HOMEWARD BOUND PART 1: TURKEY TO SINGAPORE by Peter & Ginger Niemann
Last month, we were introduced to Peter and Ginger Niemann — award-winning Seattle-based circumnavigators whose journey home through the pandemicclosed world found them boatbound for more than 300 days. They were in Turkey when Covid lockdowns began. This is the first of a three-part series sharing the story of their epic voyage home to the PNW.
T
Irene's route from Turkey to Singapore.
he sun had just set. Our ketch Irene was sailing gently in a beautiful scene, with the sky lit by a soft pink glow. We were surrounded by towering clouds. The entire crew of Irene, both of us, were in the cockpit enjoying a quiet time together. The main had a reef tied, despite light wind, because the day had been filled with drama — we had been hit by thunderstorm after thunderstorm — and we had learned to simply leave it reefed all the time. It was quick work to drop the mizzen and roll
48º NORTH
up the jib, but tying a reef took time. And those thunderstorms struck quickly! One minute we would be sailing gently and upright in light breeze and sunshine, the next minute Irene would be rail down in pelting rain and surrounded by lightning strikes. The thunder was deafening as we scrambled on the slanted deck to reduce sail. But all that drama was in the past, as we enjoyed our now-tranquil scene. Suddenly, our relaxed mood was shattered. BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP…. The chartplotter screen read, “NO AUTOPILOT.” No rest for the wicked, as they say.
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