Dave’s Single Handed Circumnavigation

Bodacious Dream Expeditions

What has just been completed on June 14, 2014 was a long-dreamed of adventure of the sort that very few people have ever attempted; a single-handed sailing circumnavigation of the globe, that Dave Rearick and Bodacious Dream began on October 2, 2013 when he departed from Newport, Rhode Island on a voyage of adventure as well as one of learning and discovery.

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As this site is more dedicated to racing, all news of the circumnavigation was published not here on Bodaciousdream.com, but on BodaciousDreamExpeditions.com. There is where you can review all the many updates and stories that were told, all the “science notes that were published and all the guides and tools to learning and discovery that were also such a big part of the expedition.

That said, here’s a brief recap of what happened.

circum_leg1_rec1) On December 3, 2013, Dave completed Leg 1, landing safely in Cape Town, South Africa, after completing the 8,000 miles voyage including a stop-over in Bermuda. While in Cape Town, Dave visited and filed updates on excursions to visit African Penguins and the Cape of Good Hope. While in Cape Town, Earthwatch published a news story on Dave and the Expedition.

circum_leg2_rec2) On December 21, 2013, Dave departed Cape Town on Leg 2 bound for Wellington, New Zealand. On February 8, 2014, after enduring weeks of intermittent stormy seas, Dave safely landed in Wellington, New Zealand – a journey of over 7,000 miles. While in Wellington (where Bodacious Dream was built in 2011) Dave undertook a special excursion to visit Fox Glacier. 

circum_leg3_rec3) On March 26, 2014, Dave departed Wellington, NZ on Leg 3 which took him east to a waypoint in the Southern Pacific near 46°S Latitude and 147°W Longitude where he gybed Bodacious Dream north towards the Galapagos Islands. On May 1, 2014, Dave safely landed in the Galapagos Islands … one of Earth’s great nature preserves. Several reports followed.

4) On May 7, 2014, Dave departed the Galapagos Islands on Leg 4 with an initial stop at the Panama Canal. On May 17th, Dave and Bodacious Dream traversed the canal over the course of 12 hours. From there, he traversed the Western Caribbean Sea on a course that took him between Cuba and the Yucatan of Mexico before slipping into the Gulf Stream which carried him to  a stopover for maintenance in West Plan Beach on May 30, 2014. He departed West Palm Beach on June 7, 2014 sailing up the eastern seaboard of the U.S. on route back to Newport, RI, and an arrival in Jamestown Harbor mid-day on June 14, 2014 – thus completing the 256-day voyage and a full circumnavigation of the globe. [:: Recap Coming Soon.]

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Dave’s arrival back in Jamestown … 6/14/14

:: FOLLOWING OUR ADVENTURE! The entire voyage was accompanied by regular updates, published on our Expedition Blog. These were also posted to Facebook and Twitter. Many of Dave’s videos were uploaded to our BDX YouTube Channel and also included in our updates… and people could SIGN UP as well for our Email Newsletter!

capt_dave_ac_215:: LEARNING AND DISCOVERY! Our goal all along the way was to share Dave’s experiences in as direct and accessible a way as possible. We encouraged people to jump with us deeper into the wonders and beauty of the natural world that Dave traversed by sharing with the younger people in your world our Explorer “Study” Guides!

We also encouraged folks to check out our “Citizen Science” page. Included there, you will see listed our up-to-date series of “Science Notes written for us by our Earthwatch ocean scientist, Tegan Mortimer who brilliantly picked up on what Dave encountered on the water and wrapped it up for us in beautiful scientific perspectives. Let the learning begin!

:: WE’RE STILL HERE! As always, should you want to, you can drop us a line from our “Contact Us” page – ask questions, make comments, say hi – we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. And thank you as always for your interest and support.

– Dave Rearick & The Bodacious Dream Expeditionary Force

:: BDX Website :: Email List Sign-Up :: Explorer Guides :: BDX Facebook

Québec to St-Malo – BD Update – Day 8

Our attempt to sail a bit low and fast to take advantage of what was forecast for the winds so we might swing around to the SW, has been abandoned. The newest forecast has the winds staying out of the NW. Opportunities to make up ground from here will be minimal in this straight to the barn jib reaching.

I don’t know if the tracker shows it, but the last 24 hours of as sailing has been fast and awesome, sustained rides over 20 knots have been commonplace.

Now after being out here for our 9th day, the learning curve for crew and boat has been steep, and we wish we had had a mentor willing to go through the various systems to refine them and make them offshore worthy. From stacking systems to long spoons for the freeze-dried food, from sail changes to water removal, everything will be looked at from a new perspective.

The results of the Atlantic cup had our expectations high. The reality is that we’re 5K runners moving up to marathon distance. We’ve learned tons and are getting Bo Dream prepared for its ultimate goal of Dave’s circumnavigation.

I would love some strawberry rhubarb pie right now. Dave wants scallop shrimp ceviche, Mark wants Chinese food and a whole chicken and Emma wants a guava off Drew’s mom’s tree.

– Matt