In August of 1994, at the age of 21, Zoltan Istvan left solo from Los Angeles on a 25 foot sailboat named The Way to sail around the world. His boat was a 1966 Pearson Commander fiberglass sloop.
His main cargo was 500 books (mostly classics), scuba equipment, and surfboards–though he later aquired a paraglider as well and learned to fly. Zoltan’s intent was to have a great adventure and read a lot.
Zoltan had worked at a grocery story and pizza restaraunt earning near minimum wage for a year to buy his sailboat, valued at about $5000. At first The Way didn’t have an engine, GPS, or even a working stove. He used a sextant to navigate by the stars and a bucket for a toilet. To cross oceans and anchor safely in harbors, he exclusively used the wind.
Eventually, friends and girlfriends sailed with him, and he improved his boat to become more bluewater worthy and passanger-friendly. He navigated the South and North Pacific over four years, and eventually crossed the Indian Ocean via the Straits of Malacca, before ending up in the Mediterranean Sea. He visited 70 countries in the process.
To make money, he did odd jobs, including being a treasure hunter on the famous Pilar Project in Guam, where he put in over 400 dives in a season. The Disovery Channel covered the project, and Zoltan wrote about it for International Living magazine.
During some of the 10 years he was actively sailing, he did return to Columbia University in New York City to finish his undegraduate degree in Philosophy.
Zoltan’s wild journey caught the attention of many, and soon he was writing articles for many major sailing magazines, like Cruising World, Sail, and Yachting World. An attack by pirates off Yemen was recreated for a television studio and appeared in a book. Some of his wildlife footage he took in Sri Lanka appeared on Animal Planet. The Travel Channel did a colorful segment on a part of his sail trip, much of it in the Red Sea and Middle East.
Eventually, Zoltan used his boat as a base for many of his National Geographic articles, including covering the Athens 2000 Olympics, Germany’s Iron Curtain being converted into a national park, and oil spills in Spain.
While he still hasn’t finished his circumnavigation (and he did eventually trade up to a bigger 30 foot sailboat), Zoltan does occasionally visit Greece where his boat is waiting, keeping the dream alive.
Here’s some more pictures of the trip below!
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