We pulled our children out of school to travel to Africa on a yacht - without any prior sailing experience

A couple pulled their children out of school to travel to Africa on a yacht - without any prior sailing experience.

Daniel Monk, 41, and his wife Bow, 36, and their children Amelia, 13, and Olivia, seven, sailed from Falmouth to Cape Verde in a 45-foot yacht they named Pancakes.

The dad-of-two had always dreamt of sailing the world after battling a 13 year drug and alcohol addiction and said it was "a dream come true" to do it with his family.

The family sailed from Madeira to Tenerife and down to Cape Verde - despite limited experience on a boat of that size.

On buying the yacht, the couple wanted to show their daughters, who live in Chiang Mai, Thailand with Bow, that you don't need to know everything and can still try and work it out. The family, who have always been big on nature and adventure, don't let their kids have iPads so they can focus on what is around them.

Daniel sailed the boat back to the UK in August 2024 after a 10,000 mile trip - while the girls returned to Thailand. The family are now selling Pancakes but are so glad they took the leap and are always looking for the next adventure.

Daniel, the owner of Cask World, from Truro in Cornwall, said: 

"We're so lucky to be able to survive addiction. Get help because I was there. There was no hope but thanks to the support of the 12 step communities around the world I was then lucky to go after that dream.

"Before we left we had a big fear - are we affecting the children? But the children just bounced back. It gave them good experience and to be confident. I think they learned a lot from this."

Follow on Instagram @sailingpancakes and @caskworld