Atlantic Odyssey 2017: some participants profiles
Starts 11 & 18 November 2017 from Tenerife.
You can click on the pictures or the blue names to learn more about the participants.
A CAPELLA
Julian & Patricia Morgan
CALLISTO
Sten & Françoise Dalgren
FALKOR
Patrick Schweizer & Sherrie McCarthy
KISU
Markus & Gabriela Pfäffli
LA SMALA
Philippe Navarro & Jean-Yves Garcia
LUNA BAY II
Guillaume Allier & Jennifer Parfait
MARIPOSA
Adolf & Gertrud Wunderlin
MERCATOR
Dominique Tichadou
MIRABELLA
André Rüegg & Eva Maria Eugster
ROGUE
Josh & Sara Tucker
SEA DRAGON
Eric Loss & Shanley McEntee
SHAMROCK
Emmanuel Huet
TRITON
Ralf Eidemüller & Cosima Bethge
WELLIS
Stéphane & Florence Gouzènes
WILDSIDE
Andrew & Kate Mullock
YUANA
Markus & Manuela Feldmann
Julian & Patricia Morgan A Capella of Belfast
We are Julian (57) and Patricia (54) Morgan from Herefordshire in England. We have sailed for many years in Europe and have recently sold our steel Callisto 385 which we have owned these last five years.
Our new boat, A Capella of Belfast, (aluminium Allures 45.9) is being built in Cherbourg as we write this and is due for delivery on September 1st when we plan to sail her directly from Cherbourg with a few stops, to the Canaries.
Our plan is that the rally will be the start of a five-year journey around the world. We have always wanted to do this and finally the right time has come. This will be our first Atlantic crossing and we will be sailing with our two friends, Oliver O’Toole and Stuart Dawson both from Herefordshire.
We look forward to meeting likeminded people and seeing our two grown up sons aged 24 and 26 in Barbados for Christmas. Thereafter we plan to sail North to Florida and then up the east Coast of the USA before returning to the Caribbean in December 2018. In the spring of 2019 we plan to go through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific.
We are very excited about taking delivery of our new boat and making new friends during the Atlantic Odyssey and beyond.
Sten & Françoise Dalgren Callisto
Le bateau :
Amel 53, Super Maramu de 1993. Ketch. 15.9×4.6 m , tirant d’eau 2.05 m. Il a fait l’objet d’une importante rénovation pendant l’hiver 2017 en vue des nos périples futurs.
Trois précédents propriétaires de 1993 à 2016. Essentiellement des croisières en Méditerranée. En novembre 2016 achat par les propriétaires actuels.
Sten et Françoise Dalgren :
Sten Dalgren : médecin franco-suédois originaire de Göteborg en Suède. Né en 1948. Double nationalité. A navigué depuis l’enfance. Au total 50 000 NM dont 2 traversées atlantiques et une saison aux Antilles.
Françoise : universitaire à la retraite (faculté d’économie et de droit) . Née à Nice en 1949. Navigation en Bretagne et Méditerranée. 1 traversée atlantique. Au total environ 15 000 NM.
Le projet :
Naviguer quelques années sous les tropiques…peut être les USA ? ou Panama et le Pacifique ? Rien n’est vraiment décidé pour l’instant, mais l’Atlantic Odyssey CV nous a semblé un bon début.
The boat:
Amel 53, Super Maramu from 1993. Ketch. 15.9×4.6m, drawing 2.05m. An extensive renovation was undertaken during the winter of 2017 with a view to our future travels.
Three previous owners from 1993-2016. Essentially, Mediterranean cruisers. In November 2016 she was bought by current owners Sten and Françoise Dalgren.
Sten and Françoise Dalgren:
Sten Dalgren : Franco-Swedish doctor originally from Gothenberg in Sweden. Born in 1948. Dual nationality. Sailing since childhood. A total of 50,000 nautical miles including two Atlantic crossings and a season in the Caribbean.
Françoise : Retired lecturer (economics and law). Born in Nice in 1949. Sailed in Brittany and the Med. One Atlantic crossing. A total of around 15,000 nautical miles experience.
The project :
spend some years navigating in the tropics, perhaps the USA ? or Panama and the Pacific ? Nothing has really been decided yet, but the Atlantic Odyssey seems like a good start.
Blog: callisto2017.wordpress.com/
Patrick Schweizer & Sherrie McCarthy Falkor
I’m Patrick and I am currently afloat with my family – my girlfriend Sherrie and our two children; Emma-Justine (4,5 years) and Kai (2,5 years). Also, our dog Mango (almost 6!).
We have been based in Berlin the past few years and our boat in Nowe Warpno, Poland. That is where we started our trip in April of this year, and from there we headed west. We sailed mostly along the standing mast route in the Netherlands before working our way down the coast of France and Spain into Portugal.
My friend Steffen
Sherrie and the kids will fly back to Canada to celebrate X-Mas with her parents and I will continue to cross the Atlantic with my friend Steffen. I will be reunited with the family in Barbados in the new year!
The Atlantic Odyssey is for us a good way to do the first major crossing. Albeit the boat has crossed the Atlantic multiple times, we have not and I count on the experience of the organizers and the camaraderie of the other participants to make this a safe and great experience
Our boat is a 9.4 meters steel sloop named Falkor after the luck dragon in Michael Ende’s The Never Ending Story. We had more difficulty naming our boat than we did our son! In the end however we knew we found the perfect name with Falkor. I am German and Sherrie is Canadian and The Never Ending Story is from both of our childhoods.
It also ties into how I first started traveling. My first around the world adventure was on a motorcycle and I named her Emma after the locomotive in Michael Ende’s Jim Knopf stories. It was on that trip I met Sherrie and convinced her to reform her backpacking ways and turned her into a motorcycle traveller. After we had children I finally convinced her to sail around the world with me. Sherrie is a less enthusiastic sailor than motorcycler, but for the most part it seems to work!
Before becoming full time cruisers I worked for a startup in Berlin and Sherrie worked as an English language trainer alongside developing her writing career. We have been sailing on our summer vacations for the past four years, with our longest trip before this one being a 2 month sail around Denmark when our son was 4 months old.
My friend Steffen is joining me for this crossing. He works for “Join the Crew” and will be meeting a new crew in St. Helena’s shortly after we arrive in Barbados.
I am looking forward to meeting everyone in person!
Our blog is: www.booksboatsandbabes.com
Markus & Gabriela Pfäffli Kisu
Wir sind Gabriela und Markus Pfäffli, ein Ehepaar aus der Schweiz. Eltern von vier erwachsenen Kindern und Grosseltern von zwei Enkeln. Wir beenden unser aktives Berufsleben vorzeitig, um die Zeit auf unserer Segelyacht KISU zu verbringen. Wie lange wir unterwegs sein werden und wohin uns der Wind trägt, werden wir sehen.
Unser Boot ist von 2012 und wurde von einer Grossserienwerft in Frankreich gebaut. Wir sind die zweiten Besitzer und haben KISU Langfahrttauglich ausgestattet. Nach sechs Jahren Vorbereitung werden wir im Juli in Holland starten, um so pünktlich auf Teneriffa zu sein.
Wir haben uns für die Atlantic Odyssey entschieden, da dies für uns die erste Atlantiküberquerung ist. Wir wollen uns mit andern Teilnehmern auf die Überfahrt vorbereiten und von den erfahrenen Seglern um Jimmy profitieren.
Es ist auch eine gute Gelegenheit, gleich Interessierte kennen zu lernen und mit ihnen die Erlebnisse der Atlantiküberquerung zu teilen. Wir schätzen es, dass der Teilnehmerkreis nicht zu gross ist.
ist im finnischen „Kätzchen“ und im japanischen „Küsschen“ (Müntschi wie wir in der Schweiz sagen).
Blog: sy-kisu.ch
We are Gabriela and Markus Pfäffli, a couple from Switzerland. We are also parents of 4 grown up kids and grandparents of 2 grandsons. This summer we will finish early our active professional life and spend some time on our sailing yacht KISU. How long we will sail and where the winds will carry us, we will see.
Our boat was built in 2012 by a French shipyard. We are the second owner and we have equipped KISU for blue water sailing. After six years of careful preparation we will set sail in July 2017 to arrive in time on Tenerife.
We have decided to join Atlantic Odyssey because this will be our first Atlantic crossing. We intend to prepare ourselves together with other participants and to benefit from experienced yachtsmen around Jimmy.
At the same time it’s a good chance to get to know equally interested folks and to exchange mutual experiences of Atlantic crossings. We also appreciate very much that the number of participants is limited.
Where does the name come from?
In Finnish it means “kitten”, and in Japanese it means “peck” or “little kiss” (or “Müntschi” as we like to say in Switzerland).
Our blog (in German): sy-kisu.ch
Philippe Navarro, Jean-Yves Garcia, Patrick Iglesias & Jacky Gentes La Smala
Comme dans toutes les histoires il y a un début, un pourquoi….
Oui pourquoi se sont-ils lancés dans cette aventure ?
La passion pour la mer le vent et l’aventure…
Ils sont 4 copains animés et réunis par le même rêve traverser l’océan et naviguer vers les Antilles contre vents et marées…admirer le soleil se lever et se coucher sur l’horizon au gré de chaque jour, admirer les dauphins les baleines et toutes ces merveilleuses choses que l’océan offre… sans oublier le plaisir de la pêche et de cette valse aquatique qu’ils espèrent danser chaque jour….
Mais qui sont-ils ? Un doux mélange de “La vérité si je mens” et “Le cœur des hommes”… des hommes courageux généreux chefs d’entreprises pour trois d’entre eux et heureux retraité pour le 4e, pour eux c’est le moment du plaisir et de la récompense, bien mérité.
Il y a maintenant plus d’une année que ce projet a vu le jour certainement sur le Fly d’un bateau un verre de rosé en mains et des idées plein la tête, et puis il y a eu les bonnes rencontres les bons conseils des samaritains déjà engagés dans l’aventure, Merci à eux !
Alors le projet mois après mois a pris vie et tout s’est enclenché trouver le bateau se former s’équiper se préparer avec l’enthousiasme et l’impatience d’une veille de Noël…
Dès lors nos quatre amis n’ont cessé de parler de leur aventure et ont commencé à la vivre dans leurs cœurs et leurs émotions. Si vous saviez comme c’est beau et bon de les voir heureux excités tels de jeunes premiers, parfois timides et inquiets puis euphoriques et impatients mais toujours unis solidaires.
Jacky, Jean-Yves, Patrick et Philippe, des mousquetaires hors du commun mais surtout très heureux de partir ensemble !
Bien sûr c’est une sacrée préparation car il s’agit aussi d’être à la hauteur du challenge et de ne rien oublier, une organisation menée de mains de maître par les moins rêveurs…et oui quatre personnalités différentes l’un sera plus papillon l’autre plus soucieux voire méthodique ouf il en faut.
Nous (leurs femmes) qui avons pu les observer les écouter et aussi un peu les aider hihihi …nous avons également pris beaucoup de plaisir à sentir ce parfum d’enthousiasme et de volonté dans l’aboutissement de leur rêve et ça c’est déjà une partie de l’aventure et c’était vraiment bien !
L’équipe de : « On l’a rêvé, on le fait » (notre Blog).
As in all stories, there is a beginning, and a ‘why’?
Yes, why did they launch ourselves into this adventure? Passion for the sea, the wind and aventure…
They are four friends all motivated and united by the same dream of crossing the ocean and sailing towards the West Indies against the winds and the tides… to admire the sun rise and set beneath the horizon each day, the dolphins and the whales and all those marvellous things that the ocean offers… without forgetting the pleasure of fishing and this aquatic waltz that they hope to be dancing daily…
But who are they? A mixture of the French films “La vérité si je mens” and “Le cœur des hommes”… courageous men, generous businessmen, for three of them, and happily retired for the 4th, now for them is the moment for some well-earned pleasure and reward.
It is now more than a year since this project was born certainly on the bridge of a boat with a glass of rosé in the hand and a head full of ideas, and then there were good meetings and advice from those Good Samaritans already engaged in the adventure, thanks to them!
Then the project month after month began to come to life, and everything started – to find and equip the boat, train the crew, and make preparations with the enthusiasm and impatience of Christmas Eve …
From then on, our four friends never stopped talking about their adventure and began to live it in their hearts and their emotions. If you knew how beautiful and good it was to see them so happy and excited, somewhat timid and worried at first, then euphoric and impatient, but always united.
Jacky, Jean-Yves, Patrick and Philippe – four extraordinary musketeers but above all very happy to be leaving together! Of course it is a huge undertaking, because it is also about being up to the challenge, and not to forget anything, a skillful organisation led by those who are of a less dreamy temperament… and yes, four different personalities: one will be more like a butterfly, the other more careful, or even methodical if necessary.
We (their women) who were able to observe and listen to them, and also help them a little (ha ha) … we also enjoyed experiencing this scent of enthusiasm in the culmination of their dream and that is already a part of the adventure and it was really good!
The team from « On l’a rêvé, on le fait », our blog.
Guillaume Allier & Jennifer Parfait Luna Bay II
Commençons par le capitaine, sans qui tout ceci ne serait encore qu’un rêve. Guillaume a commencé à naviguer avec ses parents à l’âge de 5 ans à bord d’un Ranger 29. Ils ont ensuite exploré les Baléares, la Corse et l’Italie sur un Jeanneau Mélody. Mais c’est avec un Chassiron qu’il a développé et affiné ses compétences tant sur le plan technique que sur le plan de la navigation.
Jennifer, capitaine en second. La mer, elle la connaissait plutôt de l’intérieur avec des plongées sous marines en Australie, à Papeete et en Méditerranée. Elle a commencé à naviguer avec Guillaume en 2005 à bord de leur premier bateau: Luna Bay, un Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42.2. Ses missions principales seront de préparer les repas, faire travailler les enfants, mettre à jour le blog et aider le capitaine lors des manœuvres.
Jocelyne, la maman de Jennifer, rejoindra l’équipage au Cap Vert pour faire la traversée. « Nous ne serons pas trop de 3 pour assurer l’intendance, les quarts de nuits, gérer les enfants et participer aux manoeuvres. » Elle est vaillante, adore les voyages, le soleil et ses petits enfants.
Théotime, le fils ainé, a commencé à naviguer alors qu’il n’avait que 9 mois. Aujourd’hui, du haut de ses 13 ans, il a suffisamment de force et de talent pour aider lors des manoeuvres. Curieux, passionné et sportif, il est impossible de s’ennuyer en sa présence.
Charline, la cadette, avait 11 jours lorsqu’elle est montée sur Luna Bay. Et depuis, elle n’a cessé d’adorer la vie en mer, quel que soit le bateau. Aujourd’hui âgée de 10 ans et demi, elle est la force tranquille de cet équipage. Sa générosité, sa patience et son ardeur à tout faire bien, font de Charline le pilier de la fratrie.
Léonie, la benjamine, n’avait également que quelques jours lors de ses premières navigations. Plus sensible au mal de mer, elle arrive maintenant à déceler les premiers symptômes et prendre ce qu’il faut pour ne pas en pâtir. Agée de 6 ans et demi, elle est pétillante, maligne, incarne la joie de vivre et mène tout son petit monde par le bout du nez.
Trois adultes, trois enfants, un équilibre parfait, une somme de bonne humeur et une promesse d’une quinzaine animée.
Le nom de Luna Bay donné à notre premier bateau fait référence à une petite crique de l’ile Ponza en Italie qui constituait alors notre objectif de navigation. Nous l’avons seulement atteint l‘été dernier avec notre nouveau bateau, un OUTREMER 45, Luna Bay II. Il nous rappelle chaque jour que rien n’est impossible!
Nous avons décidé de nous offrir une année de parenthèse pour parcourir quelques milles en famille. Le choix de rejoindre l’Atlantic Odyssey s’est imposé tout naturellement. Nous avons rencontré Jimmy Cornell à plusieurs reprises et nous avons été séduits par ses aventures marines.
La traversée doit rester un plaisir pour tous. L’Atlantic Odyssey nous permettra ainsi de concilier aventure, risque mesuré, tout en partageant , avec d’autres marins, un moment unique.
Starting with the captain, without whom all of this would only be a dream. Guillaume began sailing with his parents at the age of 5 onboard a Ranger 29. Subsequently they explored the Balearics, Corsica and Italy on a Jeanneau Melody. But it was on a Chassiron that he developed and refined his technical and navigational expertise.
Jennifer is the second captain. She came to know the sea from the inside, diving in Australia, Papeete and the Mediterranean. She started sailing with Guillaume in 2005 on board their first boat, Luna Bay, a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42.2. Her main tasks will be to prepare meals, make the children do their work, keep the blog up to date and help the captain during manœuvres.
Jocelyne, Jennifer’s mother, will join the crew in the Cape Verdes to make the crossing. ‘We won’t be more than 3 onboard to take care of the boat, night watches, the children and manoeuvres.’ She loves travelling, the sun, and her grandchildren.
Théotime, the eldest, began sailing when he was only 9 months old. Today, at 13 years old, he has enough strength and talent to take part in manoeuvring the boat. Curious, passionate and keen on sport, it is impossible to be bored in his presence.
Charline, the middle child, was 11 days old when she came aboard Luna Bay. Since then she has never stopped loving being at sea, whichever boat she is on. Today 10 years old, she is the calm presence of the crew. Her generosity, patience and enthusiasm for everything make Charline the pillar of the 3 siblings.
Léonie, the youngest, was also only a few days old when she made her first voyage. More prone to sea sickness, she now knows how to recognise the first symptoms and do what is needed so as not to suffer. Only 6 and a half, she is bubbly, cheeky, full of joie de vivre and wraps her little world around her little finger.
Three adults, three children, a perfect balance, and in sum good humour and the promise of a lively fortnight crossing the ocean.
Our first boat was called Luna Bay after a small creek on the island of Ponza in Italy which was our intended destination. We only managed to get there last summer with our new boat, an Outremer 45, Luna Bay II. Which reminds us each day that nothing is impossible!
We decided to offer ourselves a year off in order to cover some miles as a family. The decision to join the Atlantic Odyssey was an easy one. We have met Jimmy Cornell on several occasions and we were seduced by his maritime adventures.
The crossing will be a pleasure for us. The Atlantic Odyssey will permit us to bring together adventure, a little risk, all the while sharing, with other sailors, a unique moment.
Adolf & Gertrud Wunderlin Mariposa
Wir leben in der Schweiz, sind beide pensioniert und haben nun wieder Zeit zum Reisen. Vor zwei Jahren haben wir unseren Katamaran eine Lagoon 400 gekauft. Der Name Mariposa haben wir vom Voreigner übernommen weil er uns gefällt und zu einem Katamaran passt.
Mariposa liegt in Port Saint Louis du Rhône in Südfrankreich. Wir verbringen viel Zeit damit das Schiff für die grosse Reise auszurüsten.
In den 80 er Jahren bauten wir selber eine 14 m Ketsch. Im Juni 1994 haben wir mit unserer Tochter (5 Jahre alt) für längere Zeit den Anker gelichtet und sind durchs Mittelmeer über Gibraltar und die Kanaren mit der ARC nach Saint Lucia gesegelt.
Wir haben die Karibik erkundet, zwei Hurrikan Seasons in Venezuela und auf den ABC Inseln verbracht und sind über die Bahamas nach Florida gesegelt. Von Fort Pierce (USA) aus sind wir die Intercostal Waterways bis Washington DC gefahren und sind Ende 1997 wieder in die Schweiz zurückgekehrt.
Die Teilnahme an der ARC 94 ist uns in guter Erinnerung, so haben wir beschlossen wieder mit Jimmy Cornell zu reisen. Wir haben uns aber für die Atlantic Odyssey entschieden, weil die Anzahl der Teilnehmer überschaubarer ist. Unsere Freunde Rita und Walter werden uns über den Atlantik begleiten.
Wir freuen uns in Teneriffa viele aufgestellte Segler kennen zu lernen.
Blog: www.sy-mariposa.ch
We live in Switzerland, are both retired and now have time to travel again. Two years ago, we bought our catamaran Lagoon 400. The name Mariposa we have taken over from the previous owner because we like it and it fits a catamaran.
Mariposa is located in Port Saint Louis, in the South of France. We have spent a lot of time preparing the boat for the big trip.
In the 1980s we built a 14 m ketch. In June 1994, we set sail with our daughter (5 years old) for an extended period of time and sailed through the Mediterranean via Gibraltar and the Canaries with the ARC to Saint Lucia.
We explored the Caribbean, spent two hurricane seasons in Venezuela and the ABC Islands and then sailed across the Bahamas to Florida. From Fort Pierce (USA) we sailed up the Intercostal Waterways to Washington DC and returned to Switzerland at the end of 1997.
The participation in the ARC 94 was a good memory, so we decided to travel again with Jimmy Cornell. We chose the Atlantic Odyssey because the number of participants is more limited. Our friends Rita and Walter will accompany us across the Atlantic.
We are looking forward to meeting many sailors in Tenerife.
Dominique Tichadou – Jean-Louis Cariou – Simon Manley Mercator
 |
 |
 |
Dominique a parcouru durant 12 ans les iles de l’océan indien. jeune retraité il a fait l’acquisition du Mercator et s’est lancé à la découverte de la Méditerranée qu’il a sillonnée dans tous les sens durant plusieurs années.
Mais les hivers sont trop froids sous nos latitudes européennes et il est temps pour lui de découvrir d’autres contrées en commençant par les Caraïbes.
Simon et moi-même avons souvent eu l’occasion de naviguer avec Dominique.
Cette traversée à 3 avec l’Atlantic Odyssey de Jimmy Cornell nous enchante : des défis personnels certes mais surtout le plaisir de nous retrouver pour échanger sur les choses du monde, pour prendre le temps de lire ou écouter de la musique tout en rêvassant, pour rire de tout et de rien … sans oublier de régler les voiles de temps en temps et de garder le cap vers la Barbade.
Jean-Louis Cariou.
For 12 years Dominique has travelled the islands of the Indian Ocean. As a young retiree, he bought Mercator and began an exploration of the Mediterranean, sailing to all its corners in the last few years.
However, these European winters are too cold and it is time to discover other countries and climes, beginning with the Caribbean.
Dominique will be accompanied by his crew Simon and Jean-Louis who have often sailed with him.
The threesome are enchanted to take part in Jimmy Cornell’s Atlantic Odyssey, with the chance for personal challenges, for sure, but also the pleasures of taking time to talk together on the affairs of the world, to take time to read or listen to music while dreaming, laughing at everything and nothing …. without forgetting of course to trim the sails now and then and keep a true course to Barbados.
André Rüegg & Eva Maria Eugster Mirabella
As a couple we, Eva Maria and André, started sailing more than 10 years ago. After many years of chartering and sailing on friends boats we began to plan for a longer cruise.
3 years ago we purchased Mirabella, an X-482 from X-Yachts with the goal of a longer cruise in mind. We named Mirabella after the most loved pet of our then only child Jaël. We wanted to do everything to introduce her to sailing.
In the last three years we spend most of our holidays cruising around France and Corsica to find out how it works with the kid and what is missing no the boat. And we all enjoyed it very much!
We are planning to cruise for about two years along the trade wind route towards Australia.
Crossing the Atlantic will be by far the longest stretch we ever sailed as a family and we are very curious how it works out with the kids. André, the skipper, has crossed the Atlantic twice before and has a bit of an idea what will be coming. Also Eva Maria, the Admiral, has done multiple nights crossings on the Atlantic before.
We have chosen to sail with the Atlantic Odyssey due to its orientation towards families. We are looking forward to meet you all in Tenerife and share the adventure!
Josh & Sara Tucker Rogue
We are a kiwi family of 5, Josh 39 and Sara 40 with three loud boys Bradley 5, Luke 7 and Nathan 9. Generally you will hear us coming with kids swinging from the rigging, sword fighting on the foredeck or tearing around the dock on their scooters….
These kids have been on boats all their lives cruising around NZ since babies on small boats. We have a bunch of sailing experience between us. Myself, Josh (or Booboo as known by most) has logged somewhere around 125,000nm of offshore sailing on some truly terifying race boats to some properly horrible places. Almost every ocean crossed (some many times), every major ocean race completed (some WAY to many times…) and every cocktail tried(some definitely WAY WAY too many times…..)
If you want to be bored to death by sailing stories (like sailing around cape horn under jury rig) then I’m probably your man. I’m a sailmaker by trade and have worked for many lofts around the world but have been with North Sails NZ for the last 17 years. This will be my 4th Atlantic crossing but my first on a boat with any kind of comfort.
Sara is also pretty handy on a sailboat having previously been a NZ national champion and 2nd at the world champs. She gave most of that up when the afore mentioned childrens riot team came into our lives. She has worked at the Royal NZ yacht squadron for the last 20 years as sailing manager and youth training program facilitator.
Our boat Rogue is a 2007 Beneteau Oceanis 50 that we purchased in France in August this year. She is our 6th boat we have owned and by far the biggest.
The boat is well equiped for offshore with watermaker, solar power and a hydro generator so the kids can play computer games and watch movies (normally ear pearcingly loud….) all day long (once mum and dad have got sick of the sword fighting and taken their swords off them).
The name came along when we started suggesting the idea of the trip earlier this year and people joked that we were going ‘Rogue‘ – seemed pretty appropriate for this slow moving debacle.
Our plan is to sail all the way back to New Zealand. We had to sell everything to buy the boat and fund the trip so I sure hope this tub gets us home.
What made us decide to do this trip? Well we don’t really know, maybe a mid life crisis but we basically got up one day and decided to do it as the kids are a good age for it and we had nothing better to do that day. It was all a bit of a rush with not much time for planning but we brought one way tickets to Europe and here we are….
Why did we enter the Odyssey rally? Mainly for social reasons and to make the Atlantic crossing a bit more fun for the kids, but to be honest we just couldn’t be bothered organising everything ourselves so decided to let Doina and her team do all the hard work for us.
We have a crewmember and family friend on board with us until we reach Barbados. Ian Ashton is New Zealands own version of McGyver and is quite posibly the most practical and knowlegeable person on this whole fine planet. He owns a 43ft beneteau in NZ (along with a whole flotilla of boats) and his 2 girls are best friends with our boys. It certainly helps to ease the load..
Eric Loss & Shanley McEntee Sea Dragon
Eric Loss and Shanley McEntee have been aboard Sea Dragon since 2012 and have taken Sea Dragon through the Panama Canal, up the St. Lawrence Seaway to Chicago, and to the Baltic, the Caribbean, and West Africa.
When not aboard Sea Dragon, Eric and Shanley have sailed throughout the Caribbean, across the Atlantic, and to the Arctic Circle aboard their own Pouvreau 42 Cutter, Fleur Australe.
After crossing the Atlantic with the Odyssey they’ll spend the winter in the Caribbean then head out to Hawaii and the Phoenix Islands in the central Pacific to do a research project with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
Shanley first sailed Sea Dragon in the Atlantic Odyssey in 2014 with an all women’s crew, and Eric crossed the same year aboard another boat in the fleet, Gavroche. They both found the rally experience to be surprisingly fun and enjoyable and thought it would be fun to do it again.
Sea Dragon is a 22m long, steel hulled Challenge 72 built in 2000 for the BT Global Challenge.
In her prior life as a race boat, Sea Dragon completed two upwind circumnavigations via the Southern Ocean before retiring to a more sedate life as an oceangoing platform for science, sail training, and education.
Sea Dragon is named after the leafy sea dragon, an aggressively camouflaged tropical sea horse.
Emmanuel Huet Shamrock
Je réalise un rêve d’enfance dans lequel j’amène ma femme et mes deux enfants Rose et Edgar dans un tour de l’Atlantique nord sur une année sabbatique. Pour ma première transatlantique je trouvais rassurant et sympathique de participer à un rallye. J’ai donc choisi de m’inscrire à l’Atlantic Odyssey et de réaliser ma première traversée avec deux amis, ma famille me rejoindra à la Barbade pour la suite de l’aventure.
I am fulfilling a childhood dream alongside my wife and our two children Rose and Edgar, making a tour of the Atlantic during a sabbatical year. For my first transatlantic crossing I find participating in a rally to be reassuring and sympathetic. Therefore I decided to sign up to the Atlantic Odyssey and make my first crossing with two friends, while my family will join me in Barbados to continue the adventure.
Ralf Eidemüller & Cosima Bethge Triton
We are Ralf (*1961) and Cosima (*1962) from Germany. We will be married for 25 years in July and we have three grown up boys. Our youngest son Paul (*1997) just finished school and will join us in Tenerife for the Odyssey.
We absolutely love sailing and spent almost every holiday on various boats. When the kids were younger we sailed the Baltic Sea and later in the Netherlands, France and Great Britain.
Our boat is a Hallberg Rassy 38 (#177), designed by Olle Enderlein and built in 1984. She was called TRITON when we bought her in 1999 and we kept the name.
Triton is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the sea and is usually represented as a merman. Like his father Poseidon, the god of the sea, he carries a trident. His special attribute is a twisted conch shell, on which he blows like a trumpet to calm or raise the waves.
We added a hardtop and made two major refits in 1999/2000 and again in 2009/2010. Now we are preparing for a 14-month sabbatical with a wind pilot, solar panels and a second forestay.
Even if we have some sailing experience we never made such a long trip and so we decided to join the Odyssey to meet some likeminded people in a small and non-competitive group and benefit from the expertise and experience of the Cornell Sailing Team.
We plan to leave the Netherlands (Workum) in July – perhaps we will meet some other participants on our way to Tenerife!
Our blog (in German): Coratriton
Pic of the day (starting July 2017) on Instagram: www.instagram.com/coratriton/
Stéphane & Florence Gouzènes Wellis
Nous sommes Florence et Stéphane, français de Toulouse. Nous avons beaucoup navigué en Méditerranée quand nous étions étudiants. Stéphane a fait sa formation aux Glénans et moi j’ai fait ma formation avec… Stéphane.
La vie a fait que nous nous sommes éloignés de la navigation pendant de nombreuses années.
Mais il y a 5 ans, nous avons acheté un voilier, un Grand Soleil 39 de 1987. Nous l’avons baptisé Wellis, combinaison de lettres des prénoms de nos deux enfants. (18 et 26 ans).
Progressivement, l’envie de prendre le large est arrivée. Nous avons décidé de passer à l’acte. Nous avons cessé nos activités professionnelles et préparé activement le bateau.
A la lecture des livres de Jimmy Cornell et des voyages de l’Aventura, il était naturel pour nous de se rapprocher de son organisation pour notre première traversée de l’Atlantique. A cette occasion, nous serons rejoints au Canaries par un ami, équipier chevronné, compagnon de navigation de notre jeunesse, qui partagera cette expérience avec nous.
Notre voyage va commencer au départ du Cap d’Agde le premier août et une fois arrivés aux Antilles, nous naviguerons au gré de nos envies, pour une durée aujourd’hui indéterminée.
Rendez-vous à Ténérife début novembre et au plaisir de tous vous rencontrer.
We are Florence and Stéphane, from Toulouse in France.
We did a lot of sailing in the Mediterranean when we were students. Stéphane trained at Glénans sailing school and I did my training with… Stéphane.
Life meant that we moved away from sailing for some years. Then five years ago, we bought a sailboat, a Grand Soleil 39 from 1987. We called her Wellis, a combination of the first names of our two children (18 and 26).
Gradually, the desire to take to the open sea came back. We decided to take action. We retired from our professional activities and actively prepared the boat.
Having read Jimmy Cornell’s books and followed the voyages of Aventura, it was natural for us to join his organization for our first crossing of the Atlantic. On this occasion, we will be joined in the Canaries by a friend, a seasoned crewman, sailing companion from our youth, who will share this experience with us.
Our voyage will begin by leaving Cap d’Agde at the start of August and once we arrive in the Antilles, we will cruise according to our desires, for a period as yet undetermined.
We’ll be in Tenerife at the start of November and look forward to meeting you all.
Andrew & Kate Mullock Wildside
We are Andrew and Kate. We have lived in London ( for the last 30 years) and have 2 children 19 and 21. Up until this point we have been working 9-5, enjoying London life and dreaming about one day having an adventure on the high seas.
Over the years we have sailed around U.K. Waters, across the channel and further afield in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Seychelles on family holidays. Each experience has nudged us closer to making the decision to actually buy a boat and take up cruising as a permanent lifestyle.
So now we have finally done it! We have a Fontaine Pajot 47 catamaran waiting for us in La Rochelle, and we are looking forward to starting our journey to the Canaries and beyond in a few weeks’ time.
We sailed the Atlantic as crew 25 years ago and are excited to be doing it again on our own boat and with the Atlantic Odyssey team. It will be great to meet like-minded people and share the challenge and adventure. See you all soon!
Markus & Manuela Feldmann Yuana
We are a family of 4 who takes one year off from our land-bound lives. That includes being away form whatever our daily lives gave us, such as a rock solid house with no waves, our jobs, and our friends and classes from school.
Our dream is to join the international blue water community to become a part of it, and to enrich our lives, for the months to come and even beyond.
Manuela and Markus started sailing seven years ago on lake Zurich in Switzerland. The motivation was to develop a common hobby. Those days we couldn’t imagine that this new hobby would bring us into the salt waters soon after.
It’s somewhat more than three years back that the idea of a sabbatical at sea came up first time. So we bought Yuana.
Yuana is a Swedish Hallberg-Rassy 39 Scandinavia built in 1998. It didn’t take long to feel comfy and cozy on board for each one of us. We left her in the Netherlands (where she was with the previous owner) and made her ready for cruising.
We spent a lot of time on Yuana and finally felt ready to cast lines. The Netherlands obviously were our starting point, around mid July 2017. We plan to spend a lot of time in Galicia, before heading to the Canaries via Madeira.
After a couple of months in the Caribbean, we plan sailing back to somewhere in Europe via Bermuda and Azores islands.
We have decided to sail with Jimmy and Doina not only because we fully trust to have best possible support for our first trans ocean voyage, but also because we believe that the Atlantic Odyssey provides an environment which is great also for families. That’s at least what our friends say who have been doing all that before us.
Our travel blog: yuana.life
