Ride the Wave
S/V Sweetest Thing, U.S. Virgin Islands
By: Chelsea Lashua
Quit your job, sell everything, buy a ticket and move to the islands. If you told me that at 25 years old I would be living and working aboard a sailboat in the Caribbean I would probably laugh and say “In my dreams”, but that is exactly where life took me and I never would have expected it. It was amazing, terrifying, wild and more challenging than I ever would have imagined. Looking back, I think I experienced a whole lifetime in the span of two charter seasons. You learn a lot about life when you spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with complete strangers week after week. The guests, the locals and my charter family taught me how to work HARD, and they taught me a greater respect and appreciation for the ocean and all it has to offer.
I loved my life in the islands, but I knew that lifestyle was not a long-term plan. Would it be hard to give up scuba diving and sailing every week? Yes. But I was ready to come back to the mainland, to be closer to family, to sleep in a full-size bed and to dive back into the world of events – enter, Ember LLC.
After a few months adjusting back into the “real world”, I buckled down and began the job hunt. When I landed the job with Ember I knew I had found the right fit. Welcoming colleagues, a flexible and fun environment, location right by the water and a dog-friendly office – does it get better than that? Like starting any new job, stepping into the Ember life has been a whirlwind. The wheels seem to always be turning full speed ahead, and that’s what has kept me excited so far. I know there is so much I can learn here. In my first month of work I was able to be a part of producing an inspiring video about the transformative power of running – not only was it exciting to witness a behind the scenes look into video production, but it was truly rewarding to help shine a light on some amazing people’s stories.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you can’t plan out your whole life – it just doesn’t work, and for good reason. My family thought I was insane for giving up a stable job to be a chef and first mate on a sailboat (with no formal training whatsoever), but I went anyway. My charter family thought I was insane for leaving paradise to move back to New England, but I did anyway. My advice: Ride the wave and you’ll end up right where you’re meant to be.
