Meet the participants

Islands Odyssey 2015: some participants profiles

You can click on the pictures or the blue names to learn more about the participants.

     
BLUE MOON
Peter Kohz &
Ulrike Hain
  KWANZA
Tony & Heather Halahan
  LUFI of GUERNSEY
Laura & Philip Ross
  NANGILIMA
Stian Sviland &
Irmelin Nybakk
 
     
OPTIMUS
Joseph & Kamala Chin
  SARAYU
Denys & Bozena Smith
  SERENDIP
Henri Schongut &
Lydia Levy
  TZIGANE
Claude & Françoise Tredaniel
 
         
VELVET
Michel Tabusse & Hélène de Lagarde
  XELA
Francis & Isabelle Bouvier
       

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Peter Kohz & Ulrike Hain S/V Blue Moon

We have been under way since 2013, starting from Croatia, living most of the time on our ship. We finished working in our own offices as doctors before leaving. Our son (22 years old) must stay in Munich for his education.

We like to be on our Blue Moon and explore the sea, the people and the countries. We experienced fleet sailing years before and we liked it. So we hope we will meet other friendly people to be friends with and compare notes with them.

We also like to have experienced people like Jimmy Cornell or Klaus Hympendahl to learn something important from.


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Tony & Heather Halahan S/V Kwanza

We have owned Kwanza our Oceanis 48 for three years and have spent two years in the North West of UK cruising mainly the Hebrides and Irish Sea.

It has always been our desire to travel to far off places and swim in azure waters so we started our world cruise by crossing the English Channel to France in April 2015, then the Bay of Biscay, cruising the Spanish Rias and Portugal, eventually positioning ourselves in the Canaries for the Islands Odyssey in November.

Our choice of Cornell Sailing was quite simply based on the reputation and the small number of participants.

We enjoy meeting people in and around the yachting fraternity and look forward to relaxed cruising with the Islands Odyssey family.

We also hope that the Odyssey will offer the additional safety for this epic journey.


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Laura & Philip Ross S/V Lufi of Guernsey

We are Laura and Phil, we’ve had a busy year so far getting our boat Lufi ready for our big trip, getting married on a wonderful sunny June day, packing up our lives in the UK and finally setting sail in August this year on our honeymoon/adventure to NZ!

We’re looking forward to exploring the Canaries with the other participants and sailing the Atlantic crossing in company.

For the majority of the trip it will be the two of us, however, we will be joined by Phil’s Dad Pete for the Atlantic crossing.

We look forward to meeting you all.


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Stian Sviland & Irmelin Nybakk S/V Nangilima

On board the S/V Nangilima lives a Norwegian family of three. Father and Captain Stian, Mother and co-captain Irmelin and the wee one Ida (now 10months).

We left Norway in March 2014 and cruised down to the Canaries, where we now are waiting to cross with you guys. With a few other goals for sailing than to see what the next day brings, we take pleasure in the places we see and the people we meet.

We do not know how long our sailing adventure will last, as we’ve agreed upon only to continue as long as we still find it fun. Time will tell.

We hope for the best regarding the crossing and our little one, ’cause we do confess, we are a bit concerned for such a long passage. But with good planning and positive thinking, we reckon it’ll be alright. We do hope to meet other families in the Odyssey and along the way.

Blog (in Norwegian): synangilima.svilands.com


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Joseph & Kamala Chin S/V Optimus

We are fairly new to sailing. Having spent most of our lives living in cities we decided to give cruising a try. Since then we’ve sailed throughout the Mediterranean with dreams of crossing the Atlantic. Originally, we had considered the Atlantic Odyssey but really wanted to see more. The Islands Odyssey was more in line with what we set out to do. It was reassuring for us to have Jimmy Cornell organize this rally.

We look forward to our experiences, meeting new people, and this adventure.


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Denys & Bozena Smith S/V Sarayu

We have spent three magical summers sailing the Med, met some great people and seen enough rubble, ruins and history to see us through.

However, having run away from our family and now grandchildren since 2013, the call of the wild ( read grandchildren ) is calling us home .

The Odyssey for us is an opportunity to meet fellow cruising sailors, hear and share in their stories and hopefully have a few laughs.

Further to that, the ideals behind ” the Odyssey ” relating to earth and sea care, is a cause any thinking sailor would aspire to meet.


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Henri Schongut & Lydia Levy S/V Serendip

We are Henri and Lydia, and have been living apart for more than ten years: Henri in Antwerp (Belgium), Lydia in Toulouse (France), trying to change our lives.

We acquired S/V Serendip, just to do that: living aboard and spending some time together. Time… all my life was driven by this concept…time: delivering in time, being on time, optimizing…time. With this Odyssey we would do just the opposite: enjoying the extraordinary luxury of being able to spend time, even more to lose time in our quest for the “unexpected”.

So don’t ask us why we want to cross the Ocean, we just don’t know… and that’s OK for us. It’s the true serendipity. But we know that it relies not only on us, but also on the relationships we will certainly establish with other participants.

To us, the Islands Odyssey seems the best option for this, as the various stops, will give us many opportunities to meet new people, see different landscapes and extend our personal understanding.

Blog (in French): yacht-serendip.blogspot.be


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Claude & Françoise Tredaniel S/V Tzigane

We are both 55 years old. We have sailed along the south coast of Britanny for three years since we bought Tzigane, a Santorin Amel 45 feet. Indeed it’s a large boat made for great cruises and we would like to show some new horizons to its bow.

It’s a family project with our brothers and our four children; the different phases allow us to change the crew during the rally.

Joining the rally is a chance for us to meet and share experiences with other sailors, but also to sail safely.

At first, we were interested by “the Atlantic Odyssey” but the new rally “Island Odyssey” suits us better because we like sailing, but we also love to visit new countries; stopping over in Canary Islands and in Sao Vicente will be the best.

Moreover, we are really sensitive to the environmental touch of the rally organized by Jimmy Cornell.


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Michel Tabusse & Hélène de Lagarde S/V Velvet

10 years ago, we complained about not taking enough advantage from living by the sea (Montpellier). Therefore we bought a motor boat. After some time, we got tired of it and we acquired a 40 feet sailboat (Dufour 405 GL) that soon consumed most of our week-ends and holiday time.

Lately, we completed a more radical step by taking ownership of Velvet 2, a Garcia Exploration 45 (yes, sister ship of Jimmy Cornell’s). She was delivered to us by Garcia Yachting in summer 2014 and has become our main house. Quite a change of lifestyle after working 30 years in the semiconductor design industry (Michel) or as a pharmacist (Hélène).

We sailed Velvet to the Canaries in fall 2014 and have been discovering the islands since, in between regular trips to France. We look forward to crossing the Atlantic this year. The Islands Odyssey’s values match perfectly what we are looking for: friendliness, generosity, security and fun.

Blog: (French & English) www.velvet2.fr


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Francis & Isabelle Bouvier S/V Xela

We have left Arcachon basin, to take full advantage of our time.

The decision to participate in the Islands Odyssey was a natural one for us. It seemed exciting and we felt reassured to have the support of the organisers behind us. We feel sure that our new life at sea will reveal new horizons and beautiful encounters.

After crossing to the Caribbean we have made plans to move in the Pacific (via Panama) in 2016.

We look forward to meeting you all


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