Departure time is a time of optimism for Ginger and me. All the stress of decision-making and the work of planning and provisioning is behind us, and we are almost always full of good hope for an upcoming passage. Last year we were readying to leave the Mediterranean, departing on a voyage to home half a world away near Seattle.
Our ketch, Irene, was ready to go - with new bottom paint, fresh varnish, and full fuel and water tanks. Her lockers were crammed with excellent and inexpensive Turkish produce; olive oil, wine, grains and meats. As we stowed provisions on that bright and sunny morning, we glanced past the breakwater and saw the Med was deep blue and speckled with whitecaps. A perfect sailing wind was blowing.
Our crew of two was ready to go, too. Turkey had been a wonderful place to visit, both for sailing and visits inland, but the Covid pandemic had impacted the world while we were there. We'd been locked down for four months, and onward borders were closing.
We needed to come up with a plan for action, and we came up with a bold one: we decided to sail non-stop, mostly eastbound, halfway around the globe. We'd sail from Turkey to Seattle: down the Red Sea, across the Indian Ocean, and into the Pacific, crossing eastward in the northern latitudes. We would stop in Djibouti, Indonesia, Japan, and lastly at Dutch Harbour in the Aleutian Islands.
Denne historien er fra July 2022-utgaven av Yachting World.
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Denne historien er fra July 2022-utgaven av Yachting World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Nikki Henderson- Want to be a better skipper? think like an instructor
Recently I was fortunate enough to find myself on the bow during a race. Well, I thought it was fortunate but appreciate that sentiment could be up for debate... I don’t get so much opportunity to play on the pointy end these days. It was fun!I was readying the symmetric spinnaker for a bear away set. Having just fed the sheet and guy around to the starboard side and under the jib, I was bracing myself in some sort of yoga-starfish position. Right foot braced on a stanchion, left foot on the pulpit, my core muscles just about keeping me upright as I rolled the lines around to make sure they weren’t twisted before attaching them to the clew.
NIKKI HENDERSON
WHERE DO YOU FIND HANDY BILLY WHEN YOU NEED HIM?
MATTHEW SHEAHAN
IS OLYMPIC SAILING ACTUALLY HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AS A SHOWCASE OF THE SPORT FOR BOTH COMPETITORS AND SPECTATORS?
Building fleet for Baltic Sea Race
The second edition of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race, a 635-mile race out of Helsinki, Norway, saw varied conditions and a new benchmark course time set.
New cruising charter 'Odyssey'
Charter company Dream Yacht has launched a new round the world supported cruising programme for yacht owners which draws on the company's extensive network of charter bases.
Mixed fortunes at Marseille
The Paris 2024 sailing regatta saw mixed fortunes for many favourites - some confirming their dominance, others crashing out as variable winds played havoc.
The yacht Bayesian
Bayesian is one of Italian yard Perini Navi's 56m series, originally named Salute.
Seven dead in superyacht sinking
Seven people are dead following the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, a 56m/184ft British-flagged Perini Navi, off the coast of Sicily.
5 EXPERT TIPS HELENA DARVELID ON MULTIHULL CONTROL
Performance multihull racing is growing hugely in popularity. Helena Darvelid shares some key learnings with Andy Rice
PALMA'S FUN FACTOR
FUN ON AND OFF THE WATER IS AN UNBEATABLE COMBINATION AT THE SUPERYACHT CUP PALMA, WRITES PHIL RILEY