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For once it wasn't me who almost died. But I'm already getting ahead of myself. Cool wave We had a week in Bazaruto without guests to play on the dunes before heading back across the Mozambique channel to Madagascar. In this time we flew as much as possible; spent way too much time in Vilanculos trying to repair one of our refrigerators (unsuccessfully); and got about $12,000 dollars worth of camera and paragliding equipment stolen from right under our noses on the beach. In less... Read Full Story

At the crack of dawn after a very rough night sail from Tofo 140 miles up the Mozambique coast to Bazaruto Tim wakes me up urgently. The problem is Humpbacks. The wind is blowing over 30 knots, the seas are an ugly black mess. And whales are literally everywhere . We're ripping along well over 10 knots. If we hit one of these giants the giant wins. Our thin fiberglass hull is no match for 40 tonnes of dense flesh and blubber. We'd be destroyed, all would be lost. He and I stand at the helm in... Read Full Story

After nearly 2 months in Madagascar it was regrettably time to move on, though we will be returning in September for the final trips of the season. The rough plan was to spend a few days in Madagascar, then sail across the Mozambique channel some 550 miles with a stop in Europa, a French island outpost of which we'd heard tantalizing rumours of sharks, turtles, and a phenomenal left hand wave. We're joined by Eddie Bauer/First Ascent production head Gerry Moffatt, who would be shooting... Read Full Story

I'm not used to this. Sitting down at the computer writing about a trip where everything went right..or at least mostly right. Ok, a few people got sick but in Madagascar that's pretty much par for the course. But no one got hurt. The wind and waves paid us a number of visits. Knock on wood, but maybe our luck has finally returned? These guys were not particularly...friendly Sky Solbach and Kristin Boese were on board in hopes of getting footage for their respective sponsors, and... Read Full Story

In the 2 1/2 days between 14 day back to back trips I found myself deflated and exhausted. A common theme of these logs I know. Less than 60 hours to clean, provision, complete necessary maintenance, handle all the administrative tasks, take on fuel, propane- all the things that happen behind the scenes that are so necessary to keep Discovery on the move. Yet I hear again and again, from just about everyone who boards that I must have the best job in the world. Hmmm. My house has guests... Read Full Story

After our 30 day Cargados trip I was looking forward to 8 badly needed days of rest in Reunion with no clients and no guests. I'd researched all the surf waves and paragliding sites over a year ago and couldn't wait to taste the goods. I should have known better. Maintenace alone took the better part of a week. Continued engine worries, a number of canvas and sail projects, burned out battery charger- the list kept growing. And then 48 hours before our planned departure things went from bad... Read Full Story

All photos by Tim Burgess In many ways the last trip started over 10 years ago. I was sitting in a pub on the SW corner of Vancouver Island near the Juan De Fuca Straits with a guy who'd just completed a circumnavigation. It was the spring of 1999 and other than commercial fishing in the Bearing Sea I'd never been offshore and had no idea how it all worked. This guy's stories of adventure kept me rapt for hours and I furiously scribbled notes about all the places he reckoned were "must sees... Read Full Story

To see a wild movie of this trip and more of our adventures in the Maldives, click here . Knowing the trade winds would be long gone by April we planned this 10 day adventure around surf. The southern atolls in the Maldives are exposed to reliable swell from the south Indian Ocean, which culminate in some of the worlds best reef breaks. Our plan was to leave Male and cover the distance to arrive well before the clients' flight into Huvadhoo atoll, one of the largest atolls in the world... Read Full Story

I've never been into drugs. But I imagine "coming down" would feel a lot like I do right now. A bit dizzy, a bit confused, a lot tired. The last 15 days played out like an eternity and somehow also disappeared in a flash. When I look back it all seemed to start ages ago because there's no way you can fit into each day all the things that happened, but it also seems like the clients just stepped on board. My body and those of our guests show signs of genuine abuse. I've got a serious limp... Read Full Story

All photos by Marc Peterson and Ida Unsgaard To get to the Maldives we sailed just over 1200 miles west south west of the Andamans, skirting the south coast of Sri Lanka. We had only one client on board, Bjorn Hvidberg who likes to join for the passages which contrary to popular belief, are usually very relaxing affairs. He was previously scheduled to join for the trip from Bali to Malaysia last October, which some of you might remember I did solo (see " Hell Hath No Fury "). Needless to... Read Full Story