The former businessman chose a different path: wintering in Tenerife, offering Lithuanians yacht trips

We meet the captain who spends his summers in Lithuania in the marina of Costa Adeje, Tenerife. Even before the start of the interview, Arūnas coordinates the details of the yacht trip with the Lithuanians who have come here on vacation. While the pandemic has traversed this Spanish island as needed, and in the bustling streets normally packed with tourists, visitors walking on the island can be counted, aquatic life is not dead. Island guests are invited to watch dolphins flying through the waves or whales scratching the surface of the water with their fins.

After joining one of the yachts moored in the harbor, Arūnas begins to tell the story of his life, which may seem incredible to some, strange to others and extremely interesting to others.

“I always spend the winter in India, but I was unable to go this year due to a coronavirus. I wondered what could be done here and remembered my old dream, which had been maturing for years, of sailing across the Atlantic. So in November I arrived in the Canary Islands, Las Palmas. From here, in November-December, the sailboats sail to the Caribbean, where the trip lasts about a month, “said the Lithuanian.

The long-term plan has been postponed

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, there were few such ships this year, and Arūnas was unable to join any team. Then the man began to think: what to do next. Then he came to Tenerife. In Lithuania, the interlocutor spends the summer in Nida – he lives on his yacht, but did not dare to go to distant islands with his boat: “It would take more than a month to get here from Lithuania. It is a great challenge: both money and a team must be reliable, with whom you can be friends in such a small space for more than a month ”.

Upon arriving in Tenerife, the captain began to visit the ports settled on the island’s coast, where he met the local captains, including several Russian-speaking, Polish and Lithuanian.

“As I have worked with boats for many years, I decided to offer a service to people: yacht trips. I am looking for clients who want to go on a yacht to the ocean, and then I coordinate the trip with the captains according to the needs,” he said Arūnas on the newly discovered activity on the island.

Tenerife himself does not act as captain. According to the Lithuanian, in the Canary Islands the requirements for captains who wish to sail as clients are much stricter: simple rights to operate a yacht are not enough.

“It is necessary to maintain special certificates to open courses. Here, the coast is bathed by the ocean, which is a higher risk factor. It would cost between 5 and 7 thousand to receive these rights.” The interlocutor calculated.

The captain says that although Tenerife is currently empty, many Lithuanians, Poles and Russians still manage to meet.

“I can’t complain to many clients, but I can’t say it wrong either. It’s a difficult time for everyone here right now. There are practically no tourists and boat rental prices have dropped from 2 to 2.5 times. If before you had orders a week or two in advance, now everything is planned for the day, ”Arūnas said about how the Spanish country, loved by tourists, is doing in the face of a pandemic.

He fell asleep in winter in Nida

Many Lithuanians may have also met Captain Arūnas in Nida. As already mentioned, when the weather in Lithuania heats up, you go to live on your yacht.

“If you ask where Captain Kšš, a is in Nida, everyone will show you where to find me,” laughs the former businessman who chose the spiritual path. Currently, Arūnas’ yacht in Nida has been brought ashore and “asleep” for the winter. The man plans to return to Lithuania in April and return to work, preparing his existing boats for the summer season.

“After returning to Lithuania in the spring, I prepare the boats for about 2-3 weeks, because I have more than one. At the end of April, I will pitch and start the season, ”he said.

The man hopes that, even after returning to Lithuania, he will be able to continue the activities started in Tenerife: to offer yacht trips in Tenerife, Arūnas created a website, social media profiles, through which he mainly seeks clients for the Capitanes. canaries.

Fold both wings

“There is a saying that says that human life is like a bird with two wings. One is a loved job, the other is a loved person. If you have both wings, fly freely and are not distracted by the winds,” says the interlocutor.

Even so, it happened to Arūnas that life had broken both of his wings. Almost ten years ago, he lost his long-standing business, and with it the second half.

“It turned out that I was on the street and had nowhere to live. The man she adored and couldn’t imagine life without became superfluous. I probably changed the world around me too quickly, and it was too difficult for her to accept me like this, ”Arūnas recalled.

Having lost a successful business as a result of the last crisis, and later in the second half, the captain was faced with the dilemma of what to do next: try to start the business again or continue on the spiritual path.

“I had a company that worked with ships. He had a shop and a rental point and a service. When I lost everything I thought I always dreamed of living on a boat. This is how you are independent and free to change your place of residence, ”he said.

And so he rebuilt the yacht bought a few years ago in 2013. Arūnas started living in Nida on a boat.

“The space on board is very small and limited. Before making the decision to live in it, you should think about whether you will be able to stay. And when there is such a small space, there must be a very small number of items. When I left the apartment, maybe 75 percent. I surrendered my belongings for what I needed while living on a yacht. Every item that is on the yacht must be a must. Before buying something, you have to think carefully if you need it, if you will use it and, more importantly, if you will have a place on the ship to help you, ”said Arūnas about the peculiarities of living on a yacht.

I felt trapped

Looking back at the year when he was still running his business, which employed up to 10 employees, Arūnas said he wouldn’t want to go back to those times.

“I didn’t even have to raise my head, I was always stuck when I had to constantly think about how to pay people’s wages, how to pay taxes to the state. When I woke up in the morning, I immediately thought about how to earn money to pay my taxes, and I had the exact same thoughts when I went to bed, ”she shared her experience.

The man, who is now hibernating in Tenerife, said that after the last crisis, when she ate up his business, he was still trying to start a business again, but no one was upset.

So I decided to follow the spiritual path. I realized that when life takes everything away from you, it is a gift, because it would be very difficult to give up everything you have, ”shared the Lithuanian.

Despite the chosen path, the man continued to claim to exploit his entrepreneurial skills: “I do this so that the mind does not completely atrophy, but at the same time I stop so that business does not develop too much. I do business enough to help keep the kids going and go to India for the winter. I don’t need more, if I earn more, I donate to temples or the clergy. “

Arūnas admits that at first, when he chose a new way of life, he was viewed by his former colleagues and those around him as a monster, as the businessman abandoned everything.

“But now, eight years later, people’s opinions are changing. They are already asking for advice and understand that I do not do everything superficially, but from the heart,” emphasized the Lithuanian.