Dispatches from the Southern Ocean
Crew blog by Clémence Danis and Tom Bott 26th October 2026: Saecwen is currently running down latitude 410 South on passage to Chile after leaving Rapa Iti in French Polynesia over 3 weeks ago. Our days are shaped by watch keeping, cooking duties, reading, bird watching and a regular series of Southern Ocean gales. This is a glimpse into our life at sea over two days. Day 21 - CLÉMENCE 3h45 My alarm goes off. I have to crawl out of my warm sleeping bag; I mustn’t fall back
heloisebuckland
25 minutes ago7 min read
The Roaring Forties
On October 3rd Saecwen took her departure from the remote Polynesian island of Rapa Iti, bound for Chile, over 4,000 miles to the southwest. Our departure was fraught with unexpected mishap. Firstly, whilst letting go our bow rope a pair of very expensive and fashionable spectacles managed to slip off the nose of crewmate Clemence into the sea. Without hesitation she plunged headfirst over the side after them, much to consternation of our lovely farewell committee of islander
heloisebuckland
4 days ago8 min read
South to the Island of Rapa
On 22nd September Saecwen took departure from Tahiti with our ultimate destination being Southern Chile – over 4,000 miles to the southeast. With the SE trade winds still blowing fresh (directly from the direction in which we wanted to sail), we had no option but to first head south to try and find the westerlies of the Southern Ocean that we hoped would ultimately drive our Pacific crossing. With Heloise having headed to Asia for a long overdue visit to her business there, C
heloisebuckland
Oct 84 min read
