Dubai : Freak waves and dodging pirates were just some of the hazards an adventurer from Sweden had to deal with, while on a three-year sailing cruise around the world.
Lars Hassler, who had anchored his 50ft yacht Jennifer at Dubai Creek for a brief stopover during the Eid holidays, told XPRESS that he had set sail five months ago from Stockholm in Sweden.
Lars, 62, charted a route via the Mediterranean, and onward through Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, through the Suez Canal, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen and Oman, before arriving in Dubai.
He said: "The Red Sea was particularly tricky because I was very conscious about the threat of pirates. I was in constant communication via e-mail with maritime authorities in Europe about reports of piracy and steered clear of the areas they mentioned.
"We were lucky that we didn't encounter any pirates, but there was a lot of freaky weather with big waves crashing onto the sides of the ship. A few times I thought it might even tip over on its side, but fortunately we survived."
Free feeling
Standing on board his blue Beneteau Oceanis 500 boat, Lars who is also a author, with six of his books on sailing being published in English and Swedish, said: "Someone once said that sailing is a lifestyle of freedom, travelling and exploring the world but it is done while being at home."
This is the second time Lars will be sailing around the world. In 1988 he quit his job as a commodities trader and bought Jennifer before setting off on a 10-year voyage across the globe, arriving back to his homeland in 1998.
"It was an amazing experience. It's a way of seeing the world in a completely different way. You are isolated from the world. It changes you as a person. On this current trip alone we've seen many Dolphins racing alongside us and other wildlife," he said.
Lars has picked up five crew members from Prague and others will come and go during the course of his journey.
He said: "It's like a holiday for most people who join the crew. Some stay for a few days, others for weeks or even months. We all share in the duties of running the ship. Everyone cleans, cooks and helps in the running of the ship."
The Jennifer has four individual cabins with four toilets. Food is stored throughout the boat and the crew stock up when they are in port or through fishing while out at sea.
India beckons
The next leg of the voyage will take Lars and his crew to Mumbai and Goa in India and then onto Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Next year will see him touch base in Singapore, Borneo, the Philippines, China, Japan, before making his way to Alaska and travelling down the western seaboard of the United States.
This will take in California and Christmas 2011 will be spent in Hawaii.
For 2012 he plans to go to Micronesia in the South Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and South Africa.
In 2013 he will head across the Atlantic to Brazil, cruise through the Caribbean to the East Coast of the United States of America and follow the interstate waterways to Boston and New York before going back across to England by September.
You can follow Lars' journey on his blog at www.yacht-jennifer.nu
