On May 6, 2000, sailing vessel Rongevaer departed Port Superior Marina, near Bayfield, Wisconsin, on her way through the Great Lakes via the Erie Canal and then across the North Atlantic to Bergen, Norway. Owner and skipper Dean Rau had been preparing Rongevaer for this voyage for nearly four years. Sailing vessel Rongevaer was named after an island or group of islands off the Norwegian coast, where Dean has Norwegian roots. In fact, Rongevaer in Norway was sailing vessel Rongevaer's ultimate destination.  Rongevaer arrived in Bergen on July 26, 2000.

Although Rongevaer seems small, she was a very seaworthy boat. She had been fitted out for serious cruising with wind vane steering gear, storm sails, and heavy latches on all compartments. She was launched in Superior, Wisconsin and sailed to Port Superior, where Dean was joined by the rest of the crew. Rongevaer proceeded through Lakes Superior, Huron and Erie before entering the Erie Canal at Buffalo, New York on May 16.  The crew took down Rongevaer's mast and proceeded through the Erie Canal to Clyde, New York, where their progress was blocked for 12 days due to high water.  In Albany, Rongevaer left the Erie Canal and traveled down the Hudson River to New York City, where they proceeded around the south tip of Manhattan and up the East River into Long Island Sound.  From Long Island Sound, they made their way to Nantucket and set out for Ireland.  After several days of beating into heavy winds and waves, Rongevaer changed her course and made her way North to Halifax, Nova Scotia.  From Halifax, the crew proceeded Eastward to St. John's, New foundland, where they began their crossing to Ireland.  They reached Dingle, Ireland on July 16, sailed up the West coast of Ireland and then crossed Scotland via the Caledonian Canal.  After exiting the canal at Inverness, Rongevaer crossed the North Sea to Bergen, arriving on July 26.

Rongevaer had a satellite e-mail system on board. Her crew sent messages with a GPS position every few days, and crew logs along with current positions were posted on this web site.  The Charts page now contains all charts used on this page to show Rongevaer's positions throughout her voyage.

Crew: Dean Rau (owner/skipper) [Bayfield to Bergen], Larry Carpenter [Bayfield to Bergen], Cristobal Carman [New York to Inverness], Arnie Bottem [Bayfield to Halifax], Don McGrath [Bayfield to Clyde], and Paul Hesse [Bayfield to Sault Ste. Marie].

Voyage · Photos · Crew · Log · Charts · Links · Forum · seans.com

Last updated: 5-Aug-2000