A woman with no nautical experience is currently on her first sailing trip – circumnavigating the world.
Wedding celebrant Zena Birch started her epic sea voyage in January after she was invited by a couple she had helped marry a decade earlier.
The first-time sailor is one of the six people on board of the 52ft boat Pure Joy! as part of the World ARC rally – which is only four months in a fifteen-month expedition.
Despite having no sailing experience, she said she now feels “pretty au fait” with it – with a good understanding of mechanics, nature and aerodynamics.
She says one highlight had been sailing through a “massive arch rainbow” in French Polynesia.
Another has been swimming with ancient giant sea turtles and crossing the Equator mid passage between Panama and the Galapagos Islands.
The adventure has also brought its own challenges – including rough seas, lightning storms and fellow boats being struck and losing all their electricity.
The Pure Joy! has traveled more than 6,000 miles, visiting Colombia, the Panama Canal and the Galapagos Islands before arriving in French Polynesia.
It continues to Lombok, Cocos Islands and Christmas Island, Mauritius, Reunion, South Africa, around Cape or Good Hope, then Namibia, St Helena, Brazil and arriving in St Lucia in April 2026.
Zena, 48, from Plymouth, Devon said: “This adventure has been more than I could ever have imagined. And we are still only four months into a 15 month expedition!
“It sounds cliche, but the lows have only made the highs more astute. I have learnt that this is an endurance experience not simply an adventure. There are so many challenges, both mentally and physically, and there is pretty much no spare time to stop and take stock.
“Reflect on all of the incredible things that have and are happening, because we simply never stop. We are moving ever forward at all times.”
When she was first asked to join the crew by couple David and Joy on their boat Pure Joy!, her immediate answer was “yes” followed by a “thousand reasons” to say no, she explained.
While her father was a captain in the Merchant Navy, Zena had zero nautical milesof experience at that stage.
Initially she was “terrified” to sailing the seas and living in close quarters with others, but despite these challenges she could not say no to a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.
Zena said: “To negate a few of my fears, to be prepared and to be a good and vital crew member, I spent the next 18 months on courses as and when I could. Competent Crew, Survival at Sea, Radar and VHF radio courses.
“When January 2025 arrived, I was as ready as I could ever have been! Everything else would now have to be experiential learning – a steep learning curve was expected.”
Zena started the journey in January in St Lucia during a “lightning storm”.
She explained how some of the highlights of the expedition so far have been surprising elements such as camaraderie and support.
“Sailors, it would see,m will do anything to help one another and in the current times of divisiveness we find ourselves in, this is the most heartwarming thing,” explained Zena.
And other highlights had been swimming with ancient giant sea turtles and crossing the Equator mid passage between Panama and the Galapagos Islands – where they celebrated by dressing up and taking a sip of rum each.
She said: “Transiting through the Panama Canal was one of the most difficult and fascinating things I have ever done.
“Crossing the Equator mid passage between Panama and the Galapagos Islands was another highlight – we notated it with a serious of fun ceremonies and rituals, we dressed up, took a sip of rum each and offered a splash to Neptune, and because the day was insanely calm we threw out a life line and each took in turns to jump into the Pacific Ocean and swim our way across the Equator!
“The sea lions in the Galapagos are a source of endless entertainment due to their individual characters, noise, smell and determination to get on the back of your boat! Swimming with ancient, giant sea turtles was another highlight, the biggest one I saw made me intake my breath so ferociously I nearly choked in my snorkel!
“The surrender required to cross the Pacific, nearly 19 days and nights without land, perpetually travelling and sharing watches day and night, an endless horizon both intimidating and bewitching and the amount of time you have to simply sit and be.
”I wrote daily notes during this passage to keep myself sane and you can read them on my substack – friends have told me it really helped them understand the challenge I was on and I know for a fact it helped me get through what has so far been our longest passage at sea.
“And seeing land again for the first time when the passage was nearly over, or more specifically, smelling land.
”Land is rich and damp and stinky and beautiful! Like a butterfly house at the zoo. We arrived into the Marquesas Islands and I think they may be the most beautiful islands I have ever or will ever see.”
But the adventure has also brought its own challenges – including the rough seas, lightning storms and fellow boats being struck and losing all their electricity.
For her it has also been difficult to learn how to live in a small space with other people – but she is thankful to her boatmates to make it easier than anticipated and “much fun”.
“The lack of autonomy is a challenge – as someone who has lived happily alone and independently for 15 years, being at sea demands compromise after compromise.
”Literally everyone I have spoken to on the rally acknowledges this as something we are all learning and being humbled by too. So hopefully this is just great for personal growth!
“Learning to not be frightened of swimming with reef sharks is another challenge, but one I have to admit to relishing when the snorkeling here in the South Pacific is so good.”
She added that she “loves” sailing – and went from not realizing that boats had their own language to being “pretty au fait” with it all now.
Zena said: “I am starting to understand how wind angles – both apparent and true and wind speed affects and determines sails, which lines will have tension on them at which time, how to navigate through all kinds of seas, how to do engine checks and to make sure the boat is safe at all times, I am even given solo night shifts now – so the sailing aspect of this trip is easily one of the greatest rewards.”
The boat is heading to Society Islands, Bora Bora, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and on to Australia.
Pure Joy carries on to Lombok, Cocos Islands and Christmas Island, across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius, Reunion, South Africa, around Cape or Good Hope, then Namibia, across the Atlantic to St Helena, then Brazil, and then back up the coast of South America to return to St Lucia in April 2026.
“Every single one of us know we will have changed in profound and enormous ways by the time we return to the port we departed from. And I am beyond happy that I said yes to such a wild and unlikely opportunity,” concluded Zena.
Source: Talker News / Digpu NewsTex