We want to use this opportunity to say “Goodbye & Au Revoir” to Moonwave and all of you. 10 years ago Moonwave was getting built and I [Sophie] was there to see that, her childhood was not the easiest. Sebastien joined a year later and then all team worked together to straighten her up. Over the years she “grew up” and improved a lot and traveled further and further from China over South East Asia, USA East Coast, Bahamas, Caribbeans, France and a complete loop around the world… All over the world and on the three oceans she took good care of us and it was a pleasure to keep her in “shipsh ..read more

In Jan 2022 Moonwave returned to the Caribbeans after her successful trip around the globe. It was great to be back in  Sint Maarten and to catch up with old friends and to make new ones.  We used the first couple of weeks to take lot of systems apart to give them a thorough check and clean. We were very happy with what we saw and the thousands of miles left almost no traces. The mast and rig also got a good check from our rigging specialist and he was very surprised to see in which great shape Moonwave is. We also did a couple of upgrades and tackle jobs that came up durin ..read more

In Jan 2022 Moonwave and her crew Sébastien & Sophie have officially finished their first circumnavigation with the return to Sint Maarten in the Caribbeans [22 months in total]. The adventure started in March 2020 with a zero-fuel-used sail of 1200 nm from Martinique to Panama. Delivery – we did it again… [March 2020] & Atlantic to Pacific – Passage of the Panama Canal [March 2020] After a short stay in Panama and an epic passage of the famous Panama Canal – the world stood still and Moonwave has proven her reliability and autonomy in a beautiful bay in the North of Costa Rica. See&nb ..read more

Cape Town, South Africa to Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten Dec 2021 / Jan 2022 Projected Route: 5495 nm – Sailed Route: ~ 6500 nm We really had enjoyed South Africa & Cape Town, but we were also really looking forward to sail the last and longest leg of our sail around the world. Upon departure in Table Bay [the bay of Cape Town] we saw a lot of whales. Some were even really close and “waved goodbye” with their huge tails. We had never seen that many whales in such a short period of time before.   The first day of sailing was tricky with lot of wind variations. First we were in the wind ..read more

Indian Ocean & South. Atlantic Ocean Oct to Dec 2021 To sail around the world without passing through the man-made Suez Canal, there is only one way… around the famous and mythical Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. But first we needed to get south from Mayotte to South Africa through the Mozambique Channel which has its own reputation.    We had a windy and fast ride down the Mozambique Channel towards Richards Bay and Moonwave managed like a champ. As we stayed off the coast we didn’t encounter too much traffic neither.   Our arrival in Richards Bay went smooth. We doc ..read more

Island in the Lagoon – Indian Ocean 12° 47 South / 45° 15 West Sept/Oct 2021 Originally we didn’t plan to stop in Mayotte but things don’t always go like planned. This was a nice turn as it was great to get a glimpse at this beautiful and interesting island[s] surrounded by a big reef forming a huge lagoon. And yes, I also didn’t really know where to situate Mayotte on a map before our trip from the Seychelles to South Africa. It’s part of the Comoros Island group but it belongs to France.   We stayed mostly close to the smaller island “Petite Terre”. There is a constant ferry traffic be ..read more

Island Paradise in the Indian Ocean  March to September 2021 The Seychelles have been a great destination for Moonwave & her crew. We arrived the same day as the country opened again, restaurants and shops were open and life was almost normal again. In March/April the temperatures have been hot but as soon as the South-East Monsoons started, the breeze arrived. The local population was very friendly and we felt welcome. We met great locals, some of them we miss already and there was a small but “quality” community of cruisers.    The main island of Mahe is quiet small compa ..read more

  France, April 2018 – Seychelles, May 2021  Total: about 40.000 nm About two years back, I published an article with the title “One year feedback of the New Hybrid System” back in May 2019. Now it’s time to give a “Three year/40.000 nm feedback” of the Hybrid System on board Moonwave. We often get asked about the hybrid system. We can answer honestly that we still believe in it and we are very happy about the installation on board Moonwave. The system has been used for three years non-stop. We crossed three oceans and sailed over 40.000 nautical miles. We made it “3/4” around the wo ..read more

Bali, Indonesia to Victoria, Seychelles  Total: ~ 4800 nm If you draw a straight line from Bali to the Seychelles and measure the distance – this will show you around 3800 Nautical miles. That’s the theory but unfortunately not feasible, at least not in the month of March. The southern Indian Ocean was still in active hurricane/cyclon season and therefore sailing a straight line south of the equator was not an option. Make sure to check out the first article “Crossing the Indian Ocean – Part I”. Currents and prevailing winds had to be taken into consideration for the passage routing as it ..read more

Bali, Indonesia to Victoria, Seychelles  Total: ~ 4800 nm Indonesia is a big country with 4th biggest population worldwide and lots of island and covering a huge area. Already during the first part of our Indian Ocean trip, we noticed that the superior distances. Papua to Bali took us a while as the winds were very light but it was a downwind trip. [see Pacific to Indian Ocean [Nov 2020]] When looking at a map or globe you can notice that Indonesia has some of the biggest islands worldwide [except Greenland].    This summary shows that “cruising & passage making” is not a ..read more