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Random Pics from the Image Gallery - Nor Siglar 9 Years on The 7 Seas - "A Pictorial Tour" Summary

In 1986, Anne Brevig and Martin Vennesland sold most of their worldly belongings and moved onboard their new sailboat, which they named "NOR SIGLAR", meaning "Northern Sailor" in old Norse. For 5 years they lived onboard their 40 foot French sloop in Spruce Harbour Marina in Vancouver, to save money and prepare themselves and the vessel for an offshore adventure, which started in 1991 and ended in 2000. So NOR SIGLAR, has not only been their faithful circumnavigator for 9 years - but their beloved floating home, their only home - for 15. Their voyage has not "just" been a circumnavigation, but a life style.

During 56,000 nautical miles at sea, which is a bit more than twice around the world at equator, they visited 76 countries and island colonies, met lots of interesting peoples from different cultures and had many, many exciting and touching experiences while also encountering dramatic and dangerous challenges. In short, it was a once in a lifetime adventure, full of highs and lows, which they share with you on these pages.

Here, you will find a collection of illustrated Travel Logs to family and friends, as well as articles published in "Currents", the monthly newsletter of Bluewater Cruising Association, an active offshore sailing organization in Vancouver, B. C. with over 500 members.

On a technical note, the "List of Vessel Specifications and Equipment Inventory", will prove helpful to those of you who are planning an offshore voyage. In the discussion, "Pros and Cons of a Circumnavigator", we share with you our experience with the equipment onboard: What worked and what didn't work, what broke and what didn't, what we could have done without and what we would not leave home without, and finally, what we would have done differently should we do it all over again.

In the "Map and Log" section, you can follow NOR SIGLAR's route around the world, complete with a statistical summary of distance, time and speed and the many countries visited. We have also included our cruising budget with supporting comments and a list of the crew that joined us at different times during the voyage. Finally, we present our latest Slide Program in Norway and Canada. It is a pleasure for us to share our adventure, in the hope that we may stimulate others to do likewise, or at least to fulfill their own dreams somehow...

A personal greeting in the Guest Book is much appreciated, be it your comments on the circumnavigation itself or an evaluation of the contents on these pages. We welcome any suggestions and will even take constructive criticism to heart! If you find anything of particular interest, you may pass it on to friends and acquaintances, with a direct reference to the page in question, via the "Tip a Friend"-link in the left-hand margin.

Our ultimate goal is to make "norsiglar.com" a forum where people can gather information and inspiration. Under the section FAQÕs, you will find the most commonly asked questions concerning the planning, equipping and execution of a long offshore voyage as well as the logistics and psychological aspects of such an unusual lifestyle. We are developing a number of interactive knowledge tests, i.e. within geography, navigation, anthropology, sociology, marine biology, foreign currencies, etc. Also, we intend to activate a forum for "Crew Coordination" and a "Buy, Sell &Trade" Section for Boats and Equipment - to mention a few of the options we are working on.

In the meantime, here are some statistics, highs and lows of NOR SIGLAR's Nine Years on the 7 Seas to wet your appetite...

The Route:
Left Vancouver Sept. 1, 1991, transited the Panama Canal in April, 1922, arrived Halden, Norway (Anne's home town) July, 1993 and wintered onboard. Left in July, 1994 for 1.5 years in the Mediterranean, then back across the Atlantic to Trinidad and through the Panama Canal for the

second time (March, 1998), across the Pacific to Fiji, arrival September, 1998, where NOR SIGLAR was laid up for the cyclone season till June, 1999. From there, on to Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand (Millennium 2000), across the Indian Ocean up the Red Sea to Israel, where we made the loop around the world for the first time in May, 2000. Ended the circumnavigation in Halden, Norway August 20, 2000 where NOR SIGLAR will be kept as our floating summer home while we have returned to Vancouver and taken up permanent residence again here.

The Highs
Close contact with primitive cultures and people we met underway, natives as well as fellow offshore sailors from around the world. Contact with radio amateurs worldwide, the ocean crossings, transits of the Panama and Corinthian Canals, paradisiacal anchorages and helping poor people in isolated places with eyeglasses ("gift of eye sight"). In San Plas, Panama, we helped a Kuna Indian family transport a dead man on NOR SIGLAR's deck from one island to another to his funeral. In Morocco, we have "adopted" a poor Muslim family.

The Lows
Collision with whale, injured crew, storm in the Gulf of Papagayo (Nicaragua), grounding and electrolysis in Indonesia, caught in a huge fish net on the Indian Ocean, two break-ins, half a year in pirate infested waters, the Skipper's back operation in Morocco, seasickness, emergency stop in Algeria.

Favourite places:
San Blas, Panama, (Kuna Indians), Honduras & Guatemala (Maya Indians), Belize, Turkey, Tonga, French Polynesia, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Basically, we have enjoyed the places where we have stayed the longest the most, especially isolated cultures with a primitive life style and ancient traditions.

Weather Condition
Apart from occasional tropical squalls, which can pack winds of 50 knots plus for short periods of time in torrential downpours, we never had winds stronger than 40 knots. Actually, we seldom had winds over 30 knots.

Some Statistics

Distance and Duration:

A total distance of 56,000 nautical miles was logged in the course of 3285 days, according to the following breakdown:

(*) Includes 6 times on the hard (layover in a yard). A good third of the marina stays were in Norway during the one year sojourn there.

Countries and Island Colonies visited during the Circumnavigation 1991 - 2000. (Chronological Order)
Countries and Island Colonies with own flag		Island Colonies without own flag
1)	CANADA
2)	USA
3)	MEXICO(*)
4)	COSTA RICA
5)	PANAMA(*)
		1)	SAN BLAS (PANAMA)(*)
		2)	ISLA PROVIDENCIA (COLOMBIA)
6)	HONDURAS(*)
7)	BELIZE(*)
8)	GUATEMALA
9)	CUBA
10)	BAHAMAS(*)
		3)	TURCS & CAICOS (UK)
11)	THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
		4)	PUERTO RICO (USA)(*)
		5)	THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS (UK)(*)
		6)	ST. MARTIN (FRANCE)
		7)	SINT MARTEEN (HOLLAND)
		8)	MARTINIQUE (FRANCE)
12)	DOMINICA
		9)	ILES DES SAINTES (FRANCE)
		10)	GUADELOUPE (FRANCE)
13)	ANTIGUA
		11)	BERMUDA (UK)
		12)	AZORES (PORTUGAL)
14)	NORWAY
		13)	SHETLAND (SCOTLAND)
		14)	ORKNEY (SCOTLAND)
15)	SCOTLAND
16)	IRELAND
17)	SPAIN
18)	PORTUGAL
		15)	GIBRALTAR (UK)
		16)	THE BALEARES (SPAIN)(*)
		17)	CORSICA (FRANCE)
		18)	SARDINIA (ITALY)
		19)	THE LIPARI ISLANDS (ISOLAS AEOLIS) (ITALY)
		20)	SICILY (ITALY)
19)	GREECE (*)
20)	TURKEY
21)	NORTH-CYPRUS
22)	ISRAEL
		21)	CRETE (GREECE)
23)	MALTA
24)	TUNISIA
25)	ALGERIA
26)	MOROCCO
		22)	THE CANARY ISLANDS (SPAIN)
27)	TRINIDAD
28)	GRENADA
29)	ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES(*)
30)	ST. LUCIA
31)	VENEZUELA(*)
		23)	ARUBA (HOLLAND)
		24)	BONAIRE (HOLLAND)
		25)	CURACAO (HOLLAND)
		26)	GALAPAGOS (ECUADOR)
		27)	MARQUESAS (FRANCE)(*)
		28)	TUAMOTUS (FRANCE)
		29)	SELSKAPSxYENE, FRENCH POLYNESIA(*)
32)	TONGA(*)
33)	FIJI(*)
34)	VANUATU(*)
35)	SALOMON ISLANDS(*)
36)	PAPUA NY GUINEA
37)	AUSTRALIA
38)	INDONESIA(*)
39)	SINGAPORE
40)	MALAYSIA(*)
41)	THAILAND(*)
42)	MALDIVES
43)	OMAN
44)	YEMEN
45)	ERITREA
46)	SUDAN
47)	EGYPT
(*) INCLUDING MANY SMALLER ISLANDS

Places where NOR SIGLAR was on the Hard

Nor Siglar was on the hard in ship yards six times, 5 because of winter and/or hurricane/cyclone seasons and painting of bottom, once because of repairs caused by grounding and electrolysis.

Slide Shows

If you wish a slide show in your club or organization, contact Anne and Martin via e-mail. We have put together 5 different presentations, (abt. 2 hours in duration incl. a 15 min. intermission and question period) and cover our voyage through the following geographical areas:

1) Vancouver - Norway
2) Norway - Turkey
3) Turkey - Trinidad
4) Trinidad - Fiji
5) Fiji - Norway

The slide shows have been shown at yacht clubs and various other organizations in Norway and Vancouver, including the Maritime Museum In Oslo, the Planetarium in Vancouver - and on a Color Line vessel during a crossing from Norway to Sweden.

Publications:
We have written abt. 45 articles to the Norwegian national sailing magazine, "Seilas", who has published a CD with photos and summary of these articles, which is available for use by interested parties.

Currently, we are working on a book and a web-page, www.norsiglar.com", where we can be contacted with questions related to this particular life style, including technical issues and anything to do with the circumnavigation itself

Interviews:

How to get in touch...

Anne Brevig and Martin Vennesland can be contacted as follows:

74-55 Hawthorn Drive. Port Moody, B. C. V3H 0B3 Canada
Phone: 1-604-949-1680 Fax: 1-604-949-1681