My longest blue water trip so far; 35 days at sea. I am sailing solo on Reykja, a 35 year old steel yacht. It goes through the Panama Canal to Hiva Oa, French Polynesia. The distance is about 8000 kilometers. This part of the Pacific is remote, I don’t see a single ship during the whole time. But many other things.
Oh how beautiful is Panama
Panama, that is colorful birds with garish whistling tones. Panama, that is shameless extortion by immigration officials, high canal fees, latent criminality. Gladly I left, never to come back. But for three weeks I was happy to be in Panama. “Who is your agent?” is the standard question in the marina. No normal traveler, the … Read more
Bushwalking Dominica’s Jungle. The Video
Almost nobody knows Dominica. That makes this Caribbean Island an “insider tip”. Half of Dominica is supposed to be rainforest, jungle. There are active volcanoes. Steep mountains. And a trail. You can walk the entire island yourself. This is my outdoor project: I will bushwalk Dominica’s jungle.
Sailing alone across the Atlantic Ocean. The video
My first Atlantic crossing. I am alone on the 12-metre REYKJA, a 35-year-old steel yacht. I am sailing from La Palma, Canary Islands, directly to Domenica, Caribbean. The distance is 2790 nautical miles, more than 5000 kilometres. It takes me 24 days.
Living with uncertainty
Tomorrow I want to cast off the lines in Tazacorte. Dominica is calling: 5,000 kilometres, four weeks at sea. I am looking forward – and not looking forward. Because I can’t estimate what’s in store for me. Living with uncertainty is an ambivalent state. REYKJA lay in the harbour of Tazacorte for four months. My … Read more
Why?
“What are your plans?” everyone asks everyone at the jetty in Tazacorte. “Grenada” it answers, or “Gambia”, or “Greece”. Country names like bubbles. They glitter, reflect something of the travellers self and often burst with clichés. What are you looking for, in Grenada, Gambia or Greece? would perhaps be a better question. Why are you … Read more
Experiments with tradewinds sailing. The video
Just under six days sailing alone across the Atlantic. It’s 500 nautical miles, 900 kilometres. At first the waves are high. When they calm down, I can experiment. How can I sail in a trade wind? Deploy the two headsails? One headsail and the mainsail? Only one headsail? I find a setting that convinces. And then I have to make another big decision…
In the parallel world
Men in flowing caftans, women covered with shawls. Scarred, horrible wounds, beggars with hollow hands, black eyes and hair, running children, praying men on the jetty, the smell of decay and barbecue, buses on the opposite lane. Morocco is one sensory overload. For three weeks I dive into a parallel world to Europe’s boring predictability. … Read more
Half of the Atlantic
Non-stop sailing from Greece to Gibraltar. For the 2500 kilometres I need 15 days and a well-filled diesel tank. It is half of an Atlantic crossing. And it works out fine. Good sailing moments, prudent professional ships and a successful escape from the boiling Mediterranean. We leave the sheltering bay of Pylos, Peleponnes. Yesterday’s storm … Read more
From sea dog to country bumpkin
Marina Agios Nikolaos, Crete. I moor backwards. A gust of wind grabs the ship and lays it across. Helpers pour out of other yachts, staining their white T-shirts with the slime of bog ropes. Five of us moor Reykja at jetty C 4. She will stay here for half a year. It will be the … Read more