After 4 months spent on the islands we successfully made it to the Americas. Leaving the idyllic Carribean islands was not the easiest. Our inventive advert claiming with the big letters “FREE BEER (on safe arrival)” brought us wrong attention. These adverts stuck in the sailors’ bars and around the harbor don’t work anyway. It was a good lesson of patience and assertiveness.
We ended up in the good hands of the “Discoverer” crew, in short: Disco crew. Very disco, indeed, 13 people (10 different passports) with an average age somewhere in between 20 and 30. Our intention was to go to Colombia, but they were going to Mexico and up to California, so we thought, ok Mexico, why not. Guacamole, burritos, tropical fruits, Mayan ruins and who knows what else.
Discoverer is not just any boat, it is a beautiful racer bought from the British army, that sailed around the world already 7 times. No buttons for autopilot, everything manual, labor intense. That’s the spirit! 24/7 someone needs to be at the helm and in the harsh weather condition it is a good work out and blisters on your (or rather my) hands. It was actually the first boat that we never got seasick on and thanks to the guys’ professionalism and engagement I somehow got the sailing bug back!
Discoverer is the support boat of an expedition called The Longest Swim and now …read carefully!
“The Longest Swim will be the 1st attempt to swim across the Pacific Ocean, from Tokio to San Francisco. After his daily 8-hour swim, Ben Lecomte will jump onboard the support sailing yacht “Discoverer” to eat, rest and spend time with the crew. The crew will mark his GPS location when he breaks for the day, and bring him to that exact spot to dive back in the next morning.
His average swimming speed is 2.5 knots. With the push of the Kuroshio and North Pacific currents, he plans on swimming an average distance of 30 miles per day for a total duration of 6 months.
Throughout the journey, Ben and his crew will contribute to 8 medical and oceanic research programs using equipment provided by such organizations like NASA and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Ben Lecomte is no stranger to crossing the ocean. He was the first person to swim across the Atlantic Ocean without the kickboard in 1998 in support for the cancer research. “ This is what you can read on their website
Check it out: http://www.thelongestswim.com
This expedition is an amazing opportunity to raise worldwide awareness for environmental sustainability and the impact we have on our oceans.
The project is planned to start in spring 2018. We were happy to be a little tiny part of it and now we can spread the word.
Here’s a video made during our time on the boat:
And yes…we saw an unimaginable number of dolphins, some turtles and couple of whales and many many shooting stars. We would never expect to crossed the Panama Canal and sailed a little bit on the Pacific Coast as well.
Thank you Paul, Scotty and the whole crew for the fun, and the ride!
And now after exactly 4 months and 2 days after leaving Europe, Gibraltar we are finally across the Ocean back to the mainland in Mexico, Acapulco!
Enjoy the gallery 🙂
aaoutthere.wordpress.com 
Hey guys! So you have crossed into the Pasific! Such a lot of sailing experience already… Do you think you are ready to start living in your own boat one day somewhere in the mediterranean? 🙂
Discoverer seems huuge! Was everyone a hitchhiker on board? How these guys were financing their trips? The boat itself must cost a lot already.
I think you made the best choice to accept that ride into Mexico. Its one of the greatest places in the world imo. Enjoy a few spicy tacos for me too.
Hey Umit.
Nice to hear from you! Yes, the sailing experiences sum up but there is still so much to learn. Like with everything.
Having our own boat on the Medittereanian – not that we plan it now, but you never know. If so I would rather vote of having a collective boat, so you can share the responsibility and give access to it for more people.
The Longest Swim… We were 13 people on the boat, a happy mixed: core crew of the expedition, some boat hitchhikers, cyclist, some others from find a crew website. We were good together.
When it comes to money: they have some sponsors and the expedition is still collecting funds for the project, they are currently doing a crowd funding campaign.
Hugs for your whole family,
Anna and Anto