On the 27th of March 2020, Bark Europa set the sails and embarked on an epic voyage along the Atlantic from Ushuaia to Scheveningen. This was a voyage she has never done before. She sailed over 10000 nautical miles nonstop, and for most of the time doing it old way, with the power of the wind. It took her over 80 days to reach her destination but she arrived safe and sound.
In March 2020 Bark Europa returned from Antarctica into a different world. All clients managed to disembark and better part, they were able to catch the last flights out of the country. The crew remained on board, uncertain what will happen next. We spent 10 days on anchor waiting for positive development. The pandemic situation however worsened. There was no flight available from the country anymore and thus no way for the crew to fly home. All ports around the world were locked, and staying on anchor in Ushuaia indefinitely wasn’t an option. The news has reached us that Scheveningen, the home port of Europa is ready to welcome us back. The only small problem was there is the whole Atlantic to cross from South to North. Still, this was our best option. Many of us were about to fly home after the trip, tired from a busy Antarctic season. But there was a job to do and so we set the sail and left for Europe. It took us almost 3 months of nonstop sailing. The voyage stirred quite an interest in the media, such as this article in Newsweek. We posted regular updates from the trip. The only way of communication with the outside world was a satellite phone. It was sufficient enough for blogs and photographs that we regularly posted on social media. The video though is a different beast altogether.
While not equipped properly for filming during this voyage, I have managed to shoot few clips. Mostly busy with sailing and ship maintenance, there was little time to do any filming any time I pleased. After coming home I thought there is enough material to make something meaningful out of it. This way you have additional insight into what this voyage has been like for us. If you are interested in sailing and adventure, grab a coffee and hit play.
