It can be overwhelming and incredibly time-consuming to plan a travel adventure in a foreign country. Trekr Adventures is a Washington D.C. based adventuring group that plans weeklong excursions around the world that are filled with daily adventures all while sailing along the coasts of exotic locales.
The focus of the organizers is on the LGBT community and they hope to expand to college alumni groups in the future. Over the past year they have sailed around Thailand and Croatia and upcoming trips for 2017 include Abacos, Greece and Thailand. A land excursion is also planned for Vietnam and Cambodia.
The group has been drawing fifty percent of their travelers from the Washington D.C. area but that number has been expanding to other cities through word of mouth. Trekr has no website, though they do have a presence on Facebook. Leading up to each trip, the group hosts social events so that the travelers can meet each other before their adventure and solo travelers are welcome.
“We want everyone to feel like the organizers are their friends,” says co-founder Josh Seefried. “The experience is intended to feel intimate.”
Their most recent trip to Croatia was enjoyed by 65 travelers on six 50 foot catamarans that boasted four bedrooms each along with air-conditioning, a skipper, internet, a full kitchen and a grill. Day adventures during the trip included a wine-tasting, scootering and skydiving in the middle of Greek ruins.
The yachts separate during the sailing parts of the trip but are generally not more than 30 minutes to several hours apart. During their moorings, there are opportunities for yacht-hopping and socializing with the other travelers.
Other adventuring options that have been offered on trips include rappelling, canyoning, kayaking around caves, touring Muslim villages and swimming with sharks.
“One of the best aspects of our trips is that people can choose to sit around and do nothing, or experience what is offered during the excursions to shore,” Seefried says. “They also have that option on the boat to choose whether they want to participate as a sailor, or just be a passenger.”
Seefried himself had no sailing experience when the adventuring group was formed. Originally from Colorado, he developed a love of travelling growing up camping around the United States with his parents. At one point, his parent’s teaching careers took them overseas and Seefried grabbed a Eurail pass and travelled to 13 countries.
The organizers of Trekr are committed to leaving as small a footprint behind as possible on their trips. They research the waste dumping regulations for each trip as they vary by country. They also encourage the passengers to only bring large containers of water to reduce plastic waste. They are in talks with multiple sailboat manufacturers to discover new ways to reduce waste going forward.
Another aspect of Trekr excursions are the opportunities to interact with the locals at their many destination stops. Coming up in February on their trip to Abacos, they will be stopping in Man-O-War Cay, Great Guana Cay, Green Turtle Cay, Hope Town and Treasure Cay.
“On the last night of our Croatia trip, we spent the evening in Stari Grad and released Chinese lanterns in the center of town,” says Seefried. “The locals joined in and it was so moving to see families and children sharing the moment with us. It was magical.”
Exploring the World Through Sailing
Kevin Majoros
122 - SEVENSEAS