A day for the iron top-sail
Peniche wasn’t a bad place, but with no wind and no waves there was no point in sticking around there. It’s true we could have waited there, but I was advised to head further south, where the wind is more predictable and steady. The fact that there was no...
Povoa de Varzim to Gran … Peniche I mean
I was planning to set sail as soon as my latest crew member Trond came down from Norway. Unfortunately the winds wanted it otherwise, so we ended up spending two extra days in Povoa before we finally cast off. The winds were going with us, but at strengths of 2...
Kicking it in Maryland and D.C.
When Knut and I arrived in Povoa de Varzim, I knew he was going home to work, before rejoining me on Gran Canaria in November, but I had no idea if anyone would be able to join me for the sail down to Gran Canaria from Portugal. That particular sail is around 850nm...
The Bay of Biscay
We stayed in Falmouth for a total of 4 days. It did however feel like a lot longer. Not because it was a boring place, but because we accomplished so much. We made a number of new friends, tried out most of the nearby (and some of the not-so-nearby) pubs, dug into the...
Going to Cherbourg … or wait a minute!
We woke up early and maneuvered alongside the fuelingship. The night alongside the fuel barge had been short and uneventful. With freshly topped off tanks and 100 liters in jerry cans, we hurried into the marina in IJmuiden to do the last few things. The last few...
Amsterdamming
Having arrived safely in Amsterdam, Lauren and I set out to enjoy ourselves in town. Though I had a long list of things I wanted to do with the boat, Lauren only had a few days before she had to return home to the US, so I took the time “off” to hang out...
Second attempt at IJmuiden
We spent a good weekend in Egersund reading, eating good food and relaxing, while we waited for good northerly winds, scheduled to arrive on Monday. We did get a bit of bad news, because Frode had to return to work, so it would only be Lauren and I that would make the...
Prekestolen (The Pulpit rock)
With the boat tied up in Egersund, we decided to do a bit of hiking in the area around Stavanger. One of the most visited places in the vicinity is called the Pulpit rock or Prekestolen in Norwegian. I had to show Lauren what proper Norwegian nature looks like and...
First attempt at IJmuiden
Monday September 15th was slated to be the start of the circumnavigation. I was joined by Frode Bergsvik, who also crewed on the trip for Amsterdam to Norway; in addition Lauren Hutchinson was making a first time appearance on a catamaran. Our departure day went...
Sailing home
With Torstein and Frode onboard and ready for action there was only one thing for us to do: Set Sail! At 5:30am we rolled out of bed, unplugged the shore power, took a last picture and cast off. The engines purred like kittens and got us out of the marina and past the...
Picking up African Innovation
With no small amount of nervousness I stepped onto the tarmac at Schipol and made my way to the bus to the terminal. Contrary to what you might expect when you're going to your new home, I had very little luggage with me. A small backpack and 2 waterproof bags...
Chilling in a hot spring on Steffi’s Birthday
Steffi's birthday was an excellent opportunity to dodge out of Beijing to enjoy some quality time in nature. After looking at our options, everything pointed in the direction of the XYG resort about an hour North of Beijing. It came warmly recommended from a friend...
Enjoying the beach in the Philippines
Chinese New Year presented us with a great chance to go traveling. Since most Chinese are busy clogging the roads and railways in China, we decided to jump on a plane bound for the Philippines. After an overnight in Manila, we boarded a new plane and headed to...
Skiing in Nanshan
The sky was blue, the air was crisp; in fact it was tough to believe that we were in Beijing. We (Steffi, Christopher, Nicole and I) loaded up in Nicole's car and hit the road to Nanshan. After about 45 minutes a speck of white formed on the brown horizon. We had...
10th time on the Great Wall
A new visitor means a new trip to the Great Wall. This time Katie was in town. She's a cousin of Campbell, a very good friend of mine who recently moved back to the US. Katie will stay with us for a week, before she shoots off to Singapore. As it was my 10th time on...
Christmas Eve 2007
Though this, technically speaking, is a traveling blog, I figured that writing a few words about Christmas Eve wouldn't hurt. The preparations for Christmas Eve started the day before, when we finished all our food and present shopping. I was responsible for buying a...
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas! I hope you have a sensational Christmas, filled with gifts and great food, but most importantly a fantastic time together with your friends and family ... I got my Christmas stocking this morning, so I'm not complaining at all! I just saw Love...
Hanging out in New York
It’s up to you New York, Neeeeew Yoooork! … It was up to New York to finish up my vacation in style and send me home depressed that it was already over. It succeeded on all counts, in no small part due to my buddy Campbell. I hadn't seen him since he was...
Chilling in Miami
Though Ecuador had been awesome it was nice to get back to civilization again. We went straight from the airport to Hertz and picked up a 2007 KIA. It served me very well in the week I was in Miami. We drove back to Rasmus’s flat on South Beach, dumped our...
Adventures in Ecuador
I’ll be honest: Ecuador is a country I loved visiting, but I’d hate living there. Ecuador is blessed with gorgeous nature split into three different eco systems: The Amazon, the Andes Mountains and the beaches along the coast. All three are completely...
Cruising the Caribbean
The first thing you feel when you land in Miami, in winter time, is that the temperature is perfect. Rasmus met me at the airport and took me home to his excellently situated apartment on South Beach. Though traveling from San Diego isn’t exactly strenuous, I...
Tearing up the West
Stepping off the plane in San Diego felt great. The temperature was comfortable, especially compared to freezing Beijing, and I had just embarked on a fantastic 5 week vacation filled to the rim with adventures and fun stuff. I’m dividing the trip up into five...
Beach Camping
With a bus packed full of girls, food, beer and booze, we set off to Qing Huang Dao to camp on the beach. The fact that guys weren't fighting to get in on the trip baffled me, but Vinny and I had the fortune to be alone with 8 girls on a nice secluded beach. We got to...
Steffi and I hit Bai He
In June 2007 a busload of us headed to Bai He to recapture the glory of the camping trip we had in May 2006. Needless to say we didn't find Bai He that time. Yes, it is possible not to find it, if you're driver takes the wrong way. Steffi and I set out to rediscover...