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Showing posts with the label atlantic crossing

Andrew Bedwell and the Big C Atlantic Challenge

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"From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow." - Aeschylus Have you seen the seed of a redwood tree?  The Aeschylus quote above embodies what many of us know in our minds but still sometimes find hard to believe with our eyes.  It was that way when I first heard about Andrew Bedwell's next big adventure and laid eyes upon his tiny sailboat.  There are plenty of sailors who have crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a wide variety of vessels, but none who have done so aboard a sailing vessel so diminutive as Bedwell's ironically named "Big C".  Ready for the specs?  Big C is just 39 inches long!  This is a boat that even my 10-year old daughter would find cramped, and yet Andrew Bedwell intends on sailing it from St. Johns, Newfoundland to Cornwall, England in May of 2023, and by so doing breaking the world record for the smallest vessel to sail across the Atlantic.   The ~1,900 mile record is currently held by American sailor Hugo Vihlen who completed the A...

Lions, Tigers, and Amphibear? Oh my!

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I know what it's like to have a dream that burns inside of you. One that is there whether your body is sleeping or awake. I think many sailors and wannabe cruisers know that feeling. Mait Nilson is a dreamer who, I imagine, also sees the globe as an adventure map and reckons to circle it in his own very unique way. On November 2, 2013, Mait plans to start his circumnavigation in Estonia. His initial sea crossing will be of the Strait of Gibraltar and later he'll attempt an Atlantic crossing from Senegal in Africa to Brazil in South America. While none of that may seem all that notable at first glance, Mait's journey becomes much more interesting when you consider his mode of transportation. He'll be using a Toyota Land Cruiser that he has heavily modified for both terrestrial and water use. He's named his dream machine "Amphibear". Check out the pictures below of Mait's Toyota adorned with foldable pontoons and hydraulically powered stern drives. I...