Our trip 2026
In mid-July, my daughter Anna is flying out to join us as a third crew member for the final leg of our Atlantic crossing to Gibraltar. Many things—such as the issue with the orcas—remain unresolved... You’ll be along for the ride.
Our ultimate destination for this year is, of course, Greece. That’s where we plan to haul SYMI out of the water and let her rest.
Stay with us and track our progress across the "Big Pond" in real time via the "Current location" menu option.
During the voyage I will reguarly update the posts.
SYMI's travel so far (2023-2026)
After leaving Greece in June 2023, sailing the Mediterranean with stops in Italy and Spain, and finally reaching the Canary Islands in the autumn of 2023, the four of us (Andrea, my children Anna and Ferdinand, and myself) traveled to Cape Verde in late November/early December 2023. From there, we crossed the Atlantic to Grenada in 17 days during December. Ferdi returned home, while Anna—and later her boyfriend Felix—joined us as we sailed through the Eastern Antilles until February 2024. The two of us then continued on to the British Virgin Islands before sailing all the way back to Grenada in late June 2024 for our summer lay-up. There was maintenance work to be done on Symi; after weathering Hurricane Beryl unscathed on July 1, 2024, we were able to haul Symi out of the water safely and fly home for three months. On November 22, 2024, Symi was relaunched, and we set sail for the new season. We initially headed back up the Antilles chain to Antigua for a few weeks, then to Saint Maarten in mid-January, followed by the BVI. After that, we embarked on a completely new leg of our journey: the long route north. In mid-February 2025, we sailed via Puerto Rico and the Turks & Caicos to the Bahamas. We spent wonderful weeks there, sailing past Nassau and the Abaco Islands all the way to Grand Bahama.
In mid-May 2025, we crossed over to West Palm Beach, USA, and began our journey north along the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). Five weeks and 3,415 km later, we reached Norfolk. From there, it was just a short hop to our "winter quarters" in Deltaville. In mid-July, we hauled SYMI out of the water there and returned to Austria for a visit lasting about nine months—after all, the area near Washington experiences winter just like Europe does until April. In mid-May 2026, we spent ten days bringing SYMI back to life. On May 11, 2026, we left the USA and set a course for Bermuda—a distance of about 750 nautical miles (1,400 km)—as a two-person crew. After a brief rest and some sightseeing, we welcomed our friend and excellent sailor, Meiki, aboard. It was our last time in tropical waters and the moment to complete the final preparations for the long leg to the Azores. The 2,100-nautical-mile (3,890 km) North Atlantic crossing went well, save for two truly adventurous and stormy days featuring winds of up to 50 knots (90 km/h) and waves 5–6 meters high. After 16 days, on June 3, 2026, we arrived at São Miguel, the main island of the Azores. There was plenty to see across the nine islands. Click the image below to view the entire route.
(Klick to enlarge the maps)