Moonshadow Latest Circumnavigator

"At 1030 hours on January 7, my Deerfoot 2-62 Moonshadow passed under the 17th St. Bridge in Ft. Lauderdale, closing the loop on the circumnavigation I started here in November of ’94," writes George Backhus. "Since then I have covered approximately 70,000 nautical miles and visited around 40 countries on our (mostly) westabout course. The destination has always been the journey, and I am happy but sad that this part of the journey has come to an end.

"I owe the accomplishment of this achievement to my best friend and fiancée, Merima ‘The Admiral’, who joined me on this odyssey in Australia in ’05 and has logged more than 25,000 nautical miles (more than a circumnavigation). Without her strength, determination, companionship, skills and hard work, I would never have made it this far.

"As difficult as it may be after all the miles and memories, we plan to put Moonshadow up for sale. While we fully intend to continue cruising and racing, our cruising profile will change a bit from the long-distance blue water stuff we’ve been doing to more localized cruising around New Zealand, and perhaps a few other parts of the world that we’ve really enjoyed over the years. We hope to find someone who will continue to love and care for and enjoy her as much as we have for the past 16.5 years."

Backhus is originally from the Bay Area, and based Moonshadow out of Sausalito for several years. He and Merima now spend most of their time in Auckland, New Zealand.

Latitude congratulates George — and Merima — on their circumnavigation. If you or anyone else you know needs to be added to the list of West Coast Circumnavigators, please let us know.