TOMSK, November 7. /TASS/. Two Russian adventurers on an expedition to circumnavigate the globe are continuing their journey and plan to reach Thailand by New Year’s Eve, the expedition’s press service said in a statement.
Earlier on Tuesday, the two-man crew set off from Australia on board a new 11-meter sailboat, their third vessel since beginning their trip, which the world travelers have been preparing for the voyage over the past month.
"The crew will sail north along Australian coasts toward Cape York to Thursday Island, from where they will depart for Bali, Indonesia. By New Year, the team will reach Thailand and then cross the Indian Ocean," the statement reads.
According to Yevgeny Kovalevsky, head of the expedition, the crew is still getting used to the new vessel. "It’s not easy to steer as we sail between the reefs. The sailboat is tilting. We are getting accustomed to it," he said, as quoted in the statement.
The two Siberia-based adventurers, Kovalevsky and captain Stanislav Beryozkin, began their round-the-world voyage on July 1, 2021. The expedition was designed to retrace the routes taken by the first Russian mariners to circumnavigate the globe in the early 19th century, including Admiral Ivan Kruzenshtern, and cover approximately 35,000 nautical miles. The team lost its initial vessel, a trimaran, on February 28 while attempting to traverse the Pacific Ocean.
To continue their expedition, the travelers used an inflatable catamaran until that vessel was attacked by sharks in early September off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The crew members were rescued, but ended up back on land without a vessel or equipment. An Australia-based philanthropist then heard about their plight and donated a hard-chine-hull sailboat to the stranded sailors, allowing them to continue their voyage.