Her practice broke down. Her telephone died. After which she met her future husband

It might not be uncommon for Richard to spend a couple of weeks in Jordan, then pop over to Egypt, then fly to Mexico, Micronesia, the Maldives or Indonesia to immerse divers within the magic of the underwater world.

When it got here to her love life, the divemaster imagined herself assembly a scuba teacher or maybe somebody within the journey sphere with a equally nomadic way of life. In spite of everything, she was laser-focused on her mission to empower girls within the male-dominated scuba business.

Certainly, nothing may derail her — not even the pandemic — however Richard was flawed about one factor. The love of her life would not be an teacher she met on a liveaboard in Raja Ampat or a resort on Socorro Island. It might be a passionate asparagus farmer from southwestern England.

Off the tracks

It began with a mid-December go to to her hometown of Hastings, on the southern coast of England, for Christmas in 2018.

After dwelling and diving in Mexico for 4 months, Richard was on the town for a couple of days and had a schedule filled with vacation occasions. One morning, she took the practice as much as London for the day to reconnect with pals she had met whereas dwelling in Hong Kong a couple of years prior.

“I by no means normally go to London … ever,” recollects Richard. “That was the primary time in like absolute years.”

After a day trip together with her pals, Richard needed to return to Hastings, about 90 minutes southeast by practice, for a vacation celebration at 9 p.m.

However when she arrived on the metro station, it was closed for repairs. She rushed to get an Uber to the London Bridge station in central London in hopes of catching the following practice however missed it as a consequence of heavy visitors.

Richard sat on the station for about an hour. By then, her telephone battery had died, and she or he couldn’t replace her pals in Hastings.

“Lastly, I bought on the practice, and it is heading out of London, and I am so excited to get to the celebration. However then, a couple of half-hour out, an announcement says the practice has to cease as a result of it is damaged down and everyone has to get off. And I used to be like, come on…”

Her lengthy night of transit woes continued — and she or he needed to make her approach all the best way again to London and sit on the platform as soon as once more for 90 minutes. This time, she was ready for the final practice of the night.

“Since my telephone was lifeless, I had no solution to entertain myself on the practice,” she recollects. “I simply stated to myself, ‘What would you do if you happen to had been on a practice abroad? You’d simply discuss to someone.'”

And that is when Joel Gostling walked on and sat down.

Love on the rails

“When Joel walked onto the practice, I used to be identical to… ‘Hello.'”

The pair hit it off immediately, chatting the entire trip to Hastings. He made a powerful first impression — “an actual English boy” who was down-to-earth and simple to speak to, says Richard.

“He had his personal asparagus subject, which is unusual, and actually enjoys simply being outdoors. I bought the impression right away that he’s not materialistic,” she recollects, including that he did not over-romanticize her nomadic way of life.

“Joel thought all my touring and the locations I might been is cool, however he additionally thought the life he constructed for himself together with his farm is cool, too — and it’s.”

Gostling grew up in a village referred to as Dalwood within the southwest England area of Devon, the place his main college had 30 children, and he felt at dwelling on a farm, within the fields or hanging out at an area pub.

After working at a celebrated farmhouse restaurant and cookery college, River Cottage in Devon, Gostling turned considered one of his dad and mom’ fields into an asparagus farm in 2015 and offered the hand-picked asparagus to eating places across the area.

Towards the tip of the journey, Gostling requested Richard for her quantity, however she had no thought what it was. She had simply swapped out a Mexican SIM card for a UK quantity, and her telephone battery was lifeless.

“I genuinely did not know my quantity however wished him to have the ability to attain me. So I stated, ‘That is going to sound egotistical, however if you happen to simply Google ‘Sarah Richard’, you can discover me on Instagram and discover my e mail.'”

Gostling had each intention of contacting her.

“She was attention-grabbing, lovely, mysterious, participating. I used to be greatly surprised by how effectively we bought on right away, and I knew I could not depart the practice with out asking to see her once more,” he recollects.

Richard ultimately made it again to Hastings, solely to fly to Finland the following day to spend Christmas together with her brother and his household.

She hoped to listen to from Gostling however did not dwell on it. In spite of everything, Richard had a full calendar forward, with plans to fly forwards and backwards between Mexico and the Center East for scuba journeys.

Lengthy-distance romance

Gostling did not hesitate to look Richard up on-line. One e mail later, their relationship began to take form.

They began conserving in contact long-distance, with Richard making pitstops within the UK between journeys for 2 to 3 weeks.

“I used to be fairly centered on staying on my monitor. I used to be like, ‘If you wish to come alongside, come alongside for the trip, however I am not coming off,'” she says. “My journey schedule was actually intense. And he knew right away that that was my way of life. And that is type of what it was all the time going to be.”

The dynamic labored effectively for them. They each centered on what they had been most keen about whereas valuing their time collectively. In 2019, Richard and Gostling moved in collectively, which solely deepened their connection.

“I spotted that having somebody who’s the exact opposite of me is definitely what I wished. So I can nonetheless do my factor after which come again and prefer to have one thing completely different to speak about,” says Richard.

“Actually, the one factor that modified was that he was there to choose me up on the airport. It was so cute as a result of each single time, he had a special signal with a special phrase on it.”

Gostling did not thoughts both, and all of the whereas, he was cooking up a plan to indicate Richard simply how a lot she meant to him. “When you recognize, you recognize,” he provides.

A shock proposal

On December 15, 2019, precisely one 12 months after they met on the practice, Gostling orchestrated a shock proposal.

Richard’s finest pal, Lucy, invited her to go see the “Lion King” musical in London.

“On the identical [route], the identical platform, Joel popped out on the practice and bought down on one knee and proposed to me.”

All of the whereas, Gostling says it was totally “nerve-wracking”. It took a lot of effort and time to coordinate — “I began planning on October 6, then proposed December 15. It took that lengthy!”

After they bought engaged, Richard continued to journey whereas Gostling centered on his farm. In early 2020, Richard turned her ambitions to Jordan, the place she hoped to determine a Center East arm of Women that Scuba.

The couple moved to Jordan and began establishing their lives there. Gostling deliberate to work remotely, returning to England throughout harvest season. They had been there simply 4 days earlier than the nation went into lockdown as a result of Covid-19 pandemic.

“The UK embassy organized flights, and we ended up getting a flight dwelling, nevertheless it was like £3,000 (about $3,920),” laments Richard.

It additionally meant Richard may now not run her diving journeys.

“When journey utterly stopped, most of my revenue was gone as a result of it comes from taking individuals on journeys and occasions. So Joel had no revenue [because he worked in the restaurant industry]. I had no revenue. It was terrible.”

The last word take a look at

With out an condominium or revenue, they needed to transfer in with Gostling’s dad and mom in Devon.

For Gostling, the transfer dwelling ended up being a blessing in disguise. Chef Andy Tyrell, who Joel had labored with at River Cottage, invited Joel to hitch him in establishing a pop-up kitchen.

The pair referred to as it Goose & Badger, and whereas they needed to navigate lockdowns a number of occasions, they established a following for his or her multi-course menus and scrumptious burgers.

Whereas Richard’s nomadic life got here to an abrupt cease, she discovered locations to dive alongside the coast of England and continued to construct her on-line neighborhood.

“It was such an opportunity encounter, and despite the fact that there have been arduous occasions, we’re each so safe within the information that we’re with the particular person we’re purported to be with. It simply makes every part so significantly better, even in these arduous occasions,” she says.

Gostling could not agree extra. “Even after spending all that point collectively, I nonetheless like her,” he quips. “It was a superb take a look at, actually — we found we may get via something.”

‘All the things else is a bonus’

Initially, the couple hoped to have a 200-person wedding ceremony in June 2020 in Gostling’s dad and mom’ backyard, however they scrapped that plan as a result of pandemic.

As a substitute, they’d a small outside ceremony for 12 individuals and postponed a bigger celebration till September 2021. “Mainly, we bought to get married twice and have two events — it turned out so good!” says Richard, who now goes by Sarah Gostling.

After the marriage in September, Richard picked up proper the place she left off and has been flying all over the world since. “It is identical to using a motorbike. It feels so pure to be touring once more,” she says.

“It is also been wonderful to look at different individuals getting again into the ocean and realizing that that is what connects our [scuba diving] neighborhood, and it is simply lovely.”

The couple additionally took a belated honeymoon, spending three weeks in Lapland, Finland, the place Richard’s brother and his household dwell, and Turkey.

The newlyweds stayed in an igloo with a sauna, rode in a sled pulled by reindeer and went snowboarding for the primary time. They traded the snowy landscapes for sunshine and improbable eating in Istanbul, then capped off the honeymoon in magical Cappadocia amongst cone-like rock formations and cave lodges.

“As a substitute of wedding ceremony items, we had a honeymoon fund that every one of our family and friends contributed to, so it’s totally particular that we bought to go to those locations due to what our family and friends have gifted us,” says Richard.

Trying again, Richard says she appears like they’re on the “different aspect” of the pandemic. They discovered a home to lease, Gostling’s restaurant is prospering, and Richard’s diving neighborhood is using a brand new wave of momentum.

Up to now this 12 months, Richard has already hosted two Women that Scuba journeys — the primary in ​​the Galapagos, adopted by one other within the Pink Sea.

“On reflection, it is solely been three years. However in these three years, we managed to get via a world pandemic, he misplaced his job, I misplaced all my revenue, we needed to transfer again in together with his dad and mom in our 30s,” says Richard.

“We have been via rather a lot. It simply makes us assume that every one we want is one another, and that is it. All the things else is a bonus.”