S/V PEREGRINA COMPLETES HER CIRCUMNAVIGATION!
S/V PEREGRINA COMPLETES HER CIRCUMNAVIGATION!
January 10, 2010 – May 14, 2015
It all began as a little boy’s dream.
What would it be like to sail around the world?
On January 5th, 2010, the good ship, Peregrina, left Miami, Florida, USA. Cuddled into my arms was my First (and Best) Mate, Margie.
Like a thoroughbred, our chariot was raring to go.
Over the next five years, five months and nine days, we traveled 35,000 miles as we circumnavigated the world.
We visited 37 countries in the following order.
Grand Cayman
Panama
Galapagos (Ecuador)
Marquesas Islands
Tuamotus Islands
French Society Islands (Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea, etc, etc)
Cook Islands
Niue
Tonga
Fiji
Vanuatu
Australia
New Zealand (Flew by Plane)
Indonesia
Singapore
Malaysia
Vietnam (Flew by Plane)
Thailand
The island of Borneo
The Kingdom of Brunei
Philippines
Rodrigues Island
Mauritius
Reunion Island
South Africa
Swaziland
Namibia
St. Helena
Ascension Island
Fernando Del Noronho ( Brazil)
French Guyana
Trinidad
Grenada
Venezuela (Los Roques Archipelago)
Bonaire
Curacao
Aruba
Colombia
And….back to Panama
A circumnavigation can be explained using the “string theory.” If you were to unwind a piece of string off your boat’s transom as you travel around the globe heading west, you will, sooner or later, cross your outbound path where you can “tie the knot.”
We completed our circumnavigation in the San Blas islands off Panama. We first visited the San Blas Islands in January 2010 and returned to the very same anchorage in May 2015.
To commemorate the occasion I wrote the following poem.
DREAMS OF LITTLE BOYS
When I was just a little boy
A tiny dream came to me
In the dream, I took a boat
And sailed it out to sea
When I became a teenager
The dream was still around
I would not let this adventure
Hit a reef or, sadly, go aground
The first time that I met Margie
I told her my dream to circumnavigate
Happily, she was onboard right away
And, it was OK to have a second date
We got married and had two kids
And the dream drifted with the current of life
But, Margie helped me keep it alive
As a first mate, she’s a pretty good wife!
Finally, we had a weather window
The kids were gone and on their own
And the dream came rushing back
With all the hope that it had sown
One day, we just decided
Let’s live our dream before it’s too late
We upped anchor and sailed away
As had always been our fate
We discovered the earth is not flat
As was suspected for many years
We did not sail right off the edge
As so many early navigators feared
Our wake covered many sea routes
Over 35,000 miles we did roam
We dropped anchor in 37 countries
And watched sunsets over their sea foam
I remember being a little boy
Wondering if I would sail the sea so blue
And now I know for certain
That dreams of little boys can come true.
Margie and I would like to thank our family and friends who have supported us these many years.
May all your dreams also come true!
Peter and Margie Benziger
“Circumnavigators”
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