Continent · routes
Central and South America
Mexico, Colombia, Panama, French Guiana, Chile and Argentina.
Publications are arranged chronologically – from the earliest to the most recent. Select a title to open the full entry.
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, the crew of Lady Mary …
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 myth that the small cou…
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 Live, and Where They …
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 about Russians Almost …
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 marina’s history had…
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 glowing wake, sharks, …
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 tropical rainforest …
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’re wallowing lazily, …
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 laws for sailors... W…
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 and decided to cross …
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 after arriving in Puer…
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 another. Video and audio.…
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 and fish with Olivier…
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, encounters with Rus…
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 regions. The closer it get…
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 Mexican local colour If …
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 tribute to statues …
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 since the Canary Islan…
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 Tabasco? Our First En…
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 for so long :)... And…
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 moored alongside a Dutch…
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 that a shipyard tucke…
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 how, what they feed y…
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 how long the new paint…
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. Now we are illegal …
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. Panama, the Caribbean S…
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 night the rain set in. …
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 Shelter Bay Marina At …
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 ceases to be waterproof…
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 light. Panama is awake,…
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 guests — Elena Stepan…
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 worth. Night and songs I…
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 adhesive(!) propertie…
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’re fixing the shrouds…
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 much as an old yacht i…
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... The start of our la…
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, and how the current…