Around the world in 14 years
A COUPLE have returned to Gwynedd after sailing 90,000 miles around the world.
Chris and Fiona Jones arrived back in Y Felinheli last Saturday after spending the best part of the last 14 years at sea
Having set off in 2002, the nautical journey has taken them to more than 40 different countries.
The couple, who have four children and seven grandchildren between them, decided to set off on their travels after spending two years teaching others how to sail.
They set off from Y Felinheli in July 2002 on their 43ft boat Threeships, and officially returned on July 23 this year.
Fiona, 55, said: “We have been back on a few occasions just to visit family, but each time we flew back, so the boat has been away for 14 years.
“Over that time we kept e-mailing and documenting our journey. We want to be able to share it with everyone.
“It’s been a great adventure, we’ve loved every minute of it.
“Threeships has been a home to us for so many years, she really means a lot. We actually quite miss her now that we’re back in the house and she’s out in the bay, but we’re very glad to be home.”
During their time at sea, the keen sailors, who are ambassadors for the Ocean Cruising Club, have swum with sharks, sea turtles and dolphins, and have visited some places they never thought they’d see, including Tahiti, Panama and Tonga.
They also encountered some difficulties along the way, like narrowly avoiding arrest by Singaporean marines for straying into the restricted military waters off Changi naval base and extreme lightning strikes just south of Madagascar accompanied by 22ft waves.
Chris said: “Over time we’ve had 20 different crew members join us on ocean passages of over 1,200 miles.
“It’s certainly not for the faint-hearted, and one person described it like living in the belly of a wild animal!
“But you have to have confidence in your boat, and you come to realise that the thought of something going wrong is always worse than the reality.
“We’re very practical people, so when things did go wrong it was all about just going back to basics.
“In every day life if something goes wrong there’s always someone else to fix it, but when you’re out at sea it’s just the two of you, so you have to become very good at problem-solving!”
Chris and Fiona have also encountered many wild animals while on their journey, including a Komodo dragon and an orangutan, who took Chris’ arm and took him for a walk – something which he describes as a “once in a lifetime experience.”
Chris added: “We actually only planned to be gone for a year or so, but we enjoyed it so much that we decided to keep going.
“The longest we went without coming back to visit was two years, and we went 22 days without stepping foot on dry land.
“Luckily our family were very supportive of our journey, but I think they’re glad to have us back for a while.
“It’s been a very rewarding experience, and we plan to continue cruising but probably not for the same length of time.
“When you’re out there you’re identified by your boat. She really is part of the family and we definitely want to have more adventures with Threeships.” ■ For more information about Chris and Fiona’s journey visit www.threeships.co.uk.