The Project
Some Cool Facts
The 5 seasons of Phase 1 in numbers
Passion for Sailing!
Greek Vikings on the loose (in the North!)
The First Season!
Started in Portsmouth (3/8), crossed the North Sea all the way to Stavanger, entered the fjords and sailed all the way up to Bergen.
Then it was Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm before our final destination for this year: Helsinki (31/8). Sure we did make stops on our way, usually we stayed at a marina every night. Afterwards (2/9) we delivered the yacht to Tallinn for wintering.
The pandemic didn't keep us home
The Second Season!
In spite of COVID, in 2020 we had a fantastic sailing time through the Baltics!
Lots of positive energy and flexibility allowed us to officially start in Helsinki, go to Tallinn, Ruhnu, Riga, Liepaja, Klaipeda, Gdansk, Rostock and finally arrive in Kiel, just in time to participate at the Aalregatta of the Kieler Woche. All within the planned timing.
The pandemic is still here, but so are we
The Third Season!
Again lots of uncertainty due to COVID in 2021, but – again – our commitment and positive attitude enabled us to carry out the initial plans (less the Shetlands):
Kiel, Hamburg, Esbjerg, Haugesund, Rosendal, Kinsarvik, Odda (+ 20 km Trolltunga-hiking!), Bergen, Torshavn (+1 day sailing around the Faroe Islands +2 days mini-bus), Isle of Lewis, Skye, Mull, Jura, Islay, Belfast, Dun Laoghaire/ Dublin (>2.000 nm).
Almost back to normal,
... but not us
The Fourth Season!
The way South – What a ride!
We sailed over 2.800 nm crossing the Celtic Sea, sailing into and through the brutal tides of Brittany (from Brest to La Rochelle), then crossing the rough Bay of Biscay to Bilbao, stopping in Santander on our way to La Corona, rounding Cabo Finisterre to get to Porto and Ilha da Berlenga, then to Cascais and Lisbon, crossing to Madeira and the Canary Islands (initially Gran Canaria and finally Tenerife), our decisive step towards crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
We saw lots of dolphins on our way and two whales! The grace was out there waiting for us!
Atlantic Crossing!
The 2nd part of Season Four
An unforgettable Ocean crossing, a great adventure with Christmas and New Year’s Eve while sailing with near gale and gale conditions (Force 7-8).
Ocean crossings are about the Team. You can plan to put a skilled group of sailors together. Putting an amazing Team together is not just a question of planning, it a question of luck! And, boy, did we hit the jack-pot on this one!
Sailing at times with no wind (code zero and full main at 3-4 knots TWS) and at times lying-a-hull doing SOG 5-6 knots, in short: the whole range!
Squalls with TWS around 30 knots were on the daily agenda for around a week and dealing with those is not just a question of skills; it is a question of character. All ISO Timers faced these conditions as a Team and with a positive attitude. Daily rewards the sunrise and the sunset-apero.
The Big Caribbean!
Finally reaching the Americas
After preparing ISO Time in St. Lucia, we sailed South visiting almost all the must-see Lesser Antilles, this time in more of a cruising mode: Lots of anchorages in beautiful bays, swimming in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. When we reached Sandy Island, Carriacou (Grenada), we started heading North, covering again almost all the Lesser Antilles and reached the BVIs.
Then it was time for the Greater Antilles and time to try out our brand new Code Zero. After visiting (and touring by car/ bus) Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic and Jamaica, we made a quick stop in the Cayman Islands and finally cleared into Mexico in Cozumel.
We reached Puerto Aventuras and explored the incredible Mexican mainland: We finally reached the Americas!
Maintenance
Sails, standing rigging, running rigging, electronics, all need our attention, including the winches 🙂
The unexpected
There are always situations which are not according to plan, e.g. a line around our propeller in the middle of the North Sea!
We keep cool and try to solve problems as a Team.
