Unforgettable
Maria and Manuel sailed with the Tecla in Iceland in 2016. Sailing for one week from Isafjordur to Hornstrandir Nature Reserve and back.
*An unforgettable week sailing the Tecla in Iceland.
We sailed around the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve and every day was a delight.
In the evening we anchored in beautiful places at the bottom of a new fjord and in the morning, coming up to the deck was always a surprise. Dreamy atmosphere, stunning landscapes, and every time something new to catch the eye, magic reflections on the water, seals, birds…
We went ashore for fantastic hikes which proved to be not only invigorating but also a new source of surprises as the arctic fox in its summer colours in the tiny Hesteyri.
On our way to Aedey Island everybody was on deck basking on the sun when someone shouted WHALES!!! And there they were, the amazing whales. Splashing, coming up and down, wagging their tails …
It has been such a fabulous week, sailing the beautiful Tecla and with its wonderful crew! We are looking forward to the next season!
A big hug for all!
Tracy-Ann Hooley sailed with the Tecla between Ullapool, St Kilda and back to Ullapool in April 2015. We had a great time with her on board and were so happy to welcome her after she had seen us in Melbourne in 2013! The following words come from one of her emails.
María & Manuel (from Spain)
A Privilege
It was such a privilege and a pleasure to sail with you all and to be on Tecla. I keep thinking about the amazing sailing and the beautiful places we visited. I especially loved exploring St Kilda and the awesome sail we had back from there, and being at anchor at Loch Scavaig with the mountains and the seals, and then the absolutely brilliant day tacking down the Sound of Mull and exploring Aros Castle. I’ll treasure those times for a long time to come. Thank you all for your wonderful company during the trip and for putting up with me getting under your feet on deck all the time (I was so excited to be sailing again that I wanted to haul on every line, but I’m sure some of them didn’t need hauling on at all…) I learned so much on the trip and I’m really inspired to try and do more sailing again now.
Kirsty Hunt sailed with the Tecla during a cruise in Brazil, 2014. She was on board for over 3 weeks combining two trips in Brazil.
St Kilda
– It was such a privilege and a pleasure to sail with you all and to be on Tecla. I keep thinking about the amazing sailing and the beautiful places we visited. I especially loved exploring St Kilda and the awesome sail we had back from there, and being at anchor at Loch Scavaig with the mountains and the seals, and then the absolutely brilliant day tacking down the Sound of Mull and exploring Aros Castle. I’ll treasure those times for a long time to come. Thank you all for your wonderful company during the trip and for putting up with me getting under your feet on deck all the time (I was so excited to be sailing again that I wanted to haul on every line, but I’m sure some of them didn’t need hauling on at all…) I learned so much on the trip and I’m really inspired to try and do more sailing again now.-
“A fantastic trip! Of course, sometimes you look around/think about what your doing and wonder – “what the hell am I doing here?!”, but it was a great feeling, to learn a completely different skill, to be thrown into a very different world, away from technology and the daily grind – I really enjoyed it! I cannot praise the crew enough, the most helpful, obliging, kind and strong people I’ve ever met. They never forced you to do anything you were not comfortable with, and encouraged you if you did give some tasks a go. They also helped you to laugh at yourself and not take things seriously – which we learned was pretty important! Who knows what they thought of us, but we thought they were brilliant 🙂 The trip was well planned, especially around the Costa Verde – with us seeing around 4 islands, enjoying the local culture, wildlife and of course learning how to sail…!
The timing of the stops in the Costa Verde were great, and could have even been longer! The addition of Rio and Angra dos Reis, also made for a good mix of large cities and smaller/friendlier towns. Although we ran into some problems along the way further up the coast with bad seasickness and the weather not being favourable. It was these challenges that I believe made me appreciate what we had done and grateful to the crew for helping us through it. Personally I appreciated their openness and how they were willing to adapt and help us through any situation. “
South Africa
Micheal O’Bery, from South Africa sailed on the Tecla from Cape Town to Durban in May 2013. His trip was sponsored by the Maritime Academy, together with his class mates they were on board for 10 days for a sail training journey.
“The crew Gijs; Sam; Jet and Loes were sailors open to talk yet hard of work, they consistently work with a passion for the vessel they loved so much, this could even be seen by the comments written by previous attendees.They were hospitable and kind treating us often like little children with candies and chocolates, it helped a lot , as this raised moral and bonding chances. All said I’d recommend them for anyone with the money and a need of something real.
We celebrated a few birthdays aboard the vessel Clint’s; Mangaliso’s and Pamela’s the crew were so kind as to bake a Two cakes, other times they baked biscuits and the real treat was the freshly baked bread every morning, Gijs and Loes did most of the baking and Jet cooked. It was a blast and a great bonding experience yet the true beauty behind this trip was that I found out the sea is the path for me, the sailor’s life is hard yet i didn’t think that at sea i thought how much this was for me, I found myself relaxed and even doing what I would do at home, draw or tabulate a guitar song, i felt at peace and am currently looking forward to my Two years of sea-time as a cadet.”
I was a bit scared about the trip, since this was the first true ocean sailng for me, in one of the roughest seas of the world. Tecla proved to be extremely reliable, and Gijs managed everything perfectly. The relationship with the other passengers and crew members made the trip a once in a life experience. I am completely satisfied of having chosen Tecla to travel to Antarctica; everything was real in it, the people, the nature, the wildlife…the wild
RAFAEL
This trip fulfilled my desire for adventure sailing as we transited the north coast of Iceland, along the Arctic Circle. Even though it was rough, the boat and crew performed admirably.
Bruce
