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Born on the remote island of St. Helena in 1972, James Hern spent much of his childhood in a children's home — but rather than letting that define him, he channelled his energy into books, self-reliance, and the sea. He taught himself to windsurf, built his own powerboat (becoming the first St. Helenian to do so), and went on to rack up over 100,000 registered nautical miles as a skipper.
In this episode, James shares the remarkable story of how he and his wife Hannah made a six-year plan to leave the UK, sail away through the Solent with three young children aboard their 40-foot Bavaria, and spend over six years circumnavigating the globe — homeschooling their kids along the way. Their eldest son, educated entirely on the boat until the age of 14, went on to achieve three times the government expectation in maths in his very first year at school.
Now back on St. Helena, James and Hannah have traded life at sea for eight acres of tropical farmland in Sandy Bay — growing papayas, avocados, flowers, and coffee, entirely off the grid. For the past 20 years they haven't paid a single domestic bill, powering their home with solar panels and a 70-year-old spring. And just like on the boat, they built it all from scratch with no farming background, learning as they go.
James's message is simple: every goal is reachable, the boat is only as strong as the skipper, and the one thing he'd do differently? Start ten years earlier.
Follow James:
https://facebook.com/james.herne.2025
Contact James here too if you are visiting St Helena by yacht and would like to reach out for his services.
On island find him at Gift Cottage Farm.