FOUR years ago, Colin and Jackie Williams left behind life on dry land to take on an ambitious adventure sailing around the Greater Antilles. Having since published Sailors to Seadogs , a book detailing their epic journey, the couple shared some snippets of their story with EMMA PRESTON

WHEN Jackie and Colin Williams left the UK in 2013, the world was a very different place.

At the time the pair set sail for the Dominican Republic, Barack Obama was president of the United States, citizens of the UK still fully identified as members of the European Union and the combined genius of David Bowie, Prince and George Michael was still very much alive. Now having returned to British soil after nearly four years at sea, the couple admit they are finding it hard to adjust.

Mrs Williams, 62, said: “When you’re living on a boat and you’ve limited access to the internet, you tend to become a bit disassociated with the politics, and the fighting, and the horrible bits of the world, and all of a sudden you come back and you realise you’ve got Trump, you’ve got Brexit, and everything just seems so, so different.

“Some days we didn’t have enough bandwidth to get anything more than the weather, and actually, that’s lovely. There aren’t many places on the planet you can find yourself completely disconnected nowadays.”

Mr Williams, 69, added: “It’s incredible how quickly you get sucked back into it all, the politics and the hussle, and it’s so easy to get hooked back on to the news like some sort of drug. You take one hit and you’re back there, but at the same time, you’re not back there at all.”

Already familiar faces around Ulverston, Mr and Mrs Williams are staying with friends in Fountain Street while they get settled. Mr Williams is a well-known musician and music producer locally, while Mrs Williams previously worked as centre and development manager at Ford Park for 12 years.

It was their work at Ford Park that inspired the couple to try out life on a boat, after their increased focus on environmental matters led them to question the carbon footprint left by their love of holidays in the Dominican Republic. So the dream was born for the what Mr and Mrs Williams dubbed their “Adventure before Dementia”. Having both seen a parent succumb to the disease, they wanted to make their journey while fit and healthy.

Mr and Mrs Williams bought their beloved 40-foot 1978 Taiwanese sailing ketch, Picaroon , from Puerto Rico. The couple took their first yachting course in Scotland in 2008, and spent the next few years doing more lessons while repairing their boat and taking her out to practice around Morecambe Bay. They finally left on September 1, 2013 after selling their home and the vast majority of their belongings.

Mrs Williams said: “We left with a couple of suitcases, a couple of musical instruments and I think I took one picture. And that was it.

“It was liberating. We didn’t know enough to be scared, although we were nervous.”

Setting sail to the US Virgin Islands, the couple began to tackle less calm waters than those they had practiced on, but remained relatively close to the coast. Their first experience of truly testing conditions came when they threw themselves in at the deep end - quite literally - by crossing the Mona Passage, a notoriously dangerous strait between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Mrs Williams said: “I think the idea people have of sailing in the Caribbean is it’s all sunsets and gin and tonics, and the reality is, it’s not. We were sailing across some very rough passages, against winds and against currents, there were a lot of times when it was more than dangerous.”

Mr Williams added: “The sea has its own ideas about whether it’s going to come onboard your boat or not. The first few times that the boat actually tips and the waves rush down the deck and fill the cockpit, it’s quite horrifying, but you start to plan things and you start to anticipate and pre-empt those situations. I suppose you learn on the job.”

Initially, the couple thought they would be away for around 12 months. But frequent repairs needed to their boat, and regrouping after failed attempts to sail on to their next destinations, meant their journey took much longer than planned.

From the US Virgin Islands, the pair sailed to the Dominican Republic, then around the north coast to Haiti. From there they travelled to Cuba and Jamaica, before heading back to Haiti where they spent time on the south coast with the island communities. They then travelled back along the south coast of the Dominican Republic, where they concluded their trip.

Asked about the best moment of their adventure, Mrs Williams said: “We’d had a terrible two nights at sea, coming across from Jamaica, and we’d had a bit of an incident where we’d been rescued by a tanker in the middle of the night and a very bad storm. In the morning, as we approached Haiti, we watched the waters change from deep blue to absolutely shining turquoise and we had schools of dolphins escorting us in.

“As we came into the bay we could see all the sailing crafts, and all the dug-out canoes came out to meet us with the little kids clamouring over the sides, and it was just stunning. It was like going from death to heaven.

“They did that quite often actually, the dolphins, and always when we were at our lowest ebb. They would appear and all of a sudden you’d have a big grin on your face.”

The couple also describe three days and nights living on 24 hours’ provisions as they tried to cover one leg of their journey struggling against the winds and currents. Eventually they had to turn back and return to base, exhausted by their efforts.

Mrs Williams said: “That was probably the lowest point, but it was probably the passage that taught us the most about sailing. After that, things started to become more intuitive.”

Both of these adventures, and more, are shared in detail in the couple’s new book, Sailors to Seadogs . Based on Mr Williams’ onboard Novices to Navigators blogs, the story has been turned into a true narrative by Mrs Williams.

Now on sale on Amazon, the story is available as an ebook, in a full colour-photographed version and in a less expensive paperback without illustrations. Those who want to access photos and videos can visit the couple’s Amazon authors’ page or their Sailors to Seadogs Facebook profile.

Meanwhile, the couple themselves continue to try and adapt to life as normal.

But, Mr Williams said: “It’s like there’s been some sort of shift. I don't know what it is. I think a journey like that, it sort of, stretches your soul somehow.”