Journal · complete index
All publications
The complete Travely-Family archive in chronological order – from the earliest publications to the most recent.
Publications are grouped by year and ordered from earlier to later dates within each year.
Archive
2008
Archive
2010
Witch Hunt and Police Raid
Samui. High Season Today my friend and I were fined 300 roubles for riding without helmets. It was the first police dragnet in the history of our moped-riding in Thail…
Three Dangerous Adventures in a Tropical Paradise
Three Dangerous Adventures in a Tropical Paradise. First Mate’s Notes. Koh Samui, Thailand 🙂 I need to check my horoscope.... The stars seem to have had something omi…
Archive
2012
Malaysia. Langkawi: Where, What and How Much
Many Europeans flee the cold winter for the hot summer. More and more often, our compatriots stay in warmer climes—for example, Thailand—for extended periods. If you d…
Life in the Tropics. Sketches
On Coconut Palms in Bloom For the second morning in a row, I wake up because of the scent. Or rather, because of a delicate, sweetish, very pleasant fragrance. In the …
Archive
2013
Samui Reference Guide
What to Do on Samui (as Anywhere Else, Really) Rent a motorbike or a car and set off to explore the island, discovering your own “places of power.” You can find a map …
The Diamond Arm, or Why a Tourist Needs Medical Insurance
Gran Canaria 2012 and medical insurance The photos, apart from the first one, show the beauty of the Canary Islands, have little to do with the subject of this report,…
Archive
2014
Cádiz. It’s Good to Live Among Kind People :)
Cádiz. Spain’s Atlantic coast. Cádiz—just about the oldest city in Europe—doesn’t look particularly European in places, stubbornly recalling its Arab past. Yet after e…
In the Canal Near Rome—with My Leg Not Severed by an Anchor (Hallelujah)
Our stay in the canal near Rome is memorable for a bicycle and an anchor The Fiumicino Canal near Rome, with its laid-back jumble of summer cottages and repair yards, …
There Was a Storm; the Ropes Tore the Skin from Our Hands. Messina, Force 11
When we berthed alongside at the very end of the visitors’ pontoon in the marina of the Sicilian town of Messina that afternoon, we had no idea what kind of night lay …
From Gibraltar to Montenegro. Reflections on Our Mediterranean Passage
From Gibraltar to Montenegro \article being updated\ 20 May 2014 And so we covered more than 1,600 miles to Malta, and another 500 to Montenegro—a total of 2,100 nauti…
Montenegro — by Sea
By Yacht to Montenegro Montenegro greeted us on the last day of April with anything but warmth; when we arrived, it was actually freezing. It was raining, and Monteneg…
How We Lived Under a State of Emergency: Chronicles of a Flood. Part 1
How We Lived Under a State of Emergency: Chronicles of a Flood. Part 1 28 May 2014 Photo: The “Dragon’s Teeth” rocks in the Katun riverbed Photo: The same rocks before…
A Sailor Will Find the Sea Anywhere. How We Lived under a State of Emergency. Flood Chronicles. Part 2
A Sailor Will Find the Sea Anywhere. How We Lived under a State of Emergency. Flood Chronicles. Part 2 The beginning of the deluge — How We Lived under a State of Emer…
Choosing a Yacht. Buying a Sailing Yacht. Nauticat 40.
Nauticat 40 Technical Specifications of the Nauticat 40 Sailing Yacht Hull Type: Fin with rudder on skeg Rig Type: Staysail Ketch LOA: 39.37′ / 12.00m LWL: 32.81′ / 10…
Dengue Fever
Tropical Fever (Dengue) We encountered this scourge in Thailand , on the island of Koh Samui , well settled by families from all across Russia, where we spent the wint…
Heading Out to Sea. Preparing the Home Front
Heading Out to Sea. Preparing the Home Front A cosy little house against a backdrop of mountains . Smoke rising from the chimney... That’s on the outside. Inside, thou…
The Montenegro–Malta Passage and the Torn-Out Bowsprit
Montenegro–Malta 3 a.m. Malta is only some 20–30 miles away. The wind is freshening, and 23 knots are blowing almost straight on the nose, kicking up a shelf sea (perh…
Naval Exercises of the Order of Malta
Naval Exercises of the Order of Malta We are still staying in Malta. A week ago, our Navtex (a fax, in simple terms) started buzzing and spitting out long receipts. Se…
Malta. On the Way Back from the Regatta
Malta. On the Way Back from the Regatta Our Lady Mary in a marina in Malta . Taken from the tender (also known as the dinghy, the inflatable boat, or the ship’s boat).…
Malta on Christmas Eve. People, Prices and All That
Malta on Christmas Eve I used to think that life on a yacht was one long adventure. Exotic places, action, discoveries every day—guaranteed. In reality, most of life a…
Christmas, Malta and Fire Safety
Christmas, Malta and Fire Safety Notes of the First Mate This year was my first proper Catholic Christmas. The real thing—and... with a bit of fire! Our floating home …
Archive
2015
Tribute for 12 Years. Malta. Sails
Tribute for 12 Years. Malta. Sails Malta still won’t let us go. First there were storms, and we didn’t go anywhere. Then we waited a long time for the new sails wh…
Storms and Torn Sails: From Malta to Gibraltar
From Malta to Gibraltar ...We barely slept that night. I couldn’t because of the noise and the rolling; Andrey was bounding around the deck until three in the morning.…
Laaand!!! After 12 Days on the Open Sea
Laaand!!! After 12 Days on the Open Sea Guys, we’re ashore! Twelve days on the open sea, with no land and not even any ships. We made it almost to Gibraltar —1,100 mil…
A Dialogue with a Pod of Dolphins
A Dialogue with a Pod of Dolphins. 200 miles to Gibraltar. Our eleventh day at sea. All the storms are behind us. Today is a wonderful day: the swell is low and long, …
Brave Young Sailors and Worried Busy-bodies
Brave Young Sailors. Yachtboard Fun Lady Mary was being prepared for the Atlantic passage in Almerimar. It is a small town in southern Spain, about 120 miles from Gibr…
How We Sailed Through Gibraltar
How We Sailed Through Gibraltar All day, until we emerge into the Atlantic, dolphins escort us. There seems to be no end to them, apparently constantly taking turns so…
It Blew Hard After the Calm. Across the Ocean to the Canaries
It Blew Hard After the Calm. Across the Ocean to the Canaries Previously — How We Sailed Through Gibraltar By evening, a following wind had sprung up (in Spanish, that…
The Island That Doesn’t Exist. La Graciosa
The Island That Doesn’t Exist. La Graciosa Prologue... It is generally accepted that there are seven Canary Islands. Tourist websites add, with due political correctne…
Informalities in the Canaries
Informalities in the Canaries for those travelling by sea As we had expected, no one is particularly interested in whether sailors have visas (so far, on this side of …
La Graciosa. What the Canaries Have in Common with the Wild West
La Graciosa. What the Canaries Have in Common with the Wild West Our first inhabited island along the way is La Graciosa. They say around 500 people live on the island…
Of the Canaries and the Gardens of Eden
Of the Canaries and the Gardens of Eden We managed to slip across from Gran Canaria to Tenerife before the storm. The marina staff actually congratulated us on it. A b…
Tenerife. How Our Dinghy Went Looking for Caves
How Our Dinghy Went Looking for Caves The wind is roaming gloomily with the clouds. Nastya settled down to her schoolwork, while we set off from Masca to Los Gigantes …
Tenerife. Masca for the Whole Family
Masca for the Whole Family We try to avoid places overrun by tourists. But some simply have to be visited because of their wondrous beauty. Masca Gorge and the village…
Tenerife. Masca for the Whole Family. Continued
Masca for the Whole Family. Continued The story begins here — Masca for the Whole Family At night, a light was burning in Masca. The evening before, through the binocu…
Yacht Kids
Yacht Kids In Tenerife, at the Las Galletas marina, we came across a well-lived-in cruising yacht flying the Dutch flag. Canvas awnings, vegetables and fruit in nets b…
La Isla Bonita
Next stop — La Isla Bonita Up at 4 a.m., and just fifteen minutes later we weigh anchor and leave Masca for La Palma. 52 miles, and so far there is not a breath of win…
La Isla Bonita. Continued
La Isla Bonita. Continued The beginning — La Isla Bonita La Palma is one of the world’s highest islands in terms of height relative to area (the third, I think). Its h…
La Palma: In Search of a Quiet Haven and Life at the Bottom
La Palma: In Search of a Quiet Haven Clocking up the miles by car around La Palma , the captain and first mate never gave up hope of anchoring off the island. We drove…
We’re Sailing to the End of the Earth
We’re Sailing to the End of the Earth We set sail tonight for El Hierro, the end of the earth in the pre-Columbian era. For their farewell promenade around La Palma, t…
El Hierro. Arrival at the Edge of the Earth
To the edge of the earth At 1:45 on 9 April, Lady Mary cast off from the marina on La Palma and, with a steady light beam wind, set a course for the island of El Hierr…
Setting the Sun by Hand, or Why Sailors Need an Anchor Windlass
Why Sailors Need an Anchor Windlass The art of travelling is the art of changing plans. In the morning, as is customary in the Canary Islands, the wind abruptly shifte…
El Hierro. Europe’s Westernmost Lighthouse
El Hierro. Europe’s Westernmost Lighthouse Beyond it lies only the ocean. Before Columbus, people believed that this lighthouse stood on the boundary between the known…
Choosing a Yacht for Family Life. How to Buy a Sailing Yacht.
Choosing a Yacht Lady Mary came into our lives not so long ago, in 2013. We chose the yacht after spending a year studying yacht-sale websites almost every day and cor…
The Cost of Living on a Yacht
The cost of living on a yacht consists of: vessel insurance (more about that here — Yacht Insurance — Going for a Third Term ) routine yacht maintenance (comparable to…
Places Like This Are Shown in the Movies
Places Like This Are Shown in the Movies The northern coast of El Hierro. Punta Grande Hotel When we pulled up to a small, austere building made of volcanic stone, we …
Where Have the Canary Islands’ Indigenous People Gone?
Where Have the Canary Islands’ Indigenous People Gone? The Guinea Ecomuseum on El Hierro Having taken an interest in the history of the Canary Islands a long time ago,…
What Do We Do on the Yacht, and Don’t We Get Bored?
What We Do on the Yacht The first mate answers: — No, we don’t get bored ☺. We’ve been travelling for many years, and every time we came back, someone would inevitably…
How We Got Fresh Water. Illegally
How We Got Fresh Water After spending five days at anchor near the town of Mogán in the south of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, we decided to top up our water in…
Mum Was Right: Lying Is Wrong. The Sequel to Yesterday’s Story
Mum Was Right: Lying Is Wrong. The Sequel to Yesterday’s Story The story began here — Why Mum Taught Us to Tell the Truth Even at the Ends of the Earth. It’s a Small W…
Why Mum Taught Us to Tell the Truth Even at the Ends of the Earth. It’s a Small World
Why Mum Taught Us to Tell the Truth Even at the Ends of the Earth — ...And what are we going to tell her? — We’ll say we lost something. — What, are we all going in to…
Informalities: Leaving the Canary Islands Without Visas
Leaving the Canary Islands without visas. The departure procedure from Spain’s island territories deserves a story of its own. Over the past week, we left the Canary I…
Off to Africa
Off to Africa Arrival in Morocco , Agadir Marina. For three days, Lady Mary had been beating into the trade wind, aiming straight for the very point it was blowing fro…
Yacht Kids and the African Heat
The African Heat It came, descended upon us and knocked the wind out of us—that very African heat. At eight in the evening, a thermometer in town read +45°C. The air d…
From the Yacht to the Altai Mountains via Morocco
From the Yacht to the Altai Mountains Agadir–Marrakesh After giving both masts, jutting sadly into the African sky, a final hug, the crew of Lady Mary went ashore. The…
Moroccan Transit. The City of Fez. Another Cinderella Story
Another Cinderella Story “Who is that?” we asked Mohammed, pointing to a portrait of a lavishly dressed couple with two children. “The king and queen,” Mohammed replie…
Moroccan Transit. The City of Fez. Look, Don’t Buy
Look, Don’t Buy The story begins here — Moroccan Transit. The City of Fez. Another Cinderella Story The children were hungry. And no palace-courtyards could distract t…
Wind, Wind, You Are Mighty! How the Captain and Lady Mary Sailed from Morocco to the Canaries.
Wind, Wind, You Are Mighty! The Storm Begins At dawn we set out from Agadir ( Morocco ). Ahead lay 340 miles of Ocean. I mean, 340 miles is how far we have to go—the O…
She Runs Along Through the Waves, on... Sails Reefed Down as Far as They’ll Go :). How the Captain and Lady Mary Sailed from Morocco to the Canaries.
She Runs Along Through the Waves Part 2. (Part One — Wind, Wind, Mighty and Strong ) By morning it eases off; thirty knots already feels like a light breeze, and I unf…
Past Buyan Island, into the Realm of the Glorious... How the Captain and Lady Mary Sailed from Morocco to the Canaries
Past Buyan Island Part 3, the final part (Part 1 — Wind, Wind, Mighty Are You , Part 2 — On It Runs amid the Waves ) There’s something nerve-racking about approaching …
The Canaries Without a Visa: Continuing the Story
The Canaries Without a Visa: Continuing the Story. Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. The other day, like a respectable newly arrived citizen, I went to register my arrival at …
Farewell, Morocco and the Colours of the Eastern Bazaars
Farewell, Morocco Farewell, Morocco, we are flying home. It is such a shame that Fez was ours for only one day. I would gladly have stayed longer in that magical hotel…
Seasickness Remedies. Seasickness: Symptoms and Treatment
Seasickness remedies They say Admiral Nelson suffered from seasickness all his life. Our captain does not suffer from seasickness at all. And yet... A condition resemb…
Homeschooling on a Yacht
Homeschooling. Children on a Yacht “Mum, give me the tablet, quick—I can’t wait to do another French lesson now!” This isn’t a dream. It’s just that I’m sitting in the…
Children on a Yacht: Socialisation and Safety
Socialisation and safety Socialisation is one of the fundamental concerns people have about homeschooling children. Take a child out of school, tear them away from the…
What Dreams May Lead To. A Thriller with Elements of Melodrama
What Dreams May Lead To If you are a novice sailor, a voyage on a sailing yacht can bring some unexpected discoveries. Not at all the ones you dreamed of when you hear…
Where’s the Money, Zin? — Life on a Yacht
Where’s the money? HOW? How can anyone live without working? society demands. It’s time to bring some order to the sources that replenish sea travellers’ budgets, base…
Courage, a Young Sailor, Mountaineer Sergey Sokolov, and Navy Day
Courage, a young sailor, mountaineer Sergey Sokolov, and Navy Day. And mountains A clever man won’t go uphill (as mountaineer Sergey Sokolov liked to say) If Moscow is…
Better This Than Drink or the Common Cold: How My Father, Sergei Sokolov, Died
Better This Than Drink or the Common Cold: How My Father, Sergei Sokolov, Died 1 August 2004. The killer mountain K2. The Himalayas, the Karakoram Range, northern Paki…
Lanzarote. How We Were Blown Out of an Anchorage
Lanzarote. How We Were Blown Out of an Anchorage First Mate’s Diary, 10 May 2015 We had heard rumours that the southernmost marina on the island of Lanzarote was terri…
Visa for Thailand
Russian citizens do not need a visa for Thailand for stays of up to 30 days. In the past, when that period expired, our compatriots spending the winter there would tra…
Preparing for Life Aboard
Summer is over, and so is its sultry bliss... Everyone else’s sailing season is drawing to a close. With us, everything is back to front. We’re getting ready. We spent…
Sumatra with a Child Is Nothing to Be Afraid Of :)
Sumatra with a child is nothing to be afraid of :). Big cities and funny transport, adventures while changing connections and relaxation in the jungle. How to get to t…
Sumatra with a Child: A Jungle Trek
Sumatra with a Child: A Jungle Trek Part One of Our Sumatran Journey — Sumatra with a Child — Visiting the Orangutans The morning after arriving in Bukit Lawang, we fi…
Rolex Middle Sea Race 2014 — a Storm-Battered Regatta
A Storm-Battered Regatta Just over half a month remains until the Rolex Middle Sea Race, one of the Mediterranean’s most prestigious offshore races. The race has been …
Today Is World Maritime Day!
World Maritime Day A wonderful excuse not only to crack open a bottle of rum :), but also to give some thought to the sea itself... And here is what comes to mind: Eac…
Children. Sleep. And a Sailing Yacht
To understand what heeling and rolling on a yacht are like, imagine your house perched on a trampoline attached to a swing... 🙂 Under these conditions, the most ordin…
The Charm of Slow Travel
The Charm of Slow Travel. A Captain’s Notes. What is the charm of slow travel? There is no need to rush anywhere every day to keep up with a sightseeing schedule you i…
Around Gran Canaria. A Captain’s Travel Notes
Around Gran Canaria The passage from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Puerto de Mogán, around Gran Canaria, was hot and almost windless. Only the head sea left by two wee…
The Tale of a True Captain
The Tale of a True Captain. The whole truth from the first mate 🙂 I’ll skip the usual “despite the distance, we’re always together” and “always stay as wonderful as y…
Silver in the My Planet National Awards, or How Competitions Are Won
Silver in the My Planet National Awards, or How Competitions Are Won The fanfares are sounding, the timpani are singing, and a flute is quietly whimpering: “Hooray! Ho…
Ready, Steady, Go! — A Race Across the Atlantic
A Race Across the Atlantic. The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC-2015) is due to start from Gran Canaria on 22 November. The maxi yachts will cover the 2,700 miles to …
The Leading Travel Portal Interviewed Us
The Leading Travel Portal Interviewed Us By Svetlana Chanilova An honest traveller’s account of where childhood dreams can lead, whether a dream is worth the hardships…
Marinas and Anchorages of the Canary Islands
Reference Information Canary Islands. Marinas and anchorages we visited between February 2015 and March 2016. Prices are per day for a 40-foot yacht. Information updat…
Creating a Vegetable Garden on a Sailing Yacht
Creating a vegetable garden on a sailing yacht. And what are we going to eat out in the ocean? Besides tinned food, we’ll eat our own home-grown produce (well, “eat” m…
Drying the Oars for Christmas
Drying the Oars for Christmas Sanding and painting, and electrical problems on the eve of Christmas Eve From the captain’s letter El Hierro. When I hauled the yacht ou…
Archive
2016
Christmas with the International Yachting Crowd
Christmas with the international yachting crowd. Who are all these people, and where have they come from on their yachts—the ones who roasted a ram on a spit on Christ…
Silly Pictures and a Sewing Workshop Aboard the Yacht. A Potpourri :)
Silly Pictures and a Sewing Workshop Aboard the Yacht Preparing for the Move My daughters and I are busily packing for our move aboard the yacht to join the captain, a…
10 Observations from Four Days of Moving Back onto the Yacht. On Friends
10 Observations from Four Days of Moving Back onto the Yacht The Crew Lady Mary Is Back on the Yacht I’ve somehow been incredibly lucky with my friends. I have no idea…
On Borscht Aboard a Yacht and Looking Dashing and Slightly Idiotic ))
On Borscht Aboard a Yacht Moving aboard the yacht, stocking up on provisions, and preparing to sail This week is devoted to packing, rearranging and drying out the loc…
Canary Carnival. 4 Facts and Lots of Photos
Canary Carnival. Tenerife The main event of the Canary Carnival caught up with us on the island of Tenerife. During Carnival, it is better to travel by bus to the capi…
Waiting for the Storm
Waiting for the Storm The weather forecast promised winds strengthening to gale force. At times like this, it is important not to leave the yacht unattended at anchor …
How We Saved Our Clothes, and Then Got Rescued Ourselves
How We Saved Our Clothes Strong winds in the Canary Islands are nothing unusual. When you live aboard a sailing yacht with children, something is bound to get blown in…
An Encounter with Whales in the Atlantic and Other Tales of Life Aboard a Yacht
An encounter with whales. How, before our voyage to Africa, we spent a month practising self-sufficient life aboard the yacht, played with whales between the Canary Is…
“A Family of Farmers’ Triumphant Exit from Their Circumnavigation,” or Our Canary Islands–Senegal Passage :)
And in Senegal, and in Senegal... At anchor on the outskirts of Dakar . We’ve made it through a difficult passage—from the Canary Islands to Senegal . The first mate a…
Canary Islands–Senegal. Arrival
Canary Islands–Senegal. Arrival Life on our ocean passage to Senegal became bearable after 12 March. The swell subsided, and the wind gradually slunk away with it. The…
Greetings to the Atlantic from Baba Yaga and the Polite Russians
Greetings to the Atlantic In the depths of the Atlantic, voices can be heard from big ships and small sailing boats. Or perhaps they are otherworldly forces... And it …
Senegal and the Senegalese — from the Anchorage
The Senegalese at the Dakar anchorage On our “arrivalling” 🙂 in Senegal, Lady Mary disentangled herself from all the traps set by the local fishermen and headed for t…
The Tale of How We Sailed to Senegal Without a Visa
Getting a Senegalese visa on arrival by yacht. The captain’s notes When it comes to visas for Russians travelling to Senegal, the internet offers three versions: — Tim…
The Joy and Sorrow of Gorée Island. Senegal by Sailing Yacht
Lady Mary off Gorée Island The best place in urban Senegal ! A staging post for slave traders. Who lives inside an anti-aircraft gun, and do Russians surrender when th…
Shit Cruising and Other Peculiarities of Anchoring in Dakar. Senegal Under Sail
The peculiarities of anchoring in Dakar. Shit cruising 😉 Prologue AAAA!!!! OOOO!!!! Go on, get out of here! I yell at the top of my lungs, leaping around the mainmast…
From Dakar to the Saloum. Senegal by Sailing Yacht
From Dakar to the Saloum It is not worth sailing from Dakar to the Saloum at night: the waterways are thickly laced with fishing nets. Your brain and eyes get a workou…
The Mangrove Delta of the Saloum. Senegal by Sailing Yacht
The Saloum Delta. Its Inhabitants The first living creatures we saw that morning in the Senegalese backcountry were a pair of pelicans. They glided sedately among the …
Everything’s Fine: We’re Sinking! Senegal by Sailing Yacht
No one in the crew yet suspects that water has begun pouring into the bilge... are we sinking? Plan B According to our original plan, we wanted to make our way through…
Big Changes. Senegal by Sailing Yacht
Big Changes Changing Scenery After the town of Foundiougne, the mangroves came to an end. “The baobabs came out onto the hillside,” and the great dry land began. The j…
Turn the Yacht Around and ALGA! Senegal by Sailing Yacht
They say there is no word for “back” in the Turkic languages. And “forward” is “algA”... There’s a joke about this: An Altai army is galloping through a mountain valle…
From Senegal to The Gambia by Yacht
Course: The Gambia On our way back to the ocean along the Saloum, we tried to ride the ebb current and follow our own track, deftly skirting shallows, banks and bars. …
Clearing In by Yacht in The Gambia
Captain’s notes. We’ve arrived. Lady Mary dropped anchor opposite the old ship-repair yard in Banjul, in a place with the optimistic name Half Die. It was Friday, and …
A Sailing Yacht for a Circumnavigation. For Living Aboard. Buying a Yacht.
A Yacht for a Circumnavigation Nauticat 40, built in 1988 The circumnavigation yacht Lady Mary Length 12 m, maximum beam 4 m, draught 1.77 m. Ketch/cutter rig (two mas…
Lamin Lodge. Baba Yaga’s Fairytale Tower. Sailing the Gambia by Yacht
Lamin Lodge. How we chased monkeys around the “uninhabited ruins,” the peculiarities of African architecture, travelling salesmen, and our first African friend. An epi…
The Flora and Fauna of The Gambia. People, Animals and Fallen Baobabs
The Flora and Fauna of The Gambia I’ll have to add an epigraph :). The internet can’t cope, so the post is being uploaded backwards, in little pieces, with no chance t…
Sailing Passage from The Gambia to Cape Verde
Sailing Passage from The Gambia to Cape Verde
People Just Don’t Believe We Sailed from Africa on a Yacht with Our Catch—What Are We to Do? )))
We sailed from Africa on a yacht with our catch
The Gambia. The Goings-on at the Lamin Lodge Anchorage. The French :)
The Gambia’s largest and busiest anchorage lies 5 miles from the capital. It is the same old Lamin Lodge. Here we are aboard Lady Mary, along with a couple of dozen bo…
Malaysia
Malaysia. About the Country Malaysians are friendly and disinclined to conflict. The main ethnic groups in Malaysia are Malays, Chinese and Indians. English is widely …
Cyprus
The Island of Aphrodite Divided into the north (the Turkish sector, the partially recognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) and the south (the Greek sector, the …
Thailand
About visas Russians do not need a visa for a 30-day stay in the “Land of Smiles.” To find out what to do next, read here >> 🙂 About the King A kingdom ruled by the w…
Morocco
About visas for Morocco Russian citizens may stay in Morocco without a visa for three months. If a Russian traveller has a burning desire to remain in the country long…
The Canary Islands on the Map. Yacht. Holidays. Tenerife. Gran Canaria
The Canary Islands on the Map. A Remote Overseas Territory of Spain Although the Canary Islands are geographically not Europe at all, but rather Africa, Spanish rule d…
5+1 Facts About The Gambia
Fact 1 — Crime and Safety Every Gambian hastens to assure you that The Gambia is hospitable and safe. When we go to the main market, our local friends advise us to kee…
Senegal
Visa for Senegal — the rules change often. Sometimes no visa is required, sometimes it is issued at the border, and sometimes you have to obtain one in advance at home…
The Route of a Family’s Round-the-World Voyage with Children Aboard the Sailing Yacht Lady Mary
A Round-the-World Sailing Route via the Great Capes and Antarctica with Children Travely-Family aboard the sailing yacht Lady Mary Travely-Family’s Round-the-World Rou…
Liveability of a Yacht for a Round-the-World Voyage
Is It Comfortable to Live Aboard a Yacht By liveability, we mean how comfortable it is not merely to holiday aboard a sailing yacht or sail for two or three weeks, but…
The Gambia
The Gambia The country of The Gambia—a coastal strip along the river of the same name—extends like a long tongue 400 km into Senegal, while its western coast is washed…
Malta
Malta An independent island nation in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and Tunisia. A member of the European Union; the currency is the euro. The official languag…
James Island. Sailing Up the Gambia
James Island. Up the River Gambia to a UNESCO World Heritage Site At half past six in the morning, reveille was sounded aboard, and we began preparing for our main jou…
From an Oil Spill to a Tropical Storm—One Day in the Life Aboard a Yacht, in Pictures :)
The day began with an oil spill and ended with the anticipation of a tropical storm . Picture One: Anthropogenic “Beauty” In the morning, during lessons in swimming un…
The Kingdom of Crocodiles and... Flamingos. Sailing the Gambia River
The Kingdom of Crocodiles and... Flamingos What instructions children are given in the mangrove wilds, what a crocodile had for breakfast, and why Gambian fishermen vi…
How We Capsized in the Dinghy. Cape Verde Islands
This story happened to the crew of Lady Mary two and a half times in the space of twenty-four hours, and it did not teach us to sit still and behave ourselves. But it …
If You’re Planning to Cross an Ocean: Across the Atlantic on a Sailing Yacht
Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can... 🙂 Before leaving a faraway country for one even farther afield, you need to make sure, well in advance, that you: Try the…
Atlantic Crossing. Five Minutes In—Flight Normal :)
Atlantic Crossing. Five Minutes In—Flight Normal 🙂 Days 1–3 The crew is almost in good spirits, and there is almost some wind. For the first day and a half, short, co…
Atlantic Crossing. Days 4–5
Atlantic Crossing. Days 4–5 Not a single vessel since the second day of the passage. We switched on the radio a couple of times—it just crackled dismally; AIS says we’…
Atlantic Passage. Days 6–8
Atlantic Passage. Days 6–8 We’re exactly halfway across the ocean! For the first time in the past six days, a ship passed along the horizon, reminding us that shipping…
Atlantic Crossing. Days 9–10
Atlantic Crossing. Days 9–10 From Storm to Calm During the night, a squally wind hit us with a heavy downpour. And off Lady Mary went, galloping over the waves as if o…
Atlantic Crossing. Days 11–12
Atlantic Crossing. Days 11–12 The season of momentous dates has begun 🙂 Yesterday, 1 October, Ladunya turned five and a half. Our little junior crew member really isn…
Atlantic Crossing. Days 13–14
Atlantic Crossing. Days 13–14 Two weeks in the Ocean of Calm. To be honest, one day would have been enough, just for contrast. Three days without wind in 35-degree hea…
Atlantic Crossing. Days 15–16
Atlantic Crossing. Days 15–16 For the first time in ten days, ships appeared during the night. Or rather, their lights did. Three faint patches of light off the starbo…
Atlantic Crossing. Days 17–18
Atlantic Crossing. Days 17–18 Yesterday was cool, thanks to the clouds. Of course, on a day like that we get zero electricity, but at least there’s air and shade. The …
Atlantic Crossing. Days 19–20
Atlantic Crossing. Days 19–20 Calms again. Yesterday we were still making some sort of progress. Our beautifully spread sails carried us towards our destination at a s…
Atlantic Crossing. Days 21–22
Atlantic Crossing. Days 21–22 Trade winds? Nope, never heard of them! 😉 All night we were a motorboat, which allowed Lady Mary to reach the wind by morning )). A five…
Atlantic Crossing. Days 23–24
Atlantic Crossing. Days 23–24 Laaaaand!!!! At 17:10 ship’s time, the 23rd day of our transatlantic passage began. The captain decided to approach the unfamiliar shore …
The Islands of French Guiana. Ron Weasley's Nightmare and Lots of Wild Monkeys
The Islands of French Guiana. Ron Weasley's Nightmare and Lots of Wild Monkeys And Our Feet Stood on Solid Ground After 24 days on the rolling surface of the ocean, th…
Satellite Communications for a Circumnavigation. Satellite Communication Systems
Satellite communications for a circumnavigation. Equipment. Weather forecasts. Email. Budget By popular demand, we’ll explain how we have set up satellite communicatio…
Conquering the World, French-Style
Conquering the World, French-Style. An introductory—and geopolitical—chapter shedding light on why there are so many French cruisers Let’s dispel straight away the myt…
Clearing In by Yacht in Cape Verde (the Cape Verde Islands)
Clearing in by yacht in Cape Verde (the Cape Verde Islands). A brief point-by-point guide Clearing in by yacht in Cape Verde (also known as the Cape Verde Islands) was…
Five Steps into French Guiana
Five Steps into French Guiana—or How We Landed in the Lap of the Gods Can You Stay Illegally in an Overseas Department of France (and for How Long!). How Sea Gypsies L…
French Guiana. The Shore-Side Brotherhood :)
French Guiana. The Shore-Side Brotherhood. What life looks like after sailing around the world, whether children are taught to shoot, and what seasoned sailors know ab…
Life and Everyday Living Aboard a Yacht. South America
Life and everyday living aboard a yacht. South America. Where we berth, where we go, what we do, how we live... — a vivid account of life aboard a yacht No one in the …
Murphy’s Laws for Sailors
Murphy’s Laws for Sailors or 20 Rules of Everyday Life Aboard a Yacht 🙂 Three years of living aboard a yacht as a family, a passage across the Atlantic Ocean , temper…
A Night Among Sharks. Across the Atlantic from French Guiana to the Caribbean
A Night Among Sharks The three main attractions of French Guiana—the jungle, the prison and the space centre—will not be covered in this report. But there will be a gl…
The Cape Verde Islands on the Map: Sal, São Vicente and Santiago
The Cape Verde Islands (Cabo Verde) on the map. Anchorages and the only marina. What is where and how much it costs. Healthcare, sights, a little history and lots of p…
Links to Sailing Websites, Personal Pages and Blogs
Our links to sailing websites Here we decided to collect all the links to sailing websites , personal pages and blogs that we found useful, interesting and inspiring A…
Passage from French Guiana to the Caribbean. Days 1–3
Passage from French Guiana to the Caribbean. Days 1–3 The channel of the Maroni River, which forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname, runs so close to the …
Passage from French Guiana to the Caribbean, Days 4–5
Passage from French Guiana to the Caribbean, Days 4–5 Venezuela is abeam (directly off to the side). The weather is lovely: hot, with a swell, but almost no wind. We’r…
Passage from French Guiana to the Caribbean. Days 6–7
Passage from French Guiana to the Caribbean. Days 6–7 “If some crap can happen, it will definitely happen at night.” — This needs to be added to the list of Murphy’s l…
Gone with the Wind—or How We Caught a Yacht in the Ocean
At the anchorage off the southern tip of Tobago there are six sailing yachts, three motor yachts and a couple of excursion boats. Some are anchored, some are on moorin…
Yacht Insurance — Going for a Third Term
Is yacht insurance necessary? As with a car, a yacht can be insured in various ways. Here are the main ones: something like comprehensive insurance — full cover someth…
Is It Easy Being a Caribbean Father Christmas?
How to Help Father Christmas When You’re in Grenada 🙂 If Father Christmas didn’t have helpers all over the world, the old fellow wouldn’t last long. Is it easy, at hi…
Archive
2017
Tobago. From Repairs to Celebration
Tobago. From Repairs to Celebration If something important that holds your mast up has torn away in the ocean, thank God you made it :). Then get on with the repairs, …
The Past and Present of Pirate Island: Tobago
The Past and Present of Pirate Island: Tobago The history of its discovery, an ancient relict forest, a search for waterfalls, and the bay where an Englishman once liv…
Pirate’s Bay: Christmas, or Why Have an Accordion on a Yacht?
Pirate’s Bay: Christmas, or Why Have an Accordion on a Yacht? Pirate’s Bay—pirate-free for 200 years; how Swedish families live aboard a yacht. Cruiser get-togethers: …
Caribbean Gallop. Grenada: Plans and Circumstances
Caribbean Gallop. Grenada: Plans and Circumstances Why, of all the ways to travel around the Caribbean islands, did we end up galloping? New Year in the West Indies: m…
Caribbean Islands. Clearance
Caribbean Islands. Clearing In on a Yacht The most interesting yacht clearance procedure is in Trinidad and Tobago. On the other Caribbean islands, the formalities are…
Martinique. Coffee, Friends, and Headless Joséphine
Martinique. Coffee, Friends, and Headless Joséphine Having arrived at the last French Caribbean island, Saint Martin, the whole crew fondly recalls our previous little…
Passage to Cuba. From the Lesser Antilles to the Mysterious Turks and Caicos
Passage to Cuba. From the Lesser Antilles to the mysterious Turks and Caicos. What people write and read on the open ocean, what big stupid fish will bite, and a littl…
Turks and Caicos. Who’s Painting the Water Here?
Turks and Caicos. Who’s painting the water here if the island is uninhabited? Spearfishing, life à la Robinson Crusoe, and a not-quite-real picnic As we approach the f…
Passage to Cuba. Police Off an Uninhabited Island
Passage to Cuba. Police Off an Uninhabited Island. Waiting for the Wind with the Inhabitants of a Coral Reef Having worked out the number of days and stops remaining b…
Cuba on the Horizon
Cuba on the horizon. A meeting on an uninhabited island. How we sailed over to visit some South Africans and stocked up on giant shells The boat rang with the captain’…
The Plywood over Paris, or How We Sailed Right Past Cuba
The Plywood over Paris, or How We Sailed Right Past Cuba. How, on Dad’s special day, just before entering port, Lady Mary’s engine died in a stiff headwind—and where w…
How We Received the Bahamian Border Guards
How We Received the Bahamian Border Guards With no engine, Lady Mary spent the rest of the night bucking through a strong close-hauled wind, making 3 miles an hour. Th…
Cuba. Clearing In by Yacht. Visa and Customs Formalities
Cuba. Clearing in by yacht. How we covered the final miles, what American aircraft ask Russian yachts, and who is interested in the crew’s body temperatures. . Repairs…
Cuba. First Impressions
Cuba. First Impressions When, while completing the formalities, we said that our young sailor’s name was Lada, the inspector beamed: “Oh, like the car!” We did not yet…
Cuba. A Second Look
Cuba. A Second Look. How a planned economy affects digestion, what the shops, cafés, ice-cream parlours and public toilets have to offer, and why, after her first walk…
Open Meeting — EVERYTHING BEGINS WITH A DREAM
Guys, if you’re coming, please register on our website. We need to know whether there’ll be enough room in the hall 🙂 The event will take place in Novosibirsk at 8A V…
To Cuba by Plane: How We Nearly Got Busted for Importing Drugs
To Cuba by plane. How we nearly got busted for importing drugs. Can you bring a mountain of dried herbs into Cuba? The crew returns to its floating home “What’s this?”…
On Buckwheat, Russians and Foreign Lands
On Buckwheat, Russians and Foreign Lands. The First Mate’s Musings While Making Porridge Aboard the Yacht I’ll add my two cents’ worth about how we Russians need buckw…
We’re Leaving for the Yucatán
We’re leaving for the Yucatán, Mexico. 300 miles against the Gulf Stream “If you’re holding an elephant by the hind leg and it’s trying to run away, the best thing to …
How Ten Siberians from Three Yachts Met by Chance in Havana
How ten Siberians from three yachts met by chance in Havana. What are the odds of meeting, in a port on the other side of the world, a crew from your own city? — Cuban…
Sail! We Rrrripped the Sail!..
Sail! We Rrrripped the Sail!.. How to rip €4,000 out of the budget in four minutes 🙂 We are already in Mexico. We spent a week in the colourful bay off Isla Mujeres a…
Travel First-Aid Kit. What to Pack in a First-Aid Kit for a Seaside Trip with Children
The Traveller’s First-Aid Kit First-aid kit: how to put one together and what to include, plus the finer points and additional medicines needed for long journeys and l…
The Maya: Where They Lived and Where They Disappeared To
Where did the Maya disappear to? What have we forgotten, and who do we confuse them with? What does the Soviet scholar Yuri Knorozov have to do with the Maya legacy? A…
Mexico by Yacht and Car. Chichén Itzá
A Holiday from the Yacht Who are real cruising sailors? People who repair their yachts in various beautiful places. Which is exactly what we spent three weeks doing af…
Road Trip to the Great Maya Pyramids — Chichén Itzá
A road trip through Mexico, or how to become a headless captain—innocent amusements and sacrifices among the ancient Maya. Mexico by Car Mexico ranks second in the wor…
The Horror of the Night Jungle
The horror of the night jungle. Who frightens travellers in the jungles of Mexico. What Darwin, Freud, a booming bass voice and testicle size have to do with one anoth…
Summer on a Yacht, the Heat, a Diary
Summer on a yacht, the heat, a diary. The psychology of life aboard: how to turn a young sailor into a human being. The crew’s secrets of contraception. Spearfishing a…
How to Climb a Mast Using Climbing Equipment
How to climb a mast. Video. Nowadays, with electronic navigation software, there is no longer any need to climb the mast to make out distant land. But if a halyard has…
Farewell to Mainland Mexico and Friends. Journal
We’ve left for the islands. Journal. Farewell to mainland Mexico and friends. What does it mean when there are too many women aboard one boat? A yacht diving platform,…
How a Tropical Storm Came Our Way
How a tropical storm came our way. Warnings, preparations, unnecessary and sensible fuss, a storm watch and its aftermath Summer is hurricane season in tropical region…
Three Modes of Life Aboard a Yacht
Three modes of life aboard a yacht. On extended stays in port and at anchor. The pros, cons, and examples of everyday tropical life at anchor. Lots of photos with Mexi…
Our Little Town’s Festivities
Our Little Town’s Festivities. Why does a yachtsman need weather forecasters when you can tell there’s a cyclone by the awnings being ripped skyward? How to pay proper…
Transatlantic Menu. A Food Chronicle of an Adult-and-Child Crew for All 23 Days Under Sail. Passage from Cabo Verde to French Guiana.
Transatlantic Menu. A Food Chronicle of an Adult-and-Child Crew for All 23 Days Under Sail This is a new section! There will be a link here — General information on pr…
An Education Post
An education post. The hottest topic on board. The post and readers’ comments from the social networks Facebook and VK We are now into the second week of heated debate…
Time to Get Out of Here
Time to get out of here. Storm season, babies aboard during a thunderstorm, playing shipwreck, and rotating squalls Lady Mary is bringing to an end her longest stay si…
If You Don’t Have a Dog, or How to Save Food While Travelling: A Life Hack
If you don’t have a dog, or how to save food on a sea passage. This post is for those who love good food and absolutely hate throwing perfectly edible food overboard. …
The Galley
The Galley — an introductory mini-article. Does the crew’s diet depend on the weather at sea? The cook’s tools on a long passage. Plus links on organising meals aboard…
Provision List for a Transatlantic Passage and How Long Food Keeps in Tropical Seas. Fresh-Water Supplies and Consumption, Waste Aboard a Yacht. Our Experience
Provision List for a Transatlantic Passage and How Long Food Keeps in Tropical Seas. Fresh-Water Supplies and Consumption, Waste Aboard a Yacht. Our experience Lady Ma…
The Galley — It’s All About the Subtleties of Cooking While Travelling! How to Preserve Supplies and... Your Sanity
Food on a long journey is not just a source of fibre and vitamins, but also fuel for the crew’s morale. It has to be tasty and varied. To stop a hungry crew from feedi…
Along the Edge of Hurricane Irma—Under Sail
Along the Edge of Hurricane Irma—Under Sail. Chronicles of Crossing the Caribbean Sea Along the Edge of a Hurricane, Hoping for a Fair Wind. Days 1–2 Goodbye, Mexico! …
Along the Edge of Hurricane Irma—Under Sail. It Has Begun!
Along the edge of Hurricane Irma—under sail. Chronicles of crossing the Caribbean Sea along the edge of the hurricane, counting on fair winds. Days 3–4. That very wind…
Along the Edge of Hurricane Irma—Under Sail. A Waterspout and... Birds
Along the Edge of Hurricane Irma—Under Sail. Crossing the Caribbean Sea along the edge of the hurricane. Days 5–6. Shifting winds, a waterspout, kamikaze passengers, a…
Along the Edge of Hurricane Irma—Under Sail. The Pirates of “Zero” Island
...Six boats with 40-horsepower outboards are circling Lady Mary. Black faces grin at us, but for some reason I picture wolves baring their teeth, saliva dripping from…
Along the Edge of Hurricane Irma—Under Sail. Days 7–8. About Birds
Along the edge of the hurricane—under sail. Days 7–8. About birds. Mass deaths among swifts fleeing Irma, and smuggling aboard an oil tanker It’s a good thing people c…
Along the Edge of Hurricane Irma—Under Sail. Lightning and... Silence )
Along the edge of Hurricane Irma—under sail. Days 8–11. The most terrifying lightning in our seafaring history, dancing on the coachroof, and musings.... What if we go…
Along the Edge of Hurricane Irma—Under Sail. Storm
Along the Edge of Hurricane Irma—Under Sail. Day 12. Storm and Arrival in Colombia The engine coughed I n the morning we wallowed in the calms, with 40 miles left to C…
Video — Weighing Anchor Under Sail
Video — weighing anchor under sail. Children under sail, with Central America’s premier Caribbean resort on the horizon It’s rare for a video to make it all the way to…
How the Young Sailor and I Scared a Police Officer
How the Young Sailor and I Scared a Police Officer. Do you have to pay the police? On corruption on Mexico’s roads, drug couriers’ routes and police toilets. What is T…
Guatapé and the Mysterious Rock: Colombia by Car
Guatapé and the Mysterious Rock: Colombia by Car. A photo report. Sooo much colour and so many photos! Well, it’s getting embarrassing not to have published anything f…
Halloween and the Captain’s Birthday
Two in one. How yachtsmen and sea gypsies celebrate Halloween and a birthday in a Colombian shipyard and in another South American outpost, aboard a Russian yacht moor…
What Life Is Like for a Sailor in a Colombian Shipyard
A Colombian tropical industrial zone. The devil isn’t as black as he’s painted ). Although sometimes it’s not only the devil they paint, but sailors too It turns out t…
A Barrel of Honey and a Spoonful of Tar in a Colombian Industrial Zone
A Barrel of Honey and a Spoonful of Tar in a Colombian Industrial Zone. How the right approach helps you survive repairs in an inhospitable place. Who lives here and h…
How to Set Sail Around the World. A Film
A circumnavigation through the eyes of those taking part—a man, a woman, a teenager and a child. A film by the Travely-Family sailing expedition. Guess why we disappea…
How We Scraped the Keel on Our First Reefs
How we scraped the keel on our first reefs. From the shipyard to the Rosario Islands. Rosario means “rose,” doesn’t it? How we picked our way through the reefs, and ho…
Underwater Sculpture Park. Grenada
Underwater Sculpture Park. Grenada. A short video sketch. We’ve been meaning for ages to write about the underwater wonders of the Caribbean Sea and show you a little …
Colombia–Panama. Passage Chronicles
Colombia–Panama. Passage Chronicles The drug traffickers’ route. From calms to squalls, a broken mainsail fitting, a headwind, anchoring in pitch darkness among reefs.…
In the Land of the Kuna Indians. Guna Yala
In the Land of the Kuna Indians. Guna Yala /Scars on a coral reef, a shocking discovery, war with mathematics, spearfishing. A squall and running aground at night. Pan…
San Blas. Running Aground at Night
San Blas. Running aground at night. In the land of the Kuna Yala Indians—continued. How we woke up aground in pitch darkness, trapped in a confined space. And that nig…
Archive
2018
The Marina with Crocodiles
The Marina with Crocodiles. Whether to replace the rigging. A cult from the Panamanian army, roaring jungle, crocodiles in the marina, and a dead town — all this is Sh…
A Mexican Visa for a Sailor
A Mexican visa for a sailor, and clearing a yacht in and out. Formalities, ports of entry, personal experience For Russian citizens flying into the country, a Mexican …
Tourists Aground, Phone on the Seabed
Tourists aground, phone on the seabed. A mixed bag of events, some fun and some not so much. How to refloat tourists properly, and at what depth a waterproof phone cea…
Homeschooling on a Yacht
Homeschooling on a yacht. If you are sure that switching your child to homeschooling will free them from routine and leave them heaps of spare time, you are mistaken. …
The Wonders of a Circumnavigation
The Wonders of a Circumnavigation. Pacific Pearls and the Pressing Matter of Internet Access Panama Business Morning bathes the city on the Pacific coast in gentle lig…
Pearl Diary
LAS PERLAS by yacht. Pearl Diary. Our first trip with friends in all our years of sailing around the world. Taboga Island Where are the guests? Today we’re expecting g…
How Wonderful That We’re All Here... The Las Perlas Archipelago
How wonderful that we’re all here... The Las Perlas Archipelago. Why the islands were called the Pearl Islands, and how much the world’s most astonishing pearl is wort…
Volcanic Island
Volcanic island. How the cap sank the dinghy, and what the potential “suitcase full of money” buried in the sand turned out to be. Lunch eaten with seashells and the a…
A Frenzy of Activity Before We Head Out into the Pacific
A frenzy of activity before we head out into the Pacific. A list of what has and hasn’t been done on the yacht. All about the crew and shipboard life It’s Sunday: we’r…
Pacific Ocean Expedition Plan
Pacific Ocean expedition plan. Waypoints, miles and photographs. A few formalities concerning Polynesia and the Galápagos. Why entering the Galápagos costs about as mu…
Desert Island
Desert island. Back in the Las Perlas Archipelago. About a desert island and a push through the jungle. A good catch, a barbecue and some very un-piratical treasure...…
A Sea of Birds and a Round-the-World Regatta
A Sea of Birds and a Round-the-World Regatta. A yacht straight out of a Jules Verne novel. Leaving an uninhabited island. Anchoring among bird colonies. A bird bazaar,…
Pacific Ocean. Passage Chronicles, Days 1–4
Pacific Ocean. Passage Chronicles, Days 1–4 The anchor chain was sucked into the locker along with the sticky sludge of the Panamanian seabed. Boom, boom, crash, splat…
A Week After Leaving Panama. The Pacific Ocean. Whales
A week after leaving Panama City. The Pacific Ocean. Whales, scary tales in the fog, and the little old moneylender Lady Mary is making steady progress through the eas…
9 Days in the Pacific: A Change of Wind, Stowaways, “Weary Corsairs” and Royal Navy Traditions
9 Days in the Pacific: A Change of Wind, Stowaways, Weary Corsairs and Royal Navy Traditions Why!?! No, but seriously, why!? Why do birds perch on the rail facing the …
Across the Pacific
Across the Pacific. Visitors on the open ocean: monster fish, drunken ducks, and daredevil helicopter pilots. 11 days under way. “We’ll have to convert the genoa and j…
The Equator!
The Equator! How we spent two hours bobbing about between two hemispheres. The equator-crossing ceremony. How we welcomed Neptune and his assistant and drank seawater.…
LAND!!!
LAND!!! The First Enchanted 13 Days After Leaving Panama City. From the companionway came a thunderous cry of “LAND!!!” What do people do when they see, in the middle …
SHARKS!!!
SHARKS!!! How we cleaned the boat and nearly got eaten 🙂 “After all, there are statistics! Far more people are killed by good-natured falling coconuts than by bloodth…
The Galápagos. Strict Rules
The Galápagos. Strict rules. Two anchors, sharks and electric rays. Clearing in by yacht. Government officials aboard Lady Mary. And how we saved our pets. We’ve arriv…
Zootopia — the Galápagos Islands
Zootopia — the Galápagos Islands. A trip ashore. What sea lions are for, where Lonesome George is now, who queues up at the fish market, and where dinosaurs live. Zoot…
A Watermaker on a Yacht
A watermaker on a yacht. Thoughts on whether it is worthwhile. Choosing a model. Purchase and installation. The watermaker in operation. What You Need to Know A waterm…
Fresh Water on a Yacht
Fresh water on a yacht. Water consumption regime for the crew of a round-the-world yacht. Drinking, cooking, washing and hygiene. How to conserve water Life on a yacht…
Windvane Self-Steering
Windvane self-steering. Also known as Iron Felix . What problems does windvane self-steering solve, and why is it better than an electric autopilot? Tech Talk from the…
Radar Detector
Radar Detector. Why You Need One and Why This One in Particular. A Life Hack from the Captain What do getting away with speeding on the road and safety on the Ocean ha…
Receiving Weather Forecasts via Satellite Internet
Receiving Weather Forecasts via Satellite Internet Algorithm, services, links, charts. The technical specifications of the satellite internet system we use are describ…
Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Galápagos Islands, Ecuador . Visas, prices, places, excursions. This is an overview article for the “Countries” section—we’ll gradually add details and amusing adventu…
We’re Leaving for Easter Island!
We’re leaving for Easter Island! Right now. The chain the captain is hauling in is already clanking. Extraordinary, but true! It was yesterday, of all days, that the l…
From the Galápagos to Easter Island. Days 1–3
From the Galápagos to Easter Island. Days 1–3 Sent via satellite link. A good speed is 2 knots. Even one and a half is good too. Because there is no wind. On 17 April,…
Galápagos–Easter Island Passage. Days 4–5
Galápagos–Easter Island passage. Beating into the wind. Days 4–5. Sent via satellite link. At last, we’ve caught the trade winds. The only trouble is that their direct…
Latest News from On Board. Passage to Easter Island. Day 6
Latest news from on board. Passage to Easter Island, Day 6. Sent via satellite. Hence the solid block of text. BUT! Anyway, friends. The crew of the round-the-world ya…
Pacific Ocean Passage. We Continue Battling Our Way towards the Most Mysterious Island on the Planet. One Week at Sea
Pacific Ocean passage. We continue battling our way towards the most mysterious island on the planet. One week at sea. A strong southerly wind is pushing us west, no m…
Passage to Easter Island. Day Nine into the Wind
Passage to Easter Island. Day Nine into the Wind Why do so few people live their dream? Because living your dream is hard—I’ve been thinking about that line from the f…
A Day of Adventures. Day 11 of the Passage to Easter Island
A Day of Adventures. Day 11 of the Passage to Easter Island If only I had known how this day would begin, I would never have dared air out the yacht after keeping her …
Passage to Easter Island. 12 Days in the Ocean. New Plans from the Crazy Castaways
Passage to Easter Island. 12 Days in the Ocean. New Plans from the Crazy Castaways While the children are asleep, the ship’s senior officers have decided to crack open…
Two Weeks in the Pacific Ocean. Passage to Easter Island
Two Weeks in the Pacific Ocean. Passage to Easter Island. Calms, a red star, food supplies and little islands of rubbish In the morning, as usual, I check that everyth…
16 Days in the Ocean. Passage to Easter Island. Headwinds Again
16 Days in the Ocean. Passage to Easter Island. Headwinds Again A foggy morning in the Pacific Ocean. The headwind has started up again. “Tea, Andrey?” the first mate …
Passage to Easter Island. Days 17–18
Heave-ho, heave-ho—we just can’t haul it in How we fished for marlin. A Pacific Ocean passage to Easter Island. Days 17–18. The Turnip, Hemingway-style. ~~~~~ _/) ~~~~…
An Uninhabited Island with a Magnetic Anomaly. Day 19
An uninhabited island with a magnetic anomaly. Passage to Easter Island, Day 19 The electronic chart of the Pacific Ocean around Easter Island and its uninhabited neig…
Easter Island. 21 Days in the Ocean
Easter Island. 21 Days in the Ocean “Come on, come on, hurry up and become a human being!” “That means, at sea, hurry up and become a sailor!” Nastya and I bawl as we …
Victory Day Over a Three-Week Passage Against the Wind—and Victory Day on Easter Island. Transmitted by Satellite
Victory Day over a three-week passage against the wind—and Victory Day on Easter Island. Transmitted by satellite The Cap says, “Write a post.” “But how am I supposed …
Easter Island. Visas for Sailors
Easter Island. Visas for Sailors. Clearing in by yacht, the whims of the weather, and passages from one end of the island to the other. Attentive officials, a radio th…
Easter Island: Our First Foray Ashore and Its First Mysteries
Our first foray ashore did not happen straight away—we spent several days waiting for a weather window. Here: the only village, the moai statues, people, shops and gar…
Second Foray onto Easter Island
Second foray onto Easter Island. Passage to the sheltered side. Anakena Bay, a sacred place of the ancient Rapa Nui people. The yacht as a swing at anchor. Descendants…
The volcano and waiting for the storm. How the captain skipped the volcano to sew sails while we met some Russian travellers. Where to hide the electronics and what to do with the anchor during a nighttime storm
The volcano and waiting for the storm. How the captain skipped the volcano to sew sails while we met some Russian travellers. Where to hide the electronics and what to…
Storm off Easter Island. A night at anchor in a poorly sheltered bay, in 45 knots of wind blowing against a 3-metre swell… The beginning is in the previous report.
Storm off Easter Island. A night at anchor in a poorly sheltered bay, in 45 knots of wind blowing against a 3-metre swell. The beginning is in the previous report. At …
How Our Neighbours Ripped Their Anchor Windlass Clean Out and Were About to Abandon Their Anchor, but We Saved Them
How Our Neighbours Ripped Their Anchor Windlass Clean Out and Were About to Abandon Their Anchor, but We Saved Them. “Pull the green line! Ease it! Chain up! Ahead! St…
Easter Island—an Adventure for a Yachtsman
Easter Island—an Adventure for a Yachtsman. How we nearly tore off the bowsprit and tried to wrench out the anchor windlass, but came to our senses in time So, after a…
There Are Plenty of Real Wild Ones… New Yachtsmen Blown to Easter Island. Losses and Finds. More Bucking at Anchor. And the Ancient Moai Giants
There are plenty of real wild ones! New yachtsmen have been blown to Easter Island. Losses and finds. More bucking at anchor. And the ancient moai giants Farewells and…
Easter Island. How We Nearly Got Hauled Off by the Police
Rano Raraku—the quarries of Easter Island. How we nearly got hauled off by the police. Guardians of antiquities, crime and punishment. Kilometres of rough terrain, bus…
Hiking on Easter Island. Why the Armada de Chile Came. How the Cap’n Fixed the Wind Generator. The Peculiarities of Hiking Through Barbed Wire. Through the Surf in the Dinghy
Hiking on Easter Island Why the Armada de Chile Came. How the Cap’n Fixed the Wind Generator. The Peculiarities of Hiking Through Barbed Wire. Through the Surf in the …
7 June. Easter Island. Getting Away Before the Storm
7 June Easter Island. Getting Away Before the Storm Today we’re leaving Easter Island for the no less peculiar little island of Pitcairn. Why the port is closed. How a…
From Easter Island to Pitcairn. Fleeing the Storm
From Easter Island to Pitcairn. Fleeing the storm. We left the most mysterious island in the world for the world’s smallest country. The Pacific Ocean and Wind-In-Your…
Crossing the Pacific Outside the Trade-Wind Latitudes. Daily Life
Crossing the Pacific Outside the Trade-Wind Latitudes. Daily Life. When we left Easter Island, the port authorities asked us to make sure we wrote to them from Pitcair…
A Week into the Passage from Easter Island to Pitcairn.
A week into the passage from Easter Island to Pitcairn. What happens to vegetables in the ocean, what the young sailor does while everyone else is catching a buoy, and…
Electronic Navigation Systems on the Yacht
Electronic navigation systems on Lady Mary: AIS, NMEA converter, Wi-Fi, autopilot. AIS . AIS — Automatic Identification System Equipment: AIS transceiver. Manufacturer…
Storm and a Change of Plans.
Storm and a change of plans. Sent by satellite. Chronicles of sailing across the Pacific at atypical latitudes. Breakdowns and repairs. And cheerful children. The days…
A Desert Island and Drifting Along the Edge of a Storm
A Desert Island and Drifting Along the Edge of a Storm More chronicles via satellite. We’d like to stick a map in here so you could see where all this desert-island st…
At Anchor off the “Bounty” Island
Hooray, we made it! Chronicles via satellite. The story of a mutiny and the failure of Bounty’s great mission. Why we’ve spent three days going round and round without…
The Crew Made Landfall in the Smallest Country in the World!
The crew made landfall in the smallest country in the world! Pitcairn Island. How it happened and how it ended. Our first—and so far last—landing on Pitcairn. We wait …
Pitcairn. The Truly Crazy Ones Are Few and Far Between
Pitcairn. The truly crazy ones really are few and far between—not everyone who makes it this far is crazy enough. How one superyacht dealt a blow to the economy of an …
How We Sank the Dinghy
How we sank the dinghy. An extreme landing experience. Pitcairn Island, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Why did you sink the little boat? There was a brand-new gra…
Pitcairn Island. The Peculiarities of Getting Back to the Yacht
Pitcairn Island. The Peculiarities of Getting Back to the Yacht The start of this day was extreme, changed our plans, and was described in the previous report :). Resu…
Weighed Anchor. Set Sail for French Polynesia
Weighed anchor. Set sail for French Polynesia. Night. Mizzen and a scrap of genoa. Course set for the Gambier Archipelago. Our young sailor devoted the evening to cryi…
Our Last Day on Pitcairn. Fishing, Island-Style.
Our last day on Pitcairn. Fishing, island-style. A national holiday—Pitcairn Day and an island-wide fishing trip to Bounty Island. The sons of Pitcairn and of the depu…
Polynesia. 3 Days in the Gambier Archipelago. Barely Time to Catch Our Breath, and Back Out into the Ocean Again—for a Thousand Miles
Polynesia. 3 days in the Gambier Archipelago. Barely time to catch our breath, and back out into the ocean again—for a thousand miles. — Andryukha, do anchorages like …
Chronicles of the Passage from the Gambier Islands to the Marquesas. A Little About How Cannibals Became Righteous—and, Unexpectedly, About Everest
Chronicles of the passage from the Gambier Islands to the Marquesas. A little about how cannibals became righteous—and, unexpectedly, about Everest. And yet, first, Ma…
On the Way to Paradise. Daily Life and Raising Children, Food and Exploration Plans, with 25 Knots of Wind for Three Days Straight.
On the Way to Paradise. Daily Life and Raising Children, Food and Exploration Plans, with 25 Knots of Wind for Three Days Straight. Seems like we’ve only been under wa…
Fatu Hiva. One Day to Go
Fatu Hiva. One day to go. An unusual catch and Bastille Day celebrations. They’ve come up with a clever system here in the Marquesas... They’ve come up with a clever s…
Arrival in the Marquesas. From Ship to Ball
Arrival in the Marquesas. From Ship to Ball. Can you reach out and touch the shore from the deck? At dawn, the captain and I came up to the helm, and there... I would …
Fatu Hiva. A French Holiday, Polynesian-Style, and a Hungry Young Sailor
Fatu Hiva. A French Holiday, Polynesian-Style, and a Hungry Young Sailor. You see the flames of Indian campfires dancing on the faces of chiefs from vanished tribes (f…
We’re Heading into the Jungle
We’re heading into the jungle. The abandoned village of Omoa was already almost uninhabited 80 years ago, when the young and daring Thor Heyerdahl lived on Fatu Hiva w…
26 July: A Mini-Post About the Hike
26 July: a mini-post about the hike We’ve returned from a place famed for cannibalism: the island of Fatu Hiva. The Marquesas, Polynesia. Folks, find the coordinates 1…
Mountain Pass or Abyss? – A Hike on Fatu Hiva
Mountain pass or abyss? A hike on Fatu Hiva. What our young sailor and Thor Heyerdahl have in common. Who gives yachts funny names. Trails, precipices, rain in the dry…
To the Dwelling Place of an Extinct Tribe. Ritual Platforms and the Mysteries of Fatu Hiva Island
To the dwelling place of an extinct tribe. A dangerous descent. Ritual platforms and the mysteries of Fatu Hiva Island. “The difficult descent begins here,” Audrey war…
Here a Tribe of Cannibals Vanished: An Abandoned Settlement on Fatu Hiva
Here a tribe of cannibals vanished. An abandoned settlement on Fatu Hiva. A deserted village. How a remote fishing camp is set up (or is it a hunting camp?), how to fo…
Cannibals—or Us? Back to Reality
Returning from the abandoned village. Our payment for a night’s lodging. The legacy of the cannibals and a young sailor’s fortitude. What makes us strong, brother? (Th…
A Brazilian Captain, a Tahitian Frenchwoman Diver, and a Czech Captain’s Daughter. Plus Jules Verne, a Dream, and the Mystery of the Pacific Ocean
A Brazilian captain, a Tahitian Frenchwoman diver, and a Czech captain’s daughter. Plus Jules Verne, a dream, and the Mystery of the Pacific Ocean. We sat around the c…
How the First Mate and Nastya Sailed the Yacht
How the First Mate and Nastya Sailed the Yacht. Squall-force winds and a gigantic catch. The strange ways of the trade winds and a reunion with friends. I Go to Haifa …
How We Set Out for Hiva Oa but Ended Up on Nuku Hiva
How We Set Out for Hiva Oa but Ended Up on Nuku Hiva (also known as Nuku Giva—the name used by Krusenstern—and Nuku Iva, as the French and the locals pronounce it) Our…
Visa for French Polynesia
Visa for French Polynesia: how to obtain one in a third country—Panama, in Panama City—costs and formalities Each French overseas territory requires its own separate v…
French Polynesia: Clearing In by Yacht
French Polynesia: Clearing In by Yacht How we turned ourselves in to the gendarmes. Can you enter Polynesia without a visa? Here’s what we started with: A visa for Fre…
Discoveries on Nuku Hiva
Discoveries on Nuku Hiva We have found paradise. And we also had a culinary revelation—a revelation about the whole truth of the breadfruit tree and why it caused such…
How We Crossed Paths with National Geographic
How We Crossed Paths with National Geographic The trade wind has somehow died down over the past few weeks, and we had even begun to doubt that it was strong up here i…
Ciguatera
Ciguatera Thank goodness Lada and I don’t like fish! At least, we didn’t like it that particular evening. Mum and Dad ate some toxic fish, and ciguatera came calling. …
Chronicles of the Floating Infirmary
Chronicles of the Floating Infirmary Situation report: the parents are no longer dying, just lying around )). In fact, they’re feeling better and ordering us about doi…
Ciguatera. Recovering from the Illness
Ciguatera. Recovering from the illness. Hi, guys. We’re alive. Though it’s hard to call this a full life just yet, but today I can finally write. This is about ciguate…
How We Ate a Parrot
How We Ate a Parrot. With this post, the Captain makes his contribution to the expedition chronicle: I recently remembered a joke about a parrot. A man got a parrot, b…
On Plans, Changes and How We’re Feeling
On p lans, changes and how we’re feeling How we practised moving around and rescued a yacht along the way. Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands, Pacific Ocean. There’s this jo…
After a Parrotfish Dinner, Day 15
After a Parrotfish Dinner, Day 15 Nuku Hiva, the village of Taiohae. Lady Mary covered the first 25 miles after that fateful fried fish dinner under sail three days ag…
The Last Days on Nuku Hiva
The last days on Nuku Hiva. How the first mate torments the sailor, how attempts to go ashore turn out, and when we set off again For the third day running, the sailor…
From the Marquesas to the Tuamotus. Day Two. Pacific Ocean
From the Marquesas to the Tuamotus. Day Two. Pacific Ocean. Transmitted via satellite. Two days ago we weighed anchor in Hakatea Bay, which we simply call Waterfall Ba…
Passage from the Marquesas to the Tuamotus. Into Our Fifth Day
Passage from the Marquesas to the Tuamotus. We’re into our fifth day. During the night, the captain got in touch with outer space. “What are they saying?” I ask. “Bett…
Approaching the Tuamotus. “Wind Smack in the Face.” Day Six
Approaching the Tuamotus. Wind Smack in the Face. Day Six. By morning, we had 100 miles left to Kaeuehi Atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago. So the hardships of bucking i…
Now That’s an Atoll! Anchored in the Tuamotus
Now that’s an atoll! Anchored in the Tuamotus. That evening, the captain assigned the watches in a more exotic fashion than usual. Nastya was told to stay up until 230…
An Outing to a Village on an Atoll. Tuamotu
An outing to a village on an atoll. Tuamotu. Sent via satellite. How many ships were lost before French baguettes became the national food. In the Tuamotu Archipelago …
An Atoll by Yacht — On Board, Underwater and Ashore
An atoll by yacht—on board, underwater and ashore. Judging by the nationalities of most of the first itinerant Europeans to turn up there, the Tuamotus should have gon…
Tuamotus: Under Sail with Just My Young Sailor and Me
Tuamotus: under sail with just my young sailor and me. How we became self-reliant 🙂 How about we answer some of your questions? We do read all your comments, but the …
How We Spent the Night in the Dinghy. Part One
How We Spent the Night in the Dinghy. Part One. An airstrip, coral, and a headwind dying away almost to nothing. When I was a child, Mum always told me: A girl should …
How We Spent the Night in the Dinghy. The Climax
How We Spent the Night in the Dinghy. The Climax. The beginning of this adventure is in the previous post . Exposition 🙂 ...And we set off for home. We-e-ell... Set o…
On Reckless Parents, Risks and Adventures
On reckless parents, risks and adventures. I think I’ll write a concluding post, I said while reading the comments on the report How We Spent the Night in the Dinghy. …
Uninhabited Paradise. Scrubbing the Yacht, Feeding a Rat, and Unexpectedly Changing Our Plans.
Uninhabited Paradise. Scrubbing the Yacht, Feeding a Rat, and Unexpectedly Changing Our Plans Friends, we managed to overcome our website’s reluctance to upload new re…
Tahiti Bound! Halfway There
Tahiti bound! Halfway there. Who is the chief Cinderella aboard? How we sailed out of the atoll and how fast we are flying towards Tahiti. This report has been compile…
The Roast Rooster: How We Made a New Film :)
The Roast Rooster: How We Made a New Film :). We’ve released a new film about transiting the Panama Canal on a sailing yacht! We tell you about the totem animal that h…
How We Came to Tahiti to Find the Round-the-World Sailors of “Blagovestie”
How we came to Tahiti to find the round-the-world sailors of “Blagovestie.” Where to spend the night between the reefs, how to miss your target properly, and what’s mi…
Tahiti — Two Round-the-World Sailing Voyages with Children in One Place
Tahiti — Two Round-the-World Sailing Voyages with Children in One Place. How we kept the others from working, whether coral grows in a marina, and where flying saucers…
Nomination for the My Planet Award
Nomination for the My Planet Award. Dear Readers! Our website is taking part in the My Planet Award, in the “Blogger of the Year” category, and... there’s a public vot…
Holidays and the Island of Moorea. Or Why We Disappeared for a Week
Holidays and the island of Moorea. Or why we disappeared for a week. How we sailed away for three days and came back on the sixth. How to amuse yourselves when it is d…
The Tree House. The Carlson Who Lives...
The tree house. The Carlson who lives.... Did anyone dream as a child of building a small, cosy house somewhere behind a chimney on an old roof, or among the spreading…
The House Spirit’s Mischief
The house spirit’s mischief, heading farther west, saying goodbye to friends, and how to receive a letter from the heart of the ocean You may remember that we wrote ab…
Hooray! We’re Offline Again!
Hooray! We’re offline again! Huahine Island. To appreciate all the benefits of the internet, you need to spend a year living almost without it, then plunge into the on…
How We Woke Up on a Reef
How We Woke Up on a Reef If Lady Mary’s daily activity is measured by the crew members who are awake, ours is a yacht that hardly ever sleeps: the first mate’s interna…
The Biggest Downside of Sailing Around the World
The biggest downside of sailing around the world. A major key in a minor mood 🙂 “Mum, I dreamed about Polina and Ksyusha again. We went swimming together, and we play…
A Tour of the Yacht Lady Mary. Part 1. What’s Inside
A Tour of the Yacht. Part 1 — What’s Inside An overview of the Nauticat 40 sailing yacht. This tour of the round-the-world sailing yacht Lady Mary was filmed during an…
Farewell, French Polynesia! News from On Board
Farewell, French Polynesia! News from on board. We are into our third day on the open ocean. The weather is favourable for doing chores aboard: the swell is slight, an…
And Weather a Dead Calm... Day Five in the Ocean
And weather a dead calm... Day five in the ocean. Since morning, a dead calm and heat in every direction. But at least breakfast turned out normally familiar, just lik…
Answering Your Questions. Ocean, Day Six
Answering your questions. Ocean, day six. News via satellite link. At last! We’ve finally got the wind we’ve been waiting for. Admittedly, it’s coming straight at us. …
A Tour of the Yacht Lady Mary. Part 2. What’s Outside
Yacht Tour, Part 2 — What’s Outside An overview of the Nauticat 40 sailing yacht. This tour of the round-the-world sailing yacht Lady Mary was filmed during an ocean p…
In Search of Captain Grant. The Expedition
In Search of Captain Grant. The Expedition If anyone thought we were a crazy family before, they’ll have even more reason to think so now. Make yourselves comfortable.…
How the Sailor Agreed to Spend Two Months at Sea
How the sailor agreed to spend two months at sea. When, on 22 November, obeying the wind and the madness of explorers, we turned south, I wondered: Hmm, what about pro…
Restocking and an Encounter with the Police
Restocking and an encounter with the police. The last land. Little Rimatara, one of the Austral Islands lying on the 22nd parallel, was just over a hundred miles away.…
A Visa We Don’t Need for a Country We Weren’t Planning to Visit
A visa we don’t need for a country we weren’t planning to visit. Half an hour before we were due to weigh anchor, a police siren started wailing from shore. — When are…
Expedition Housekeeping. 14 Days in the Ocean
Expedition housekeeping. 14 days in the ocean. Today we crossed 28 degrees south latitude; we haven’t ventured this far south before. When we were approaching Easter I…
The Expedition’s First Waypoint. Wachusett, the Phantom Island
The expedition’s first waypoint. Wachusett, the phantom island. The thirty-second parallel. The point where we had to check in and find out whether the phantom island …
South Pacific, Day 18. In the Realm of Jules Verne
South Pacific, Day 18. In the Realm of Jules Verne. Five in the morning. It’s +19 in the yaranga, +16 outside the yaranga. Still quite warm, although the captain is st…
Why We Are Here. The Phantom Island of Ernest Legouvé
Why We Are Here. The Phantom Island of Ernest Legouvé. The adult-and-child crew of the sailing yacht Lady Mary continues its scientific research expedition to the phan…
A Sailor’s Birthday
A sailor’s birthday. “If my birthday falls during the passage, it’ll be the worst birthday of my life!” That was what Nastya used to say back when, like normal people,…
Tomorrow There Was a Wave... A Storm and a Celebration
Tomorrow there was a wave... A storm and a celebration. Tropical Cyclone Owen, bearing its proud name, began spinning up somewhere near New Caledonia, in the western P…
Glory to the Shore Team and the Sunny Weather!
What is a sailor without support from shore? A lonely wanderer. But when people on the mainland love you, wait for you and keep their finger on the pulse, no storm can…
The 37th Parallel. Expedition Report. And a Dream
The 37th Parallel. Expedition Report. And a Dream. The expedition to the phantom reefs of the South Pacific has entered the home stretch. There are 75 miles left to th…
Rainy Season on a Yacht
Rainy Season on a Yacht How to live in a floating home when the water is not only below and around you, but falling from the sky as well. How the crew keeps busy so th…
A Month in the Ocean: Provisions and Breakdowns Aboard
Yesterday we passed the last of the possible locations of Maria Theresa Reef. And we can state with full confidence: there are no phantom reefs in the South Pacific. M…
The Crew Is in Touch! Answers to Your Questions
The crew is in touch! Answers to your questions. Hello, friends! We are still in the ocean, almost a month’s passage from any land. Thank you so much for writing us le…
Entering the Forties! Somewhere, They’re Roasting the Christmas Goose
Entering the forties! Somewhere, they’re roasting the Christmas goose. Today is Christmas Eve throughout the Catholic world. A couple of billion people are roasting ge…
50 Shades of Grey. Ocean Grey.
50 shades of grey. Ocean grey. Today’s satellite chronicles of the expedition will begin with numbers and... grey. Day 36 of the passage. 43 degrees south latitude, 13…
About the Naked People of Tierra del Fuego and the Clothed People on the Yacht
About the naked people of Tierra del Fuego and the clothed people on the yacht. 45 degrees south latitude. According to our track, we have covered 3,350 nautical miles…
I Asked You, Why Are You Climbing the Mountain? — The Young Sailors Answer
I asked you, why are you climbing the mountain? The young sailors answer. I’m going to write this post without jokes or wisecracks, so that a carefully considered deci…
How to Reach Cape Horn. A Philosophy of Growth
How to Reach Cape Horn. A Philosophy of Growth. This satellite report was written en route to Cape Horn across the South Pacific. It came as I was reflecting on why, j…
Archive
2019
The Pole of Inaccessibility. New Year at Point Nemo
The Pole of Inaccessibility. New Year at Point Nemo. January 1, 6 a.m. Beneath the little Christmas tree there is only one present: a chocolate bar for the young sailo…
46 Days in the Southern Ocean
46 days in the Southern Ocean. If the sun stares down at you for two days running in the Southern Ocean, it means it’s time to wrap things up. Usually, sunny spells ar…
Christmas in Six-Metre Waves
Christmas in six-metre waves. The Furious Fifties seem to have realised that they are carrying not only fish and petrels on their backs. Why else would they be driving…
What Inspires Us. The Crew Answers Your Questions
What inspires us. The crew answers your questions. We decided to use this sort of epigraph for our reports, for everyone who has only just joined us. Friends, our circ…
56° South, and 50 Days on an Ocean Passage
56° South, and 50 days on an ocean passage. A preface for everyone who has only recently joined us. Friends, our circumnavigation has not veered off course, come to a …
The Roaring Fifties. It Has Begun
The Roaring Fifties. It has begun. Thirty knots of wind on the beam. Some of the waves, as big as houses, not only lash over the coachroof but also come crashing into …
666 Miles to Cape Horn
666 miles to Cape Horn. 53 days in the ocean. Transmitted by satellite. For the first month and a half, we were prepared for a veery long journey across the ocean, and…
Drifting in the Fog. Day 54
Drifting in the fog. Day 54. 570 miles to Cape Horn. A momentous event occurred during the night: we exceeded the maximum track size in the navigation software. We’ve …
The Hardest Part of the Journey. Day 56
The hardest part of the journey. Day 56. Today we’re being tossed about mercilessly, and it’s even making us seasick, so this report will probably come out rather mudd…
10 Degrees from the Antarctic Circle. Day 58
10 degrees from the Antarctic Circle. Day 58. For days now, Andryukha has been trying to talk us into dropping 3 degrees farther south and taking just a tiny peek into…
Just Before Cape Horn!
Just before Cape Horn! The morning of January 18. 140 miles to the Horn. During the day we’ll reach the continental shelf and see what happens to the waves there. The …
Cape Horn
Cape Horn 5:30 a.m. Eleven miles to Cape Horn. It is already visible on the radar, and in clear weather we would be able to see it with our own eyes. The sun is trying…
The End of the Earth and the Come-Down
The End of the Earth and the Come-Down Cape Horn is behind us. I have mixed feelings. And that frightens me. Feeling No. 1 is wonderful: We made it—the land really doe…
Huahine Island. Repairing the Portlight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?enablejsapi=1&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&modestbranding=0&rel=0&fs=1&playsinline=1&autohide=2&them…
Between Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn
Between Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn. Snow-capped peaks and penguin shores. How a warship sunk near Cape Horn is being used, and how much it costs to stay there. Com…
Tierra del Fuego. Clearing In by Yacht
Tierra del Fuego. Clearing In by Yacht Chile has two ends of the Earth. The western end is the planet’s most remote island from inhabited lands— Easter Island —that’s …
Patagonian Seafarers’ Daily Life
Patagonian seafarers’ daily life. What happens after two non-stop months in the ocean. The answer to “How are you enjoying your holiday?”—a favourite question from old…
Russian Antarctic Expedition
Russian Antarctic Expedition Warm days have come to Tierra del Fuego. We now wear jackets, but no hats. Delighted by the sunshine, the dusty calafate berries have ripe…
Greetings from the Edge of Argentina
Greetings from the edge of Argentina. We have moved from Puerto Williams in Chile to Ushuaia in Argentina. Twenty-seven miles into the wind through the Beagle Channel.…
Gateway to Antarctica
Ushuaia—the Gateway to Antarctica. About the end of the world and Russian hospitality. Who sails to Antarctica, and what everyone else does. Whether you can manage to …
7 Things About Antarctica We Didn’t Know
7 Things About Antarctica We Didn’t Know. Who is eagerly awaiting the end of the Antarctic Treaty. How easy is it for a Russian yacht to sail to Antarctica? Where king…
Hello from the Stormiest Place on Earth
Hello from the stormiest place on Earth. We have entered the Drake Passage, the stormiest place on the planet. At the official end of the world in Ushuaia, we acquired…
The Drake Passage—the Whole Truth Under Sail
The Drake Passage—the whole truth under sail. February 23. The daily grind of a passage is exhausting; half the crew still haven’t found their sea legs, and the waves …
Antarctica. The First Russian Family Expedition
Antarctica. The First Russian Family Expedition. Drake Passage. We Crossed 61° South. Bellingshausen Station The captain’s calculations proved correct: after motoring …
Antarctic Creatures, Icebergs and Polar Explorers
Antarctic creatures, icebergs and polar explorers. No, Andryukha, this is all just too surreal! Could you ever have imagined that we would sail to Antarctica ourselves…
How We Woke Up Surrounded by Ice
How we woke up surrounded by ice. Yankee Bay, Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. At 5 a.m., the alarm traditionally began singing in Vladimir Vysots…
Catching a Shore Line. Antarctic Anchorages
Catching a Shore Line. Antarctic Anchorages. A Night Among Icebergs. Our overnight Antarctic passage began with the captain retiring to his bedchamber at 9 p.m. and Na…
Antarctica. A Refuge for Castaways and Expedition Worries
Antarctica. A Refuge for Castaways and Expedition Worries. We are reading all your comments on our Antarctic reports. Friends, thank you so much for your concern and w…
The Ice Continent!
The Ice Continent! The ice conditions have grown more difficult: ice floes and ice mountains are no longer occasional sights that cause amazement. Now they are scatter…
To the Antarctic Circle
To the Antarctic Circle. We head out into open water, steering around countless chunks of ice. Today’s plan is a passage of about 35 miles southwest to a bay with the …
Antarctica. How We Fought Our Way Through the Ice to Our Own People
Antarctica. How We Fought Our Way Through the Ice to Our Own People. Before going to bed, the captain uttered the magic words: “Wake me at 7 tomorrow. We’ll weigh anch…
The End of the Antarctic Odyssey
The end of the Antarctic odyssey. On 10 March at 7 a.m., we left Port Lockroy Harbour, coordinates 64.50 S 63.29 W, where the digits after the decimal point are minute…
Back at Cape Horn. Across the Drake Passage for the Third Time
Back at Cape Horn. Across the Drake Passage for the third time. 12 March. The windows between the low-pressure systems racing from the Pacific into the Atlantic are sh…
The Price of a Dream. Life After Antarctica :)
The Price of a Dream. Life After Antarctica :). Ice and flame: returning from the Ice Continent to Tierra del Fuego. Working while on a break. How many hours there nee…
The Adventures of Brave Parcels at the End of the World :)
The Adventures of Brave Parcels at the End of the World :). The most precious things when sailing around the world and far from home. How parcels reach us out on the o…
Phantom Reefs of the Pacific Ocean — New Video on YouTube
Phantom Reefs of the Pacific Ocean — a new video on YouTube . This is Episode 7 about the expedition to the phantom islands of the Pacific Ocean. In the South Pacific,…
The Angel Who Went to Sea
The Angel Who Went to Sea. Why Sophie, Lord!? Why her...!? — I am sobbing in the bowels of the yacht while my crew are ashore enjoying themselves.... It is hard to tak…
Maria Theresa Island (Tabor). Expedition to the Phantom Islands of the Pacific Ocean
Maria Theresa Island (Tabor). Expedition to the Phantom Islands of the Pacific Ocean “On 27 June 1862, the three-masted vessel Britannia, out of Glasgow, was wrecked f…
Tierra del Fuego Today
Tierra del Fuego today. Would you like to know what an ordinary diary page looks like when it is not intended for publication, but for internal use? The first mate on …
A Rogue Wave on the Sailor’s Birthday
A Rogue Wave on the Sailor’s Birthday. Expedition to the Phantom Islands of the Pacific Ocean The crew of Lady Mary—Dad, Mum and their two daughters—are following the …
+ Backpack – Wallet = Tierra del Fuego. Real Travellers’ Stories
+ Backpack – Wallet = Tierra del Fuego. Real stories of backpacking travellers who do not need a million bucks to make it happen—just a sense of adventure, courage, an…
Our Radio Show on Yacht Radio :)
Our radio show on Yacht Radio :). Links to the first two episodes. Somehow we’re always getting caught up in everything and forgetting that, for example, we have anoth…
Life Aboard a Yacht in the High Latitudes
Life aboard a yacht in the high latitudes. The practicalities of everyday life in the high latitudes. The captain’s flights for the glory of the Russian space programm…
How We Found the Children of Captain Grant—and Captain Grant Himself
How We Found the Children of Captain Grant—and Captain Grant Himself. The Last Phantom Reef of the 37th Parallel South We embarked on our expedition to the phantom isl…
3,800 km to Cape Horn. New Year at Point Nemo
New Year at POINT NEMO. The Roaring Forties The Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility—POINT NEMO. Imagine finding yourself on New Year’s Eve in the most remote place on the …
Winter Is Coming
Winter is coming. About the marinas and prices, the hardiest polar captains and their yachts. About how the young sailors motivate and demotivate themselves, and whom …
Around the World and Antarctica with Children. Our Story and Lady Mary
Around the World and Antarctica with Children. Our Story and Lady Mary. In our Soviet childhood, it was impossible to imagine that one day we would sail around the wor…
Meeting Fedor Konyukhov. Back to Cape Horn
Meeting Fedor Konyukhov. Back to Cape Horn. The situation in the southernmost city in the world. Fedor Konyukhov’s expedition headquarters and its influence on our way…
Expedition to Cape Horn to Meet Fedor Konyukhov—and the Flotilla’s Unexpected Split
Expedition to Cape Horn to meet Fedor Konyukhov—and the flotilla’s unexpected split. Chronicles. Transmitted via satellite. Yesterday morning, as part of a flotilla of…
Cape Horn, Passage No. 2
Sent via satellite link. It seems the post did not make it to the website because of an anomaly in the Drake Passage. We are trying again. Chronicles of the rendezvous…
How We Met Fedor Konyukhov in the Rowing Boat Akros near Cape Horn
How We Met Fedor Konyukhov in the Rowing Boat Akros near Cape Horn The chronicles of the expedition to the legendary cape begin here: Meeting Fedor Konyukhov. Back to …
Meeting Fyodor Konyukhov at Cape Horn
Meeting Fyodor Konyukhov at Cape Horn. The storm, movements and manoeuvres, the return journey and the end of the expedition. First impressions of meeting a legendary …
The World’s Southernmost Tundra by Car
The world’s southernmost tundra by car. A landward foray by a seagoing crew. In two days on the road, we found ourselves both in winter snowdrifts and in a cold summer…
Tierra del Fuego. 500 Years of Ordeals
Tierra del Fuego. 500 Years of Ordeals. Genocide, penal servitude, beavers and a Garden of Eden at the end of the world. The world’s southernmost history, told from ab…
Leaving for Chile. Farewell to Ushuaia
Leaving for Chile. Farewell, Ushuaia. How we caught luck by the tail and made it all the way to wild guanacos! Beaver dams, icy lakes, a curious fur seal. How much it …
Easter Island by Yacht with Children. Moai. Storms. Natives
Easter Island by Yacht with Children. Statues. Storms. Natives Friends, here’s our freshly edited video! Mysterious colossi, the islanders’ dark history, and modern li…
Cape Horn by Yacht with Children
Cape Horn by Yacht with Children The stormiest place on the planet. 20-metre waves, thousands of shipwrecks, more than 800 vessels lost. ✅Subscribe to the channel: //b…
New (Not Scarlet) Sails for the Yacht Lady Mary
New sails for the yacht Lady Mary How we received and unpacked the new headsails, took down the old ones and hoisted the new ones. How long the parcel took to reach th…
Aboard a Yacht in the Far South. Not Dying of Boredom
Aboard a yacht in the far south. Not dying of boredom :). Once again in the southernmost village in the world, but this time in winter—what’s interesting on Chile’s na…
The World’s Southernmost Museum Through a Child’s Eyes. A Tour by Our Young Sailor
The World’s Southernmost Museum Through a Child’s Eyes. A Tour by Our Young Sailor A tour of the world’s southernmost museum by a young sailor from the sailing yacht L…
The Three Great Capes on a Yacht with Children
The Three Great Capes on a Yacht with Children. Cape Horn, the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin “This petty-bourgeois concealment of facts from the proletariat must be …
Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope
Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope. Details of Stage 2 of the First Russian Round-the-World Expedition with Children via the three Great Capes : the Chilean fjords, th…
An (Un)successful Start and Yacht Repairs
An (Un)successful Start and Yacht Repairs We’re off! Happiness was in the air. Our young sailor was sending her final WhatsApp messages to her teachers at the Russian …
Sailing the Channels of Tierra del Fuego
Sailing the channels of Tierra del Fuego. Twenty-five knots right on the nose, our first blue glacier, night anchor watches and daytime watches under way, and meat tha…
Navy Day — the Soaked Navy
Navy Day — the Soaked Navy How we set off for a glacier, became Indians and got caught in a cyclone. Navy Day, Patagonian style. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. We have always …
Ice Age Aboard the Yacht
Ice age aboard the yacht. How we got frozen into the ice. The fjords of Tierra del Fuego, calving glaciers and seals right under our noses. What Karelia and Patagonia …
Wow, We’ve Left the Bay!
Wow, we’ve left the bay! The three days of silence were because of a storm, which Lady Mary waited out in a bay so sheltered that you can’t even see the satellite from…
Shelter for Fishermen
Shelter for fishermen. Riding out a storm in a fishing cove. What are those cushions scattered over the slopes, and how do you find some privacy when you’re together a…
Force 11 Storm
Force 11 storm. Expedition news, transmitted by satellite. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .…
Storm Tactics. A Week of Storms
Storm Tactics. A Week of Storms. Sent via satellite. .. .. Wow. It’s been a long time since it blew this hard and this relentlessly. The storm has already lasted a wee…
A Feast During the Storm
A Feast During the Storm. Our third week without seeing anyone. The crew after a week of storms: holidays, ordinary days, the young sailor’s fears and our shared jokes…
Uninhabited Patagonia
Uninhabited Patagonia. Sent via satellite. Solitude by the shore. The peculiarities of winter life aboard a yacht: how ropes turn into sticks and equipment freezes. Sh…
Sailing into the Forest Thicket
Sailing into the forest thicket. Puerto King Bay, which has nothing to do with either a port or kings. Children’s amusements, lessons, and the philosophy of solitude a…
We’ve Entered the Strait of Magellan!
We’ve entered the Strait of Magellan! The entire sky, the summits of the snow-covered mountains and the waters of the Magdalena Channel are flooded with sunlight. Stra…
The Former Southernmost
The Former Southernmost The Arctic Wolf from the Strait of Magellan. The fishing village of Mansa and the former southernmost city on the planet. Fellow Russians in th…
Tracking Systems—or How to Follow Our Route
Tracking Systems—or How to Follow Our Route. Satellite Tracker Iridium360 Rockstar We decided to answer this frequently asked question separately. On our previous chal…
Easter Island. We Broke the Rules!
Easter Island. We Broke the Rules! A New VIDEO on Our Channel Remember how we told you that we were nearly hauled off to jail on Easter Island once? Seriously—they tra…
The Only City on the Strait of Magellan
The Only City on the Strait of Magellan Epigraph: — “You need a psychotherapy session,” I intone, mystically waving my hands over the captain’s feet sticking out from …
Visiting the Volk Arktiki
Visiting the Volk Arktiki. You arrive in the Strait of Magellan, at a port at the end of the world, and among the few other vessels AIS shows a ship with the suspiciou…
The Strait of Magellan Successfully Negotiated!
The Strait of Magellan has been successfully negotiated! Sent via satellite. Our last foray ashore happened two days before we set off into the most terrifying of all …
Riding Out the Storm. Reports from On Board
Riding out the storm. Reports from on board. “Well, everything’s fine here,” the captain says cheerfully. “Nastya, who doesn’t get seasick, cooked dinner; we’re eating…
Third Day of a Severe Storm. The Furious Fifties
Third day of a severe storm. The Furious Fifties. “Here they don’t say storms like that, they say storms like this,” my inner voice sings in the darkness of the night.…
Aftermath of the Storm
Aftermath of the storm. Day seven in the Southern Ocean. Sent via satellite. “Look,” says the captain, “we can run the watermaker and the heater, and charge the laptop…
A Resort in the Roaring Forties
A Resort in the Roaring Forties. “Hooray! We can breathe a sigh of relief—we’ve finally entered the Roaring Forties, Marinochka! Now we’ll really get moving! And look …
Cape Horn–Cape of Good Hope. A Quarter of the Way
Cape Horn–Cape of Good Hope. A quarter of the way. Do you believe in miracles? How dreams come true, and what comes with them. .. .. .. Damn, this is unbelievable. So …
Calm and Headwinds. Answers to Your Questions
Day 14. Calm and headwinds. Answers to your questions. We answer your questions. The everyday details of a yacht passage with children through the furious fifties and …
Storm-Avoidance Tactics
Storm-avoidance tactics. Day 15. The day after tomorrow, 50 knots are coming. Wow. Is that what the forecast says? The last storm was forecast to bring 40 knots of win…
A Tough Passage.
A Tough Passage. “Holy crap, those waves!” That’s the first thing I say today, while washing up. I shoot out of the heads like a cork from a bottle, the door slams shu…
The Third Storm. Taking the Hit
The third storm. Taking the hit. “Andryukh, shall we heave to, maybe? This is getting pretty grim.” The captain is having his evening sleep before the night watch. The…
Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope. Day 26
Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope. Day 26. Do you know why there haven’t been any reports for four days? Oh, or even five? We were so delighted by the calm after thre…
Tristan da Cunha: 500 Years of Solitude
Tristan da Cunha: 500 Years of Solitude. Until the very end of the 15th century, south of 35 degrees south latitude, the Atlantic was as quiet as paradise. Well, in th…
The Fight for Tristan. Day 30.
The Fight for Tristan. Day 30. If you’ve been following us on the map and the IRIDIUM track, you’ll already have appreciated this little trick of ours—a tack north to …
Approaching Tristan da Cunha. Day 32
Approaching Tristan da Cunha. Day 32. Repairing the shroud, the first mate’s illness, and emerging from the storm. Sent via satellite. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .…
Tristan da Cunha. The Lost World
Tristan da Cunha. The Lost World. Well, girls, have you had a look at land? Let’s move on! .. .. The captain steers Lady Mary away from the breaking crests and back ou…
Tristan da Cunha and Weather Anomalies
Tristan da Cunha and weather anomalies. What bliss it is to be at anchor! Sleeping like a baby. From six in the morning, I’m bursting with energy for great deeds, such…
Storms Again. Tristan da Cunha – Cape of Good Hope. Days 1–4
Storms again. Tristan da Cunha – Cape of Good Hope. Days 1–4. The storm that had besieged Edinburgh of the Seven Seas throughout our three days on Tristan da Cunha rea…
The Philosophy of the Ocean. Day 41 Since the Strait of Magellan
The Philosophy of the Ocean. Day 41 Since the Strait of Magellan. “I’m going for an evening stroll,” the captain said, putting on his lifejacket and hat. Buy me an ice…
Eastern Hemisphere! Strait of Magellan–Cape Town, Day 43
Eastern Hemisphere! Strait of Magellan–Cape Town, Day 43. For more than three years, we and most of our friends have been in different hemispheres: after crossing the …
615 Miles to Cape Town. A Month and a Half on Passage
615 miles to Cape Town. A month and a half on passage. Nastya, your birthday is exactly two months from now. What would you like us to give you? I don’t know, I haven’…
To the Cape of Good Hope, Day 48
To the Cape of Good Hope, Day 48 Only once in the past week has the actual wind not matched the forecast. They promised 20 knots last night; 30 came galloping in and f…
50 Days Under Way. Our Turquoise Wedding Anniversary—and How Not to Kill Each Other.
50 days under way. Our turquoise wedding anniversary—and how not to kill each other. It is now our 14th day at sea since leaving lonely Tristan da Cunha. From there, w…
Day 52. Good News
Day 52. Good news. Early morning, 19 October. There’s a rule: the moment you write that the next report will be out tomorrow, some sort of emergency is bound to happen…
Cape of Good Hope. Approaches. Day 53.
Cape of Good Hope. Approaches. Day 53. We have 100 miles to go, and when the display shows 99, the children and I will definitely shout, “Hooray!” After all, we’ve bee…
In the Port of Cape Town
In the Port of Cape Town — “Vasily Golovnin!” we shout from the deck to the large ship. We know her. First of all, it was this very ship that was trapped in the ice of…
The Captain’s Birthday: Plenty to Celebrate
The Captain’s Birthday: Plenty to Celebrate. Some people are celebrating Halloween today, dressing up as all manner of evil spirits. Our crew is celebrating something …
South Africa. A Strategy for Settling In. Teeth and Farms
South Africa. A Strategy for Settling In. Teeth and Farms “If it weren’t for the blacks, this place would be paradise” “If it weren’t for the whites, we’d have a good …
About the “Round-the-World Voyage via the Great Capes and Antarctica with Children” Expedition —
To Antarctica with Children On an expedition along a difficult route, you will usually find either people who do not yet have children, or men who leave their wives an…
Missile Cruiser Marshal Ustinov in Cape Town
The missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov in Cape Town. How unromantically we met our sailors the first time, and rather epically the second. Lady Mary’s crew visits the cru…
Christmas Trees—in Africa
Christmas trees—in Africa. We are now past the halfway point of our stay in Cape Town. And the passage across the southern Indian Ocean is already closer than our pass…
How We Went to a Russian Camp in Africa
How we went to a Russian camp in Africa and how it all ended :). The first thing I learned about South Africa from a Russian-speaking Facebook group was that there is …
Archive
2020
Year in Review
YEAR IN REVIEW. 2019—and what impossible dreams came true once, on 21 November, we decided to turn against every law of logic, every established sailing route, and all…
Antarctica Under Sail with Children
Storms and the Drake Passage, fears and doubts. The polar researchers at Bellingshausen Antarctic Station. Penguins, icebergs alongside and polar ice. We marked the 20…
South Africa, Russian-Style
South Africa, Russian-style. In three months, South Africa seems to have squeezed itself into our lives as a vivid, action-packed chapter. Finding friendship and losin…
Cape of Good Hope Rounded!
“Mum, I couldn’t find those Fisherman’s lozenges you wanted, but they’ve got these little open thingamajigs here. They’re minty and really strong.” Nastya and I settle…
Our First Storm in the Indian Ocean
“You’re my heroic woman, aren’t you?” The captain seems to be half stating, half asking. “I don’t know...” I suddenly sniff through a nose gone wet. Bundled into foul-…
The Doldrums. A Week in the Ocean
Over the course of yesterday’s daylight hours, we covered minus five miles. That is exactly how much farther Lady Mary ended up from our destination on the Australian …
Adventures in the Ocean. Day 9
“Holy crap!” The captain’s eyes are round, visible even in the dark. “Our bilge is full of water!” “Switch on the shower sump pump. Take the handle and go pump the wat…
Living the Dream: Dreary Days. Indian Ocean, Day 12
It was calm for several days, then the wind picked up overnight. It’s 20–25 knots for now; we’re expecting 30. The swell immediately turned nasty, but at least our pro…
Out of Range. Indian Ocean, Days 13–14
“So, Andryush, how are we going to manage now without a weather forecast? With no contact with the outside world and, potentially, no navigation? And I have an article…
Southern Ocean, Day 16
“Andryukha, I’m going to earn myself some time off by standing all these watches, and then, when it starts blowing, you and Nastya can take the strain, all right? Here…
When There’s No Fish, You’re Glad of Any Encounter. Week Three on the Ocean
“Wheee-oo!”—an actual whistle came over our radio. “Hey, ship, what are you doing here?” Half an hour earlier, a fishing vessel had appeared on AIS. “Hi! I’m sailing t…
Valentine’s Day. Three Weeks in the Ocean
“I invite you for a romantic stroll on deck!” The captain’s face disappeared from the doorway, replaced by the trouser leg of his foul-weather gear. Realising that I c…
The Storm Is Closing In. Southern Ocean, Day 23
The Southern Ocean is wonderful! Just like Matroskin in Prostokvashino: you don’t even need to buy a fridge. Two and a half crates of apples are sitting there as fresh…
Storm and Mayhem. Southern Indian Ocean Passage, Day 25
“Mum, why are we rolling so badly?” “Because it’s a storm, sweetheart.” 11:00. We hove to yesterday before nightfall. We’re being tossed around in our bunks, and going…
The Captain Is Always Right
Morning, 20 February. The storm has long since been spitting with rage somewhere behind us, but we are still heading north. So hard north, in fact, that we are already…
Sisyphean Labour. Southern Ocean, Days 27–30
Breaking Records for Breakdowns There has been no time for posts or letters. Here is a list of our activities over the past few days: an attempt to repair the engine a…
Surviving the Southern Ocean. Day 32
“So, Mum, are you comfortable down there?” the young sailor asks solicitously as I squeeze myself onto her bunk, which is tucked under the table in the wheelhouse. Aft…
Guess What Broke This Time? Indian Ocean, Roaring Forties, Day 34
Incident Number One Let’s start from a little way back. Yesterday we hoisted midshipman Nastya up the mast to untangle the main halyard. The three-metre swell worked a…
From Midshipman Nastya
Dear readers! Since Mum is writing an urgent article about the heroic Metelitsa polar team and doesn’t have time for a post, this burden has fallen on my fragile shoul…
40 Days in the Indian Ocean
Do you know what my signature move is? Taking on an impossible burden and dragging it to the finish line on a tight deadline, while that proverbial rooster is pecking …
How the Sail Tore Loose. Indian Ocean Passage, Day 42
We’re riding out the storm hove-to. Or rather, we were; now we’re flying along. There isn’t even that much wind—35 knots (Force 7–8). But for the past few days we’ve b…
March 8. Southern Indian Ocean, Day 44
Girls, spring is on its way! Renewal, bright colours, inspiration and love! Let’s hurry and cast off the winter blues—and onward, to new heights! Into silk dresses and…
Australia Is Close! Indian Ocean Passage, Day 46.
March 10 is Artist’s Day, the young sailor and I decided, and we settled down to paint in oils. Lada produced a funny ginger cat, while I painted an Impressionist bouq…
Do Good and Cast It into the Sea. Indian Ocean, Day 48
We’re figuring out the ins and outs of entering Australia. The forecast is this: 6 litres of beans, 5 litres of peas and the same amount of lentils, as well as brown r…
New Threats. Indian Ocean, Day 51
“Sailors are supposed to go ashore looking spick and span,” or so our favourite performer claims in one of his songs (guess who?). So Lady Mary is having a spring clea…
Waiting for the Weather by the Sea. 53 Days in the Ocean
And no sooner had we stretched out in the sunshine and hung up the freshly washed clothes to dry, no sooner had we scrubbed 80% of the boat, than the good times came t…
Australia — the End of the Indian Ocean Passage
Starry Nights The night before landfall was the twin sister of the previous night’s stellar mystery. These were the first nights in a year and a half when we stood on …
Quarantine and Coronavirus in Australia
Quarantine did not prevent the Lady Mary crew—us—from setting foot in the land of kangaroos. We managed to enter 2.5 days before the borders were closed to all foreign…
How to Celebrate a Child’s Birthday in Isolation, or “No Gatherings of More Than Two People”
“Do you know why I’m so funny?” our young sailor once asked us. “Because I was born on April 1!” And it’s wonderful that Ladunya is so funny. Her easy-going nature kee…
Surviving Antarctica
A new video on our YouTube channel — Surviving Antarctica So, Lady Mary is trapped in the ice. What happens next? Watch now! — Is it actually possible to get out? — Ca…
Australia by Yacht. Travely-Family’s Visa and Entry Formalities. Sailing Around the World via Antarctica and the Great Capes with Children
Obtaining an Australian visa in a third country, the particulars of entry formalities, and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on border crossings. And so, at 11 a.…
Yacht Breakdowns and Repairs in the Roaring Forties of the Indian Ocean. 53 Days of Self-Isolation. Questions and Answers.
How a broken-down engine allowed us to avoid closed borders and quarantine in Australia due to the coronavirus pandemic. How we nearly sank the yacht, ran out of fresh…
Travelling with Children: Education and Socialisation | How Do You Study Remotely? Life Hacks.
How children learn without school. The pros, cons and bottlenecks. Is it difficult to make friends and fit into a group? 10 years of homeschooling experience and 2 com…
Australia in Quarantine: Weather, Wildlife, People
What is upside down in Australia? Quarantine, the seasons, people, and the possibility of travel Is it true that everyone in Australia walks upside down? This joke cro…
Patagonia in Winter with Children on a Yacht. Glaciers, Sea Lions, Guanacos
Patagonia in winter aboard a yacht with children, a hundred kilometres from Cape Horn. The southernmost edge of the world, uninhabited wilderness accessible only from …
A New Storm, the Same Old Quarantine, and an Old Disaster
Right now, a powerful storm is beginning in Western Australia. The previous one was 20 days ago. Quarantine restrictions have been eased. Let’s break up the bulletins …
Jaws. Or Emergency Dentistry in Quarantine
Is it difficult to get dental care when everything is closed because of the epidemic? How long do you have to wait and, most importantly, how much does emergency denti…
Koalas, Aboriginal People, and the Primal Instinct
Only in Australia are the Aboriginal people (the original inhabitants) actually called Aboriginal people. While the indigenous peoples of the human world often closely…
Active Isolation. Where the Children Study. Russians in Australia
Answering a frequently asked question: what courses is our young sailor taking now, during the holidays, while in Australia? And why is she so delighted with them? Lin…
Flying Over Australia: An Alternative Life
In a single-engine plane over the most isolated metropolis in the world. An alternative life—what would it have been like if not for the expedition? A flight from sadn…
How to Overcome Fear
A road trip across Australia, mountaineering with children—climbing the world’s tallest lookout trees. How to overcome fear, climb to the height of a 20-storey buildin…
Christmas in July
“Boy, did the people of the Southern Hemisphere draw the short straw!” I thought a year ago, in the middle of a Tierra del Fuego winter at 55 degrees south latitude (t…
Western Australia: The Film
Western Australia, or Beating the Quarantine — all the highlights, flights, losses and finds are in our new film! In the middle of the Indian Ocean, we broke down. We …
The Adventures of Niko the Little Penguin and His Friends. A Story by Our Young Sailor
Our young sailor has literary ambitions. The Adventures of Niko the Little Penguin and His Friends is her first story, written a year ago in the wake of our voyage to …
Dead Town
A GHOST TOWN in the goldfields of Western Australia—and its ghosts. Why did the people leave? What became of the gold, the houses, the cars and the hotels? Flooded min…
We Have 2 Hours. It’s Urgent!
All hands on deck! Guys, you’re our only hope. Because of our aversion to public voting, we missed the whole race . We entered the “Star Beneath Your Backpack” Award, …
Our Yachting Journey Began with Our Child’s Asthma: The Road to Sailing Around the World
How our child’s bronchial asthma set us on the path to sailing around the world. It was asthma that pushed us towards sailing—and ultimately towards a round-the-world …
What You Need to Know About Australia. Or: We’re Going Where Three Bodies Were Found
Why people die on a sacred mountain, what the Australian continent consists of besides its coastline, and how well prepared you need to be before venturing into its in…
What’s the Difference Between a Lucky Person and a Loser?
What’s your superpower? “Lucky you. Not everyone gets that lucky!” people often write in the comments—obviously referring to the yacht someone gave us, the attentive g…
Halloween in Australia + the Captain’s Birthday
How to combine Halloween with the birthday of the most important crew member Two weeks have flashed by since Andrey’s birthday. In that time, we managed to fall ill, s…
How We Changed Our Lives: November 22 in History
Two years ago today, we radically changed our lives. At this very moment, we made a sharp turn into the South Pacific to find Maria-Theresa Island and reach the 37th p…
Archive
2021
New Year in Different Countries
POOR FATHER FROST, or THE GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YEAR Over the past 10 years, we have celebrated New Year in different countries—at these blue dots on the map. At first, fro…
Long Farewells Mean Extra Tears. We’re Heading Out to Sea
Long farewells mean extra tears I usually say this phrase after hugging a friend goodbye for the tenth time. Over our year in Perth, we have become entwined in such a …
Rottnest Island. To Leave or Not to Leave
First, We’re Heading to Rottnest I woke at six with the oppressive thought: “This is it. Today.” We’re leaving Perth for Rottnest Island after a year at the marina. We…
Waiting for the Storm
For the past couple of days, all the weather services in Western Australia have joined forces and held their breath, waiting for the storm—a double cyclone coming down…
A New Video from Our Young Sailor — Space in 5 Minutes
He said, “LET’S GO!” and waved his hand. — 12 April 1961. The clock at the Baikonur Cosmodrome reads 14:07. In 108 minutes, the world will change forever. First Mate M…
There Is No Growth in Comfort. We Hoist the Sails.
“There is no growth in prolonged comfort,” I say, scraping myself off the watchkeeper’s settee to step out into autumn. 2 a.m. We set sail and thread our way around th…
Tame Stingrays and Great Cape Leeuwin
Tame Stingrays This enormous stingray swam up to be hand-fed... The whole family comes right up to your feet and lets you stroke them. The children, standing knee-deep…
A Whale and the Expedition’s Final Interim Tally
We’ve rounded all three Great Capes; only one task remains, and for now it is proving difficult to accomplish On 17 April, Lady Mary crossed the longitude of Cape Leeu…
How We Became Native Americans — Fun Aboard the Yacht
Dawn over the “Great Lakes” 🙂 Why the Great Lakes? Because that was where real Native Americans lived. And they are what this story is about. A real Native American..…
The Story of a Shipwreck. The Wrecked Ship in Albany (Western Australia)
We brushed up against the story of this shipwreck on Lenin’s birthday, no less. That was when Lady Mary moved from a fabulous mooring buoy among pelicans and the cries…
Off to Tasmania, or 2,000 Miles in the Southern Ocean
And so our working holiday around Albany is drawing to a close. Nastya has passed her assessment, so we can head out into the ocean with peace of mind. We’re leaving t…
Into the Forties. Passage from Western Australia to Tasmania, Days 1–5
Judging by the activity on our website over the past four days, you’ve probably already realised that Lady Mary’s chief chronicler has been in no state to write. The m…
Passage to Tasmania, Days 5–6. Masochism, Breakdowns and Provisions
Morning of May 20... Last night, we were too lazy to set anything besides the small jib. The thinking was that we’d soon have to tack anyway, so we’d set something the…
Hove-to in a Storm and Black Humour. Passage to Tasmania, Days 7–8
22 May. The morning before the storm was clear and almost calm. The captain and I get dressed to set more sail. I pull on a bright orange jacket. The captain says: “Yo…
Storm in the Roaring Forties. Day 11 of the Passage to Tasmania
It’s been a long time since we saw the weather change quite so dramatically, with the wind swinging through 180 degrees in half an hour. One minute it was sunny and as…
On Watch After the Storm. Passage to Tasmania, Days 11–13
Just a diary, no frills. The waves in this storm really got going, no mistake. Even a day later, they are frightening to look at. We lay hove-to until morning. In one …
Hooray, an Anticyclone! Passage to Tasmania, Days 15–16
29 May. We have been sailing to Tasmania for fifteen days. After a year of being stuck in one place, two weeks at sea feel very boring and endless. Today is the first …
Meet the Family of Four Sailing Around the World
Meet the Family of Four Sailing Around the World WORDS AND PHOTOS BY IULIA GALUSHINA PHOTOJOURNALIST IULIA GALUSHINA KNOWS HOW TO SNIFF OUT A GREAT STORY—WHETHER IT’S …
How a Book Inspired This Family to Sail Some of the World’s Most Dangerous Routes
How a Book Inspired This Family to Sail Some of the World’s Most Dangerous Routes Inspired by a book and a childhood dream, a Russian family embarked on an epic voyage…
A Month and a Half in Tasmania
Where we disappeared to from the website, and what happened in the meantime It has been a month and a half since we arrived in southern Tasmania. Yet the website is st…
A Brutal Force 11 Storm 300 Miles from Cape Horn
It’s out! A film about a powerful storm! Force 11 on the Beaufort scale. 53° south, the first days of spring in the Southern Ocean. Our approach to and encounter with …
Plans for Completing Our Circumnavigation. Heading Out into the Pacific
We are preparing to head out into the Pacific Ocean from Tasmania. We have stayed here, sailing straight past the whole of eastern Australia, including the Great Barri…
Round-the-World Journal. The Ocean in Winter off the Coast of Tasmania
What a journal that was never meant to become a post looks like The countdown began three weeks ago. We’re poised for the final, enormous dash across the Pacific Ocean…
We’re Off to Cross the Pacific Ocean
A year and a half, guys... Nowhere in the world, apart from our homeland, have we lived as long as we have in Australia. A whole little lifetime, almost settled, yet l…
8 September. Five Days. Not Exactly a Smooth Flight
8 September. Five Days. Not Exactly a Smooth Flight “Wanderers need no home or comfort, they need the ocean, the land”—to recharge our batteries, Andrey puts on Childr…
A Tough Week in the Tasman Sea
A Tough Week in the Tasman Sea For a week, we steered 24 hours a day: the windvane self-steering couldn’t cope with the strong, gusty wind. 25–45 knots (if you prefer,…
Oh, Bitter Cold… Day Ten in the Southern Tasman Sea
Oh, bitter cold—day ten in the southern Tasman Sea Inside the yacht, it is like a polar station: for most of the day, our breath hangs in the air. A wind has come up f…
All Five of the Planet’s Southern Capes—Rounded!
All five of the planet’s southern capes have been rounded! Today, 15 September 2021, at 15:40 New Zealand time, Lady Mary and our crew crossed the meridian of 167°32′ …
An Emergency and a Mystical Groundhog Day
An Emergency and a Mystical Groundhog Day Had it not been for a serious breakage, 16 September could have been called the only Groundhog Day of our lives. Having put t…
The fair wind, as if bedevilled, cannot find our sails
The fair wind, as if bedevilled, cannot find our sails “Maybe I should go and wash my face. Think it might help?” “Well, give it a try. I washed mine; it didn’t help.”…
20 Days in the Ocean: The Unvarnished Truth About the Romance of the Sea
20 Days in the Ocean: The Unvarnished Truth About the Romance of the Sea A cyclone, then an anticyclone, then another cyclone keeps spinning around beyond New Zealand.…
About Coconuts, a Sawed-Off Boom, and Monsters from Suwarrow Atoll
About Coconuts, a Sawed-Off Boom, and Monsters from Suwarrow Atoll Keep sawing, Shura, keep sawing: it’s made of gold That was what the captain kept saying as he used …
All Hands and Provisions. Day 56 of Self-Isolation
All Hands and Provisions. Day 56 of Self-Isolation Provisions at Sea: What We Have Left Coconut water for breakfast + the tender flesh of a young coconut. This kind of…
The Captain’s Birthday. Calms and Squalls
The Captain’s Birthday. Calms and Squalls It is so strange that Novosibirsk time is only six hours behind ours, yet over there it is already today while here it is sti…
The Equator!
The Equator! This morning, we have 36 miles left to the point at latitude 00.00. This Neptune’s Day will be a modest affair, because we already crossed the equator at …
We’re Being Swept Past Land
We’re Being Swept Past Land “What a nuisance,” as Miss Bock used to say. And what pains me most is wasting two days heading north, then another two days heading south …
Everything You Need to Know About an Emergency Stop. Or the Zombie Apocalypse on Christmas Island
Everything You Need to Know About an Emergency Stop. Or the Zombie Apocalypse on Christmas Island We asked them for some water to drink Or else we’d die before our pri…
The World’s First Round-the-World Expedition via the Great Capes and Antarctica with Children Is Complete!
The world’s first round-the-world expedition via the great capes and Antarctica with children is complete! Paradise off the port side. What is that thrill of approachi…
Day 87. Land Is Close
Day 87. Land Is Close “Marinochka, what if we hang around French Polynesia for five years or so? We’ll sort things out at home, then come back. We can take our time go…
How the Tahiti Rescue Service Wrote to Us. Day 91
How the Tahiti Rescue Service Wrote to Us. Day 91 And just like that, it’s winter. And south of the equator—just like that, it’s summer. We haven’t posted for a while.…
95 Days After Tasmania
95 Days After Tasmania One day in 1992, when I was in Year 11, recruiters from a sewing vocational school came to our school: come and train with us as industrial sewi…
Yacht Repairs in Beautiful Places. Or Where We’ve Disappeared To
Sailing across a hundred seas during a pandemic means that even if you do find yourself close to land, you will have neither the opportunity nor the time to go travell…
Aliens. What Moved In on Deck While the Crew Were Away, and What Was Christmas Like There?
We’ve got... flying slugs living on deck. Even as I write this, my hair is standing on end. It’s the tropics, baby... How did it happen? It was raining cats and dogs i…
Archive
2022
Preparing for the Voyage: News from the Past Month
For the preparations for a voyage to go well, you need to recover from the previous voyage. Otherwise, disaster and burnout will come for you, scythe in hand, and ther…
We’ve Set Off to Cross the Pacific Ocean!
Our posts from the passage will carry a fresh ocean breeze and the hope that everything will be all right again. Because there has to be hope. Chronicles of Our Final …
Polynesia–Vladivostok. On Our First Days in the Ocean and the Tragedy of the Present
Polynesia–Vladivostok. On Our First Days in the Ocean and the Tragedy of the Present Sailing with a warm following trade wind is nothing like the Roaring Forties or ba…
Pacific Crossing, Days 5–6. And Another Torn Sail
This isn’t the Tasman Sea! we thought—and our motto, not a day without adventure, instantly kicked in. Our old mainsail, which had gone around the world through the Ro…
11 Days in the Ocean: Electrical Problems and a Yachtsman of the Year Award Win
11 Days in the Ocean: Electrical Problems and a Yachtsman of the Year Award Win Lady Mary has already whistled through one fifth of the Polynesia–Vladivostok route. Co…
The Equator and Our First Catch. Ocean, Day 16
The Equator and Our First Catch. Ocean, Day 16 Yesterday, Lady Mary crossed the equator once again, stepping from the Southern Hemisphere into the Northern. This telep…
Young Sailor Lada’s and First Mate Mum’s Birthdays in the Ocean
Young Sailor Lada’s and First Mate Mum’s Birthdays in the Ocean We’ve been celebrating for two days now. It just so happened that everyone in our family has had the ch…
Stuck on the Tropic of Cancer. Days 36–37
Stuck on the Tropic of Cancer. Days 36–37 The wind that carried us 4,500 nautical miles in a month has vanished. A light following wind is pushing the boat completely …
Escaping the Typhoon. Six Weeks in the Ocean
What can we say on the 43rd day of our journey? That if Lady Mary had maintained her speed from the first month, we would already be entering blessed Russian waters—or…
Japan Is Gliding Past to Starboard. Day 50
Japan Is Gliding Past to Starboard. Day 50 The greatest joy for a long-haul sailor is sailing close to shore. No, friends, there is no romance in a weeks-long ocean pa…
10 Days That Changed the Way We Travel
How does this keep happening, guys? The moment we come ashore—boom. We drop out of reporting mode and lose ourselves in life on land. A Gateway to Another Life For the…
Going All Out: Entering the Home Straight of Our Second Circumnavigation
“Isn’t it time you rested your tongues in a glass of water?” our friend Masha sweetly enquired. “We could certainly use it :),” we laughed. Because although talking th…
Pacific-to-Atlantic Road Trip!
CALENDAR of motivational meet-ups in cities across Russia in August and September The main thing in this post will be the map. On 22 May 2022, our family somehow manag…
Lady Mary and the Captain Are Back in the Ocean!
Unexpected news and the continuation of our maritime Odyssey So here I am, keeping quiet and dragging my feet, hiding behind the urgent need to finish writing the book…
Typhoon
Approaching the Philippines. Compiled from the captain’s messages sent via satellite tracker Morning of 16 October: “We sailed into a storm; it’s blowing 35+. The guys…
Typhoon. From the Captain in the Ocean
#captainslog “...We really took a beating. It was blowing a steady fifty knots; in the gusts—I couldn’t say how much, because the wind instrument died. But there was a…
Happy Birthday, Captain Andrey Klochkov!
The captain and I have only been this far apart once before, seven years ago. He flew to the Canary Islands to prepare the yacht for our round-the-world voyage, and we…
A Winter Apart, or Siberian Frosts Without the Captain
#lifeaftercircumnavigation November 2022 I promised to write about how we’re surviving in a Siberian village while the captain resuscitates the yacht in the Philippine…
Archive
2023
The Captain Has Gone to the Southern Ocean!
10 December — Across the Pacific on a Schooner Andrey has gone to sea for two months. He is sailing as chief mate on a 37-metre sailing vessel (the same size as Duncan…
How We’re Writing a Book Here in Siberia Against the Backdrop of... Well, Just Read It
I don’t know whether you’ve noticed that, apart from the stories about how Andrey is once again crossing the South Pacific right now, there hasn’t been anything on the…
News from the “Roaring Forties”!
The schooner Elsi is approaching the 50s latitudes of the Southern Ocean. At first we did a lot of motoring because we need to keep to schedule. We have a tight deadli…
In the Furious Fifties. News from the Captain
29 January We’ve dropped another couple of degrees south and are steadily approaching 53° south latitude. After weighing up the forecasts and probabilities, we decided…
The Approaches to Cape Horn Begin a Thousand Miles Out
The Great Cape Horn Is Drawing Near 3 February Cape Horn is still more than 1,000 miles away, but we are already beginning to work out our strategy for the approach. T…
The Storm Is Catching Up with Us. Captain’s Log
5.02 “The sea surges through the leeward scuppers (openings for draining water) with almost every wave. We’re making 8 knots on a port-tack beam reach under a reefed m…
Plan B: The Beagle Instead of Cape Horn
News from the captain: “We’re not going via Cape Horn. This decision was prompted by two important factors. First, we have only just enough diesel fuel left to reach U…
Plankton and the Scientific Expedition. Approaching Antarctica
18 February The wind in the Drake Passage refused to shift all morning. We are making extremely slow progress compared with our dash across the Pacific from Australia …
Our Book “Around the World with Children” Is Out!
Why write a book? As Jacques-Yves Cousteau used to say, if you have the good fortune to lead an extraordinary life, you have no right to turn your back on it. An extra…
Archive
2026
Ocean TV — Defenders of Wildlife
The Expanding Role of PVC Cables in the Renewable Energy Industry and Environmental Conservation Trends and Innovations in the Renewable Energy Sector The development …
We’re Going to Antarctica!
And this time, you can join us on a tour to Antarctica. In December 2023, we returned to the ocean once again—together. And we are continuing to fulfil one of the drea…
Archive
Date not determined
Icebergs! Antarctica Is Close
There was no hint of what was coming when, on 1 February, I relieved Dan from the dawn watch. I took over on the bridge at 10 a.m., and by 11 I was already calling all…
News from the Captain! Australia–Cape Horn Passage 2023
Compiled from the captain’s messages: 13 January Preparing for the headwind to strengthen overnight. Motoring without sails for now. Doing carpentry work on deck. 14 J…