Study Aboard

Homeschooling hits the high seas.

- Julia Zaltzman

IN 2021, MISCHA and Linda van der Vliet spent a year on their 80ft sailing catamaran, Kokomo, with their three children. During that extended adventure exploring the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, the kids—then aged nine, 11 and 12—were homeschooled for 20 hours each week. “We took it seriously because we didn’t want them to fall behind,” says Mischa, who adds that the kids “soon adapted to the routine”. The van der Vliets are part of an increasing number of families going on extended sabbaticals while also taking advantage of the numerous educational programmes available. “Tutoring at sea has become much more common since people are spending more time on their yachts,” says Angus Gibson, who heads the Monaco office of Carfax Education. The London firm recently partnered with broker Burgess Yachts to answer that growing demand.