Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Ocean passages, islands and the long stages of the great Pacific route.
Publications are arranged chronologically – from the earliest to the most recent. Select a title to open the full entry.
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 hundred-metre le…
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 eastern Pacific. By nig…
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 sea rather than 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 jib from furlers to h…
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. Letters from the ma…
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 of the ocean, the la…
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 bloodthirsty shark attacks.…
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 arrived! The anchorage at…
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. Zootopia is falling asle…
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 adventures to it :). Galápa…
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 local shop ran out of…
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, we left the harbour…
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 direction here is strangel…
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 yacht Lady Mary have g…
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 matter how hard we tr…
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 film Territory since …
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 sealed up for days. …
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 a little tin of Bri…
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 everything is where it shou…
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 asks gloomily, antic…
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 neighbour says: look for…
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 bounce around on the…
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 to write when we can…
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 that never falls silen…
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 gardening. Sent via sat…
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 of cannibals, both …
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 do with the anchor …
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 half past nine in th…
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! Stop! Astern! Pay out …
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 night of bucking ar…
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 new neighbours In t…
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, bushes and barbed-wire …
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 Dinghy The beginning…
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 wave broke over us.…
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-Face, the junior cr…
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 Pitcairn. They worry that w…
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 who stands the nigh…
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 pass in dreary yet …
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 stuff and the edge are…
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 setting foot ashore…
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 for the weather, exc…
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 entire country, whil…
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 gramophone in it, And a…
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 :). Resuscitating the outboa…
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 crying over parting with…
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 deputy mayoress, Jayden …
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 this really exist? —…
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, Mangareva Island (Fren…
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 way for a little over …
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 system here in the Ma…
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 have written “what a…
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 (from a song)... We ha…
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 with his wife. Now Om…
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 10.27 south latitude …
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 season, and mountai…
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 warns us. The vanguard …
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 forage for food and sp…
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? (The story begins in 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 campfire until dawn, …
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 (have you read that …
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 visa. In some places …
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 French Polynesia obtain…
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 a stir 200 years ag…
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 in the northern Marqu…
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. Here’s how it works:…
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 doing household chores …
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 ciguatera, day six. For the…
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, but it had one flaw: …
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 joke. Must be the cigu…
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 ago. Along the way, we…
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 has been trying to …
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 Bay. That is because i…
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. “Better have a look at wh…
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 into the wind are sof…
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 2300, I was on until 02…
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 (formerly known as t…
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 gone to the Netherlands…
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 only way we can repl…
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 sleep at home. In fi…
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 off how, exactly? The…
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. The Climax . “Why?” …
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 reports. And we’re sta…
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 compiled from two dispatche…
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 helps us live, create…
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 missing for complete h…
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 splash down Maxim c…
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, and the rain has taken…
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 like ashore. I fried up…
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. It’s blowing 15 knot…
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 passage. The captain,…
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. Unfold the charts. …
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 provisions? We’ve got e…
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. By evening we had t…
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 you leaving? — In h…
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 Island, which lies on…
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 actually existed app…
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 standing watch in a fl…
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 phantom reefs of the Sou…
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, we were planning to…
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 Pacific. Although Lad…
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 faze a sailor. Our …
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 the last reported coor…
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 they don’t die of bore…
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. More precisely, there…
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 letters and comments. …
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 geese, lighting candle…
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, 132 degrees west longi…
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, or 6,030 km, since…
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 decision doesn’t look fr…
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, just six months ago, …
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 sailors, with a line divi…
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 are shorter and more f…
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 us between the brea…
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 circumnavigation has not…
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 halt, or even slowed…
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 the cockpit in littl…
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 we didn’t pay much …
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 now covered more tha…
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 muddled. After a full da…
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 the 60s. I hold him…
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 forecast we received…
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 to break through th…
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 does exist! It turns ou…
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. Coming down after the p…
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 life on the most remot…
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: //bit.ly/Follow_Travely…
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 deadline for arriving in U…
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 January Caught up on …