Get off the sofa, head out, approach other worlds and other, completely unknown people… Meet each other with an open mind, connect in word and deed… And find common ground! – Whether through the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Atlantic and the western Mediterranean (2021), through the Barents Sea and the White Sea in the north (2022), along the Volga, the Don and the edges of the Black Sea in the east and through the Mediterranean in the south (2023), in the most outlying areas on the edges of Europe, Daniel met people who consciously and happily live ‘off the beaten track’, but who have their personal centre there and do their very own thing, leading a perhaps unnoticed, materially modest, but nonetheless awesome life…

Every day of this somewhat special journey brought something new, unexpected, funny and disturbing. Life means making decisions – Daniel has lived intensely over the past few years!

Every day, sometimes every hour, Daniel had to make irreversible decisions: when he unexpectedly encountered unfavourable wind and current conditions or a ‘standing’ wave, turning back was no longer an option; when he had to deal with corrupt customs officials and their civilian allies, he had to balance between bluffing and damage limitation. This journey was no wishful thinking – it was often a case of finding the least bad of the miserable solutions: however he proceeded, Daniel had to accept the consequences. And move on. He also had to learn to navigate not only through fog and storms, but almost more so through his own deep-seated fears: ‘water’ was a constantly challenging topic in every respect.

With his own mix of open-minded curiosity and determination, appreciative humility and resoluteness, Daniel always found his course and reached his destination: it was often not skill but pure chance that he managed this masterpiece.

During this journey, familiar and tried-and-tested patterns of behaviour were suddenly put to the test – Daniel sometimes had to react in a flash to the relevant circumstances and encounters, had to change his perspective time and time again or put himself in the other person’s shoes in order to gradually get closer to his goal. He had to look at tricky situations and a wide variety of people from different angles in a very short space of time in order to understand them. Because only those who understand their counterparts in good time can address their own wishes appropriately.

In short, in order for this venture to succeed, Daniel not only turned his previous life upside down, he also gave up control again and again – and trusted his instincts and completely unknown people.

It was a success. He circumnavigated Europe in a RIB, despite all the adversities (Corona theatre, war over Ukraine). Daniel detached himself from structures that promised ‘security’ and grew as a result. He explored ‘his’ continent on the periphery in a fresh and cheerful way, met other open and curious people on the edges of Europe and made new friends across all real or imagined borders!

Around Northern Europe in a RIB (Bright Red, May to August 2022):

Tallinn – Stockholm – Malmö – Skagen – Larvik – Bergen – Stad – Bodö – Lofoten – Hammerfest – Kirkenes – Murmansk – Arkhangelsk – Solovky – Belomorsk – Petrozavodsk – St. Petersburg – Haapasaari – Tallinn. Special features/symbols white: ‘Escort Service’ and Belugas!

 Blue = Maiden Voyage 2021

Dark red = Circumnavigation Western Europe 2021

In mid-August 2022, Daniel returned safely from the second part of his circumnavigation of Europe, by RIB around northern Europe. – Three months earlier, in May 2022, the journey started: from Tallinn to Finland and Aland, around southern Sweden, via Denmark to Norway. The journey took Daniel further, along the Gulf Stream to the Lofoten Islands and around the North Cape to Kirkenes. From there he sailed through the Barents Sea to Murmansk and around the Kola Peninsula into the White Sea to Arkhangelsk. He continued through the White Sea to Solovky and Belomorsk, and through the rivers/lakes/canals to St. Petersburg and back to Tallinn via Finland.

Daniel saw and hiked rarely visited and barely touched landscapes, watched belugas at play and chatted with people of all stripes throughout the journey; he mastered the Barents Sea’s surges and the White Sea’s expanses (and endured the Russian administration’s eagerness), and experienced first-hand the effects of the war in Southeast Europe and the sanctions on both sides.

Three months, two worlds, one passion: sailing the northern waters with a simple (inflatable) boat, meeting people, exchanging ideas – and making new friends!

Around Europe in a RIB:

White = Extended test rides to Finland and Haapsalu
(For symbols see explanations in the corresponding blog)

Blue = Maiden voyage (May and June 2021: Tallinn – Hanko – Vaasa – Lulea – Raahe – Vaasa – Sundsvall – Gävle – Mariehamn – Tallinn).

Red = Circumnavigate Western Europe (July to October 2021: Tallinn – Riga – Gdansk – Bornholm – Kiel Canal – Lovestoft – Pentland Firth / Stromness – Caledonian Canal – Ballycastle – Aberystwyth – Newlyn – Loctudy – Royan – Santander – Cape Fisterra – Sagres – Barbate – Cartagena – Ibiza – Mallorca – Menorca – Roses – Port St. Lois – Lyon – Besançon – Basel)

In May 2021, Daniel started in Tallinn with his RIB and explored the northern Baltic Sea countries Estonia, Finland and Sweden extensively (maiden voyage). He then sailed southwards, visiting Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, before finally entering the Kiel Canal via Bornholm in Denmark, and heading into the North Sea via the German island of Norderney and the Dutch islands of Vlieland and Texel.

In the following weeks, Daniel sailed his ArgoFram around the British Isles, including the Orkneys, and crossed the Bay of Biscay after translating into Brittany. With this, Daniel advanced into the Atlantic, circumnavigated the Iberian Peninsula, and in the Mediterranean – because it was so beautiful – also visited the Balearic Islands.

At Port St. Louis in France, Daniel then turned into the continent and sailed up the Rhone, passed the Rhine-Rhone Canal, and arrived safely with his ArgoFram in his hometown Basel in October. – In an inflatable boat from Tallinn to Basel, to visit the country and people in the periphery on more than 13,000 kilometres around Western Europe…, not bad for a nautical beginner.

Here you can find an article in German or in French from the magazine ‘marina.ch’ about Daniel’s cruise around Europe.