In a one-year trip, the crew will sail across Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
Ports are the safest place for ships to be, but they are not designed to do that – say crew members of the HIR 3 sailboat, which has left Mali Lošinj for a one-year trip around the world. As part of the “HIR 3 over 3 Oceans” expedition, the crew led by Saša Fegić will cross the three oceans and pass near the three best-known maritime landmarks in the world – Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn, reports Večernji List on June 18, 2018.
“Most people are surprised to find out that we are going to use the old HIR 3, but this sailboat has sailed around the world twice already. Now it is up to us to prove ourselves. When I had the opportunity to buy the ship four years ago, I simply had to do it. Otherwise, I would probably spend the rest of my life asking myself what it would be like,” said Fegić.
The HIR 3 is a true star among Croatian sailboats. It was used during the filming of the “With Sails Around the World” documentary TV series, and the leader of those expeditions Mladen Šutej wrote two books about the trips, “The Challenge of the Atlantic” and “Sailing around Cape Horn”.
As for the third expedition for the legendary sailboat, Fegić will be the only crew member who will be on the boat all the time. The captain has been joined in the first leg of the voyage by Marina Đukanović from Mali Lošinj, Andrej Prpić from Poreč, Branislav Bojić from Kragujevac and Ante Bučević from Zagreb. The crew will change from one leg to the next. For example, Marina Đukanović will be part of the crew to South Africa, after which she will return to Croatia and later re-join the crew in Buenos Aires from where the HIR 3 will sail across the Atlantic to the home port in Lošinj. You can follow the boat as it makes its way around the world here.
“We still have one free spot on the ship for the most dangerous part during the trip, from New Zealand to Cape Horn. That will certainly be the biggest challenge for us,” said Fegić. Cape Horn, as the southernmost part of the American continent, is a location where two oceans meet and where the depth of the sea changes substantially. All these factors create unfavourable weather conditions. “About 300 days a year the weather is very bad and it is very cold. Once we pass that section, we will enter calmer seas and return home with a full crew,” Fegić said.
He feels ready for the journey of his life, although he has never done anything similar in his life. “I have been preparing mentally for this voyage for years, and I have been working intensively on it for almost two years. Also, during the last three months, I was on board the ship all day long, every day. We are ready as much as we can be,” Fegić explained.
At the send-off ceremony, many friends showed up with presents, including a few bottles of wine. “You can live without that. I will most miss my family, but it is also necessary to have some luxury. It may not be beneficial for safety, but it is good for morale, and sometimes that is quite necessary,” Fegić said.
Translated from Večernji List (reported by Jelena Ružić).
