5-night retreat on Faial, Azores in the middle of the Atlantic, guided in the water by Roger Horrocks, the underwater cinematographer behind My Octopus Teacher. All inclusive price, except flights and transfers. Single and double room options. For people ready to trade the surface for something deeper.
Faial, Azores: where the wild and the within meet
You were taught that if you want to be relevant you cannot stop. That stopping is falling behind, and that the answer is always more. More optimizing, more momentum, more everything. Most of us have lived it, and if you are reading this you already know it is not true.
The ocean sets the tone for a different story. You cannot bully or force your way into the path of a mobula ray or a school of barracuda. A whale or a shark has no opinion about your résumé. In the presence of something that large and that indifferent, the old narratives start to seem inconsequential. In that encounter you can finally tell the difference between the external voices and the internal one.
Our base is just outside Horta, a working marina town on Faial and one of the great ocean crossroads on Earth. The volcanic beaches, the calderas and the deep seamounts pull the Atlantic's largest animals up toward the light. Faial itself is a study in renewal: in 1957 a new volcano rose off its western tip and added a mile of black land to the island in a matter of months. Destruction, and then the slow return of the life that was there before.
Led by people who've been there
Richard Banfield
Entrepreneur, author, and artist. Richard is a recovering CEO who has built companies, launched 100's of products, helped teams find purpose, and now helps people design the second act of their lives with intention and creativity.
Devon McDonald
Venture capitalist turned catalyst for connection, clarity, and courageous living. Devon brings grace, energy, and a gift for creating space where real transformation can happen. She’s raising three kids and building a life rooted in authenticity.
Together, they bring real-life experience, warmth, and wisdom to every part of this retreat. As Richard says, "Our approach is to create a classroom where everyone is the student. No gurus, nor masters, just curious minds that are open to possibility."
Roger Horrocks
Underwater cinematographer and the eye behind My Octopus Teacher. Roger has spent fifteen years being let into encounters most people only ever see on a screen, shooting four of the six episodes of Blue Planet II, Our Planet and Netflix's Our Oceans, with a BAFTA and a Critics' Choice for his work. He learned the craft the slow way: first as a young spearfisherman learning to hold his breath, then as a filmmaker who found you cannot chase a wild animal into trust. You settle yourself. You get small. You wait to be met. On Faial he will choose the sites, read the water, and put each guest in the right place at the right moment to meet the ocean's largest animals on a single breath.
Get closer to yourself by encountering nature's wonders
Breath & Water
First-light swims off black sand volcanic beaches, breathwork built on the physiology of the free-dive, and yoga on the sand as the body warms. The same practice that lets you drop calmly to ten metres is the one you take home for the uncertainty of what comes next.
Wild Encounters
Guided snorkel and free-dive outings with Roger and crew to meet whales, mobula rays, sharks and barracuda. No scuba, no certification, no cages. Just you, a breath, and an experience you will not forget.
Stillness & Reflection
Meditation, somatic grounding, and the honest work of discernment—mission versus meaning, what to carry and what to set down. Practical work you can do anytime.
Optional Adventures
Come early or stay late. Faial's caldera and the lunar black of Capelinhos, a ferry to Pico to climb Portugal's highest peak or drink its volcanic wine, the natural swimming pools of São Jorge, the waterfalls of Flores.
What people say after they leave the retreats
This retreat is for you if:
You look successful on paper but suspect the goals you are chasing were never really yours to begin with, and you are ready to find out which ones are
You have spent decades carrying, optimizing and adding, and you are quietly certain the way forward is to take something away rather than pile more on
You do not want another framework or motivational push. You want an experience that meets you in the body, with a small circle of people asking the same honest question: now what?
Day 1: Arrival & Setting Intentions
Theme: Meet, land, breathe out
Throughout the day: Arrivals into Horta and check-in
Late afternoon: Settle in and relax. Sleep off the jet lag or walk the marina
7:30 PM: Welcome dinner and opening circle, where each of us names the story we have been carrying, before anyone touches the water
Day 2: Foundations
Theme: The skills, not yet the animals
7:00 AM: First-light ocean swim off the black sand at Praia do Almoxarife
8:00 AM: Yoga on the beach
9:30 AM: Breakfast together
10:30 AM: Breathwork: the dive reflex, CO₂ tolerance, and the same practice as somatic grounding
1:30 PM: Confined shallow-bay session with Roger, floating, equalizing, finding calm on a single breath-hold
Afternoon: Free time, meditation
8:00 PM: Dinner and conversation
Day 3: The Coast
Theme: In it, not watching it
7:00 AM: Morning swim and yoga
9:30 AM: Breakfast
10:30 AM: First open-water snorkel over sheltered lava reefs with Roger: octopus, moray, groupers, the intimate life close to shore
Afternoon: Somatic debrief on what changes when you are in the water rather than looking at it
8:00 PM: Dinner
Day 4: The Deep
Theme: The encounter you came for
The offshore day, and weather dependent.
Early start from Horta marina
Full day: Boat expedition to the seamounts, Princess Alice and Condor Bank, for mobula rays, blue sharks and barracuda, free-diving alongside Roger
Evening: Rest, soak, silence. Nothing to process out loud.
Day 5: The Giants, then the Reckoning
Theme: Scale, and what it reveals
Morning: Out for the resident cetaceans, sperm whales and dolphins, entirely on their terms
Afternoon: The discernment work, mission versus meaning, what comes next
8:00 PM: Farewell dinner
Day 6: Integration & Departure
Theme: Bringing it back to dry land
7:00 AM: A final swim and breath at first light
Closing circle, built on one question: not what you will add when you get home, but what you will subtract
Departures and transfers from Horta
“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”
— Joel Arthur Barker Ratcliffe
Applications are open now. We keep this retreat small, both for safety in open water and so Roger can genuinely guide each person. Dates for August 2027 are still being finalised. Once we receive your application we will reach out for a short alignment conversation, and if it feels like the right fit on both sides we will send a private link to secure your spot.
FAQs
Because the ocean makes the point better than any workshop can. The waters off Faial and Pico are a Mission Blue Hope Spot, one of the few places on Earth where the biggest animals in the sea come up within a breath-hold of the surface. Horta is a real working marina town, not a resort, so boats leave from the door. And the island itself, remade by a volcano within living memory, is a standing argument that renewal is the far side of loss. It is the rare place where the setting is the curriculum.
No scuba, no certification, no experience required. Everything happens on snorkel and breath-hold, at the surface or a few metres down. The one real prerequisite is that you are comfortable swimming in open water. Certified free-dive safety staff are in the water on every outing. Alongside Roger, Richard is a trained Divemaster and Rescue Diver, and the boat team includes two to three certified members. Roger guides and films; safety is separately and professionally staffed. Snorkelling is encouraged but every water activity is optional. You set your own edge.
Everything except your flights to the island. Your investment covers accommodation in Horta, all meals and drinks, every boat expedition and in-water session, free-dive guiding and safety, breathwork, yoga, meditation, and all ground transport to activities.
Click Apply on this page. Once we receive your application we will set up a short conversation to make sure it is a great fit, for you and for the group. If it feels right on both sides, we will send a private payment link to secure your place.
You are welcome back. The structure will feel familiar, but the experience is wholly its own. New experiences, new people, new encounters, new ground to cover. Many Harvesters return as part of a seasonal rhythm.
The underwater cinematographer behind My Octopus Teacher, along with Blue Planet II, Our Planet and Netflix's Our Oceans. He has spent fifteen years earning the trust of wild animals on their terms, and he will be with us in the water the whole time, choosing the sites, reading conditions, and bringing the encounters.
Moderate and self-paced. Expect early shoreline swims, breathwork, gentle yoga, and boat days that can run long. The offshore seamount trip is a full day on the water, six to seven hours in total. Comfortable open-water swimming is the baseline; everything beyond that is optional.
Swimwear, light layers, a light waterproof jacket, hat, and reef-safe sunscreen. If sea water irritates your eyes, pack swim goggles too. We will advise on wetsuit thickness once dates are set, and we can arrange exposure gear. We provide journals, but bring your own if you prefer. And leave a little extra room in your bag, because you will go home with more than you arrived with.
The honest answer is that wild animals keep their own schedule and nothing in the ocean is guaranteed. What we can tell you is the calendar. Mobula rays (late June to October), blue sharks (mid-July to mid-October) and barracuda are a summer story. The great migratory whales, blue and fin, pass through in spring. You are very likely to see the resident sperm whales and dolphins that are here year-round. We plan around the animals, not the other way around, and we build in flexibility for weather.
Pricing is $8,750 for a single room and $12,275 for a double room (plus one guests, like spouses or partners). A payment page is shared once you’ve applied and we’ve had a short alignment call. This helps us keep the experience tailored, intimate, and intentional. Pricing includes all lodging, food, drinks, programming, and local experiences.
The ocean sets the terms. If conditions close the water on a given day, we adjust, and there is always more than one way to spend a day on Faial. For guest cancellations: cancel 60 days or more before the retreat and we will refund your payment minus a 35% fee to cover advance booking costs. Within 30 days we will do our best to transfer your spot to a future retreat if openings exist, but no refund is provided.
Second Harvest is for people in the middle of life who look successful on paper but feel misaligned inside. They have built careers, businesses, families, reputations. They have done what was expected of them, and done it well. What has changed is not their ability but their relationship to how they are spending their time. It is an exhaustion rather than a crisis. Motivation still exists, but they are after meaning. The old goals do not pull like they used to. They do not want another productivity system, self-help framework or motivational push. They are not broken and they are not looking to be fixed. They value depth over hype, real conversation over performance. They are not trying to escape their life, they are trying to redesign it.