A 72-YEAR OLD Swede has set out on an Atlantic crossing from Co Cork in a tiny self-built boat.
Sven Yrvind was towed out of Kinsale harbour yesterday morning with a low-key local escort that included former Asgard IImaster, Capt Colm Newport.
Yrvind's 4.6m (15ft) dinghy, named Bris, is the latest in a series of boats he has built and sailed single-handedly on voyages as far as the Falkland Islands and Cape Horn.
This model had just 10 hours of test sailing before his departure, having been towed by trailer from his Swedish home to Cork.
“Like a modern-day Joshua Slocum,” is how Capt Newport described Yrvind yesterday, after he saw him off. Slocum was the first man to sail around the world single-handedly
“Normally you would be sceptical of such an adventure, but Sven has been designing, building and sailing single-handed vessels since 1963,” Capt Newport said.
Conditions were “moderate, westerly breeze, overcast with rain showers” when a visiting German yacht assisted his departure from Kinsale marina.
“His boat handled the conditions well and as he let go the tow line, he set sail on a southwesterly course,” Capt Newport reported.
“We accompanied him in a rigid inflatable boat to wish him fair winds. As we turned back for Kinsale, the sun shone on his vessel, moving along nicely. Sven smiled and waved and looked happy to be back and alone at sea,” Capt Newport added.
“A bigger boat doesn’t make you happier, but it costs more – not only to build, but also in upkeep,” Yrvind explains on his blog.
His first boat was built in his mother’s back garden, while he lived in her attic. At one point, a local town planner asked him if he had planning permission to do same. During his many voyages, he became the first yacht skipper to berth in Tristan da Cunha, having arrived with no charts.
“Are you shipwrecked?” the islanders asked him then.
“I am not shipwrecked,” Yrvind answered. “I am a philosopher looking for the uttermost parts of the world, and this is my girlfriend,” he said, pointing to his then crewmate and partner.
“Then you certainly have come to the right place” they said, and laughed, Yrvind recalled.
The intrepid sailor intends to berth in Madeira during his Atlantic transit, and his progress can be followed on www.yrvind.com.
