Destination isolation

Mike and Terri Noell and Captain Christopher Seago tell Sophia Wilson about how their world tour plans morphed into a Robinson Crusoe-style adventure

When Mike and Terri Noell purchased the 46.7-metre Heesen Odyssea, they always had their sights set on attending the America’s Cup. “Being a competitive sailor as a kid and then going into the Navy, we really wanted the opportunity to go to the America’s Cup when it was on foreign soil. We wanted to carry the American flag and show support,” explains Mike, a former US Navy SEAL. With this in mind a plan was hatched: leaving Fort Lauderdale in late 2019 Odyssea was bound for French Polynesia, before heading onto Fiji and then New Zealand for the America’s Cup. Afterwards the loose itinerary would see her continue onto Australia before cruising the Philippines and Indonesia.

Setting the plan in motion, was shipped from Fort Lauderdale to Tahiti by barge in December 2019 and arrived in the New Year. “She’s 100 per cent capable of world travel, but we like to ship the boat from time to time,”