All About Sailingvideo
500 Days Alone at Sea in a 12-Foot Yacht
6 September 2026 · 14 min · 28K views
What this video covers
Serge Testa circumnavigated the globe between 1984 and 1987 in *Acrohoc Australis*, an 11-foot-10-inch aluminum sailboat he built himself.Watch Departing from Brisbane, Australia, he completed the 27,000-mile voyage in 1,071 days with approximately 20 stops.8:58 His navigation relied on dead reckoning and eyesight until he taught himself celestial navigation using a sextant in the Indian Ocean.3:31 During the passage, he survived four cyclones in 58 days, a severe cabin fire caused by an exploding alcohol stove, and a grounding on Bloberg Beach near Cape Town.4:21 He also navigated the Panama Canal and faced significant speed reductions due to barnacle growth in the Pacific.7:25 Testa holds the Guinness World Record for the smallest wind-powered boat to circumnavigate the globe, a record that remains unbroken 40 years later.0:29 The voyage demonstrates that long-distance, small-boat sailing requires sustained psychological commitment and the ability to manage technical failures, such as fire and navigation, while underway.
More from All About Sailing
From All About Sailing — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analysed video.
The Sailing Directory Newsletter
One email with the fleet's best finds — the moments, boats, and stories worth your watch time. Enter your own address to get your own copy.