Swedish sailor Tommy Eriksson and his Norwegian wife, Aase, are currently moored up in St Helier on their yacht Mistique during a ten-day stop.
The intrepid duo set off from the west coast of Sweden in May, starting an adventure which could stretch well into the 2020s.
Both aged in their early 60s, the couple sold their flat in Oslo, took early retirement in April and weighed anchor.
After a few short trips to test out the boat and farewells to family, the voyage began in earnest in late July, with Jersey the first major pit-stop.
‘We both like Bergerac and having been here for one night for Aase’s 60th birthday, we wanted to come back for longer,’ said Mr Eriksson. ‘It’s been really nice and sunny, and the people are very friendly.’
Having arrived last Thursday, undergone Covid-19 tests and received their negative results, the couple have been exploring the Island by bus, visiting landmarks such as Gorey Castle and Jersey War Tunnels.
The pilgrimage will also include a visit to Jim Bergerac’s ‘local’ – the Old Court House in St Aubin – before the Erikssons leave the Island on Sunday morning.
The couple met in 2002, by which stage they each had three children. They got married in 2004 and first thought about a big trip in 2013.
‘I had a heart problem and was told I would need a new heart, but had to wait four months for the transplant,’ Mr Eriksson, a former electrician, said. ‘Then when it came to it, they said I didn’t need the new heart, but it made me realise that life is short and you need to make the most of it.’
Mrs Eriksson didn’t initially share her husband’s dream to sail around the world, but became keener on the idea during an eight-week ‘trial run’ to the west coast of Scotland, and plans for the trip gathered pace when the couple bought their 15-metre yacht in Inverness in 2016.
‘The boat is quite solid and heavy [about 30 tonnes] and we have been through a storm with no problems, so I feel more confident now,’ she said.
Starting such a big adventure during a global pandemic may not be ideal, but the couple are sanguine about it.
‘I don’t think we are at any greater risk doing what we are doing than if we were still in Norway,’ Mr Eriksson said, comforted by the sight of a large box of medical supplies prepared by his wife, a former theatre nurse. The couple are taking precautions, such as wearing masks when they are out and about, and keeping up with the latest developments.
After leaving Jersey, Mr and Mrs Eriksson will head south to Spain or Portugal, followed by Casablanca in Morocco and then a potential stop in Madeira or the Canary Islands.
The schedule beyond the end of 2020 is not confirmed but is likely to involve a trans-Atlantic crossing
early next year, up to 12 months exploring the Caribbean and then a trip through the Panama Canal to reach the Pacific Ocean the following year – and maybe another Bergerac pilgrimage before they finally head home.
lMr and Mrs Eriksson, who are tracking their journey online via the worldmistique.com website, have invited Islanders to visit them on the boat this Saturday. Mistique is moored directly adjacent to Albert Pier Terminal.
