, leftovers wrapped in foil for the plane, the gentlest hangover send-off you could ask for.”

“Eight friends, one boat, zero arguments. The cockpit dinners alone were worth the trip.”

“Third time on Perpetual Blue. Already booking the fourth.”