Sodric, a round-the-world trip for two!

First sail to Spain and the Canaries

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"At the end of October 2012, Sodric left her home port of La Rochelle for a multi-year circumnavigation of the globe. An epic which begins in the most beautiful way, downwind, towards Spain and the coast of Galicia. A few days' stopover in La Coruña and then Baiona allow us to settle the final details of life on board, before setting sail for the open sea. Faced with poor weather conditions, Sodric calls at Cascais to await more clement weather. Just enough time to discover Lisbon and the majestic Tagus estuary, and we can once again set a direct course for Porto Santo, our first stopover in Madeira.

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We take the time to visit several islands in the archipelago before reaching the Canaries, where Sodric anchors in Abona Bay, Tenerife.

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En route to Africa: Senegal and Cape Verde

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After returning to France for the holidays, we continued our cruise in early 2013, heading for Senegal. A memorable stopover, touched by the country's traditional culture and the many enriching encounters, including with members of Voiles sans frontières. Thanks to them, we were able to take part in a solidarity medical mission. An extraordinary experience that we won't soon forget.

Next, the initial intention was to reach the Canaries from Dakar. But due to two to three meters of cross seas, and contrary wind and currents, we preferred to head straight for Cape Verde and the island of Sao Vincente. A place with austere landscapes, but made so warm by its inhabitants. Sodric will be moored there all summer, while we stay in France. Then we set sail again in early autumn, with the aim of visiting the whole archipelago: sometimes austere, sometimes lush, fishing, volcanoes... before crossing to the West Indies at the end of the year.

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Atlantic crossing: heading for the West Indies

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2,185 miles, 16 days and 14 hours of sailing, averaging 5.5 knots. That's how long it took us to reach Guadeloupe. A transatlantic race could just be summed up in a few figures, but behind it all lies the pleasure of being at sea.

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During these long crossings, listening to Sodric's messages is essential: a flapping sail, the pilot working too hard, a luffing start, are all messages to be taken into consideration.

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Having arrived in Guadeloupe after more than a year's sailing, Sodric was in need of a little care, and the technical area of the Pointe à Pitre marina was the perfect place to give her a face-lift: careening, antifouling, replacement of the daggerboard runners, removal of the wind generator... all essential work to ensure the perfect operation of our little house on the water. All in just one week.

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Caribbean stopovers and return to Guadeloupe

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We were then able to enjoy the turquoise waters with their multicolored fish, as well as some beautiful hikes on steep paths. It has to be said that we had chosen our moment well, arriving in the middle of the Abyme carnival: an important and colorful event. We then went from island to island in the Caribbean archipelago: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia and the Grenadines, each with its own personality, gave us a lot. After returning to Guadeloupe to spend the traditional end-of-year festivities with the family, we headed for Panama and crossed the canal to reach the Pacific coast, then the mythical Galapagos. Sodric is now ready for its longest crossing ever, 3000 miles (5500 km) to Polynesia.

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We chose to head for the Gambiers atoll before reaching the Marquesas.

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Heading for the Pacific: Panama, Galapagos and Polynesia

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‍Afterfour months in France, we returned to the island of Tahiti, where Sodric was patiently waiting for us to do some work and go for a walk. It was now time to think about leaving French Polynesia, which in a year and a half had shown us so much.

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2017: New Zealand and New Caledonia

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Arriving in New Zealand is like reaching a high mountain peak. And not just because we're the exact opposite of France. Above all, it's because this country of sailors is probably the one that best symbolizes the idea of a great voyage. You have to cross the world's largest ocean to get there, and the last leg, 2,000 km long and involving juggling weather systems, is not the easiest: we left New Zealand for Fiji on May 18 and found ourselves in New Caledonia after 7 days of rough sailing! This is both the disadvantage and the advantage of traveling by boat: being dependent on the weather, but being able to wander from one country to another with no other constraint than the weather.

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2018: Heading for Australia and Tasmania

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We chose to make our entry into Australia in Bundaberg. Coming from New Caledonia, this town, located south of the Great Barrier Reef, is for us a good starting point for our next navigation: to sail slowly down the east coast to Tasmania."Jean-Pierre and Isabelle Bobo

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‍Ifyou'd like to continue following Sodric's journey , click here.