Captain Genevieve Evans of Go Sail Virgin Islands On How To Create A Travel Experience That Keeps People Coming Back For More

As part of my series about “How To Create A Travel Experience That Keeps People Coming Back For More”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Captain Genevieve Evans.

Captain Genevieve Evans is the female founder of Go Sail Virgin Islands and an American Sailing Master Instructor. Evans has developed a premier learn-to-sail masterclass and vacation charters in the stunning Virgin Islands for those wanting to sail the world. Evans fosters connections in the sailing community for all sailors to continue their sailing journey through inspirational storytelling. Go Sail Virgin Islands combines premium sailing instruction with unforgettable learn-to-sail vacations, creating the perfect new sailor experience.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I grew up on a lake in Montana. When I was 16, the neighbor came by and asked me if I wanted to go sailing on his Hobbie cat. Before I knew it, we were flying across the top of the water without a sound. It was an overwhelming feeling of freedom and capability that I hadn’t ever felt before. Fast-forward a few years later, when my world seemed small and overwhelming, I was searching for that feeling of possibility, and I leaned into my memory of that sailing day.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

In February 2020, I was invited to be a guest instructor on an all-women flotilla in Martinique, southern Caribbean, with 47 Swedish women of “SheCaptain” from Stockholm. During the trip, the nightmare of the pandemic really set in and we had to abandon our two-week itinerary for fear of being locked out of our countries. The crippling anxiety was like a thick cloud hanging over the crew and morale was low. I knew at that moment that this crew needed reassurance guidance and a confident Captain to lead us back to safety. As the most experienced captain on this voyage, through tactful coordination, some of the crewmembers and I commandeered the vessel and outvoted the current Captain and changed the trajectory of the trip so we could all get back to the airport safely. Leadership is about listening, situational awareness, walking towards the fire, and taking care of your crew.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I first started sailing, I didn’t have any money for a sailboat so someone gave me an abandoned boat scattered in the pine trees in Montana. I spent the whole summer fixing it up, repainting it and launching it. On the maiden voyage in front of all my family and friends, the first mate and I decided we were going to anchor right off the dock. We got to our spot and I said release the anchor and the first mate did. The anchor sank straight to the bottom and it was not attached to the boat. Everyone on shore laughed, it was a humbling moment. My family will never let that go! I discovered early on that sailing is going to be a learning journey, not a destination.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

In December 2010, I went on my first long distance voyage with Erik the Viking on his Cal 29 Sailboat from Fort Lauderdale to cruise in the Bahamas for six months. Erik grew up sailing and boating on the Florida coast and is a true mariner from the time he was very young. I am extremely grateful for his experience, knowledge and courage that he shared with me on that trip.

One night after a few “nippers” at great Guana Cay, Bahamas, we got back to the boat at cruisers midnight, about 9 o’clock. I was a bit tipsy and worn out from our journey so I quickly fell asleep. I woke up and Erik was in action mode. He had started the engine and it immediately died. He pulled a 200-foot “poly line” from the lazarette and jumped into the dingy. He rowed about 100 ft with three efficient, powerful strokes towards what looked like a mooring. Soon he was back, handing me the line which I was tying off to a winch. I cranked and cranked on that winch until I just couldn’t move my arms anymore. He then put on his swimsuit and put a knife in his teeth and jumped overboard.

At first, I couldn’t understand why he was going swimming in these conditions and then I came to realize our anchor had drug in the night because of the strong winds and after the engine was started a line seized around the prop and we were now hanging stern to the wind and 40 knot gusts. He had to tie us off to a new mooring, “the poly line” and then went swimming to cut the line off the prop so that we would swing the bow into the wind. It was such an impressive harrowing experience to watch. I learned a lifetime’s worth of what to do, in about 30 minutes of action.

Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?

We interview and write a sailing story for each of our willing customers after their experience to continue evaluating our processes, our methods, and see how successful the student feels. This gives customers a chance to give honest feedback and share their background and sailing story in a friendly way. This often can lead to new perspectives, not only for themselves, but other viewers who may be reading those stories. When we feature their sailing story others may live vicariously or be inspired by the journey our customers have taken to get here.

Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation and how do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?

This kind of trip is a big investment and people want the reassurance of the value, safety, and quality they will get for their money. When you share the honest stories of students who have taken your courses on the vessels with the best captains you get a unique eyewitness validation of the quality experience that can’t be replaced, even in an online review. This will disrupt the status quo because this is concrete validation that our customers are getting exactly what they expected and even more. Every new sailor is our most valued aspect of the business and their experience shared with potential new sailors will spark inspiration.

As you know, COVID19 changed the world as we know it. Can you share a few examples of how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers will prefer to travel?

One thing we always recommend is travel insurance for the trip or even a year round policy for those who travel often. You never know what can happen.

Fareharbor Online booking is really taking off. We love it because the customers can see availability, clear pricing, and direct booking guarantees right on our site. In the sailing school industry, it is not traditionally used because of the higher price points and customer confidence, but our customers love it because they can get their questions answered without waiting for someone to get back to them. Since Covid 19, I see more companies working with booking platforms.

You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?

Any vacation experience should have clear communication, online pricing, and the option to call and talk to a human if I have any questions. I really like connecting with the travel business owners because it just intrigues me and let’s face it I am addicted to talking with adventure-minded people.

Travel is not always about escaping, but about connecting. Have you made efforts to cultivate a more wellness-driven experience? We’d love to hear about it.

The adventure of learning to sail is about getting out of your comfort zone and learning something new. Our mission is to understand the expectations and overcome the fears so that they can best take in as much knowledge as possible during the trip. When a new student boards the vessel, the first step is to truly comprehend the motivator behind their desire to sail. Typically, there is passion in the reason for taking on this challenge. We carefully listen and customize the experience to exceed those expectations. They leave the trip feeling well taken care of and prepared to sail anywhere.

Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to create a travel experience that keeps bringing people back for more?

● Listen to what your customers want and need. I love it when a customer calls me to book a trip, I can always answer a few questions and set their mind at ease.

● Have a friendly conversation with your competition as often as possible. Every time I am at the Annapolis Boat Show, where all of us sailors tend to congregate, I love talking with sailing schools offering similar trips. We talk about the importance of customer service, how to best connect with new customers and new sailing quests.

● Being vigilant in the pursuit of excellence, constantly innovating, and evolving. We are constantly updating our website with new information to keep it sharp and fresh. We have a dedicated communications manager who creates new content with tips, guides, and visiting the Virgin Islands articles and we share this with our newsletter.

● Trust your instincts and higher people who share your vision and feel lucky to have the job. I get to hire the happiest people. They are American Sailing International Instructors who travel the world teaching sailing. They are always kind, patient people who just love sharing their experiences and teaching people.

● Give customers clear descriptions of the experience the customer will have and deliver on those expectations every time. Boats are always breaking. B.O.A.T. stands for “bust out another $1000” We make sure every yacht we use for our trips is new in production, well equipped, well maintained, and clean. Our captain team is prepared, has the resources they need to do their job, and we order high-quality food for our provisioned trips. Happy sailors are fed sailors.

Can you share with our readers how you have used your success to bring goodness to the world?

One of my favorite ways to spread sailing love is through mentorship. We try to show every new sailor their potential to become a live aboard cruiser, a captain, an ASA instructor, a racer, and/or all of the above. I had a student in 2015 who was in a class from St Martin to the British Virgin Islands. He ended up sailing all over the Caribbean and then we trained him to be an instructor for Go Sail Virgin Islands. When we connect with our customers we are a resource for life, we can help you with the next chapter of your journey.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Women in leadership have a natural way of inspiring change. I would like to encourage more women to see themselves in leadership roles. Be Bold, Be Brave, Be you. Standing out in the light and being seen as different is the best way to share your voice. Don’t fit in, be the change you want to see in the next generation. I have regular sailing races on my sailboat “Kismet” where all my crew are women and we switch roles on the boat so everyone knows how to do every job. Our crew knows what the other crew are going through, the challenges they face, and we know exactly how to support each other when it’s needed.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

https://www.facebook.com/gosailvirginislands

https://www.instagram.com/gosailvirginislands/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevieve-evans17/

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

About The Interviewer: Savio P. Clemente, TEDx speaker and Stage 3 cancer survivor, infuses transformative insights into every article. His journey battling cancer fuels a mission to empower survivors and industry leaders towards living a truly healthy, wealthy, and wise lifestyle. As a Board-Certified Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC, ACC), Savio guides readers to embrace self-discovery and rewrite narratives by loving their inner stranger, as outlined in his acclaimed TEDx talk: “7 Minutes to Wellness: How to Love Your Inner Stranger.” From his best-selling book to his impactful work as a media journalist covering resilience and wellness trends with notable celebrities and TV personalities, Savio’s words touch countless lives. His philosophy, “to know thyself is to heal thyself,” resonates in every piece.