Sail across oceans
EnquireOf all the wilderness remaining on earth, the open ocean is the greatest.
Serene one moment, intimidating the next
Encounters come without warning: a humpback breaching close by, a seabird landing on deck, dolphins lighting up the waves around the boat at night.
Nothing but wind and current
To cross an ocean under sail is to experience wilderness in its truest form.Using nothing but wind and current, one must work with it rather than against it, creating a partnership with forces larger than oneself.
The yachts
Warrior
In refit · Returns in NovemberA genuine offshore racing legend: a 60-foot thoroughbred conceived as a no-compromise blue-water racer, with victories in the Cape to Rio Race and the Mauritius to Durban Race to her name. Below deck she is basic but comfortable — six guests, four professional crew, and everything arranged with one priority: to carry her crew safely and fast across oceans.
New rigging and sails are already aboard. Through 2026 she is in refit, every system being optimised for fast, safe ocean sailing — and she returns to the water for the Cape Town summer.
- Design
- Simonis Voogd
- Built
- Robertson and Caine, 1995
- Length
- 60 feet
- Berths
- 6 guests · 4 crew
- Callsign
- ZR 4885
- MMSI
- 601936000
Floortje
A Swan 44 by Sparkman & Stephens, built by Nautor’s Swan in Finland — conceived to win offshore races while remaining safe, strong and comfortable for serious ocean sailing. Many of her sisters have circumnavigated; she is a boat from an era when offshore capability came before luxuries like airconditioning, washing machines and flatscreen TVs.
When you’re out at sea and the going gets tough, there is no boat you’d rather be on.
- Design
- Sparkman & Stephens
- Built
- Nautor's Swan, 1973
- Type
- Swan 44
- Callsign
- PH 8432
- MMSI
- 244723743
January-March 2027 · Cape Town
Sea trials
A day is not a crossing. But it is the same boat, the same crew, the same water — a first taste of the long way. And day crews hear it first when the ocean passages open.
Sunset sails, Table Bay
To the list firstAn evening under sail beneath Table Mountain — on a boat that has won her way across this ocean.
Cape Point, the full day
To the list firstThe peninsula run. A whole day working Warrior properly, the Atlantic under her keel.
Race days
To the list firstCape Town sails its summers. Days aboard around the racing calendar Warrior was built for.
Cape Town to Saint Helena
The passage Warrior has raced — and won — opens the programme’s ocean chapter: twenty days across the South Atlantic. No experience required, full participation expected. All meals, professional crew and safety equipment included.
March 2027 · Six berths · €6,900 per person
Book a berthThe crew
Willem van Liemt
Founder & skipper
Growing up on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, Willem started sailing Optimists at the age of 6. Since then, not much has changed, except that the boats got bigger and the passages longer. In recent years, Willem has logged over 30,000 nautical miles at sea, including three Atlantic crossings (two of which as skipper). Willem is experienced in offshore passage-making — planning, watch systems, and managing vessel and crew during extended crossings — and comfortable diagnosing and resolving technical issues at sea. From his father he inherited a meticulous and uncompromising approach to vessel maintenance and safety. Besides making a boat go fast, what draws Willem to offshore sailing is the remoteness and the immersion in the raw wilderness that is the open ocean. While he is a competitive sailor, he values good seamanship above all else.
RYA Yachtmaster Offshore · SAMSA Skipper's License
STCW · Comprehensive First Aid
Dutch · English
Henry Daniels
Co-skipper
Henry has sailed competitively in everything from Optimists to Supermaxis and has represented South Africa at various levels in international regattas, with notable results including a 2nd at the J22 World Championships and a win at the New York Yacht Club Invitational Regatta. After graduating with an Honours degree in Law from the University of Groningen, he moved back to Cape Town to set up a sailing programme aimed at introducing young people to the sport. Henry loves adventures and the ocean, and has a particular affinity for racing big yachts in competitive fleets.
Asenathi Jim
Watch leader
Asenathi’s story reads like a novel. He grew up in the Eastern Cape settlement of Fort Beaufort, far from from the sea. Sailing only entered the picture during school holidays spent with his uncle in Simonstown, during which he joined his cousins at the Izivungu Sailing School. Izivungu was founded to introduce underprivileged youth to sailing and build their self-esteem. Despite not being able to swim, Asenathi quickly proved to be a natural on the water, consistently beating the kids from the yacht clubs in the Western Cape. He then got noticed by the RaceAhead foundation, which supported him as he went on to outcompete his peers in international regattas. A talented football player as well, Asenathi was scouted for Ajax Cape Town, and was faced with the decision between a career in football or in sailing. He chose the latter, and his decision paid off quickly. Within 18 months of teaming up with Roger Hudson, he was helming South Africa’s 470 at the London 2012 Olympics. He and Hudson returned for Rio 2016 and along the way claimed the inaugural African 470 Championship title. SAILING Magazine named Asenathi their Sailor of the Year in 2013. After Rio, Asenathi moved from the cockpit to the coach boat, leading the South African sailing team through the Tokyo 2020 campaign. He has since spent time in boatbuilding, and now joins the Warrior Crew for the upcoming offshore sailing programme, bringing to the team his experience of two Olympic campaigns, a coaching tour, and years of boatbuilding.
Aboard
Crew, not cargo
Everyone participates in the running of the boat: you trim sails, stand watch at the helm, navigate, and help prepare meals. Life settles into the offshore rhythm — four hours on, four off, day and night. There is no internet aboard; Starlink and the satellite phone are for emergencies only. Dinner is shared: the daily moment to pause and regroup.
Safety, compulsively
As with the boats, we take an almost compulsive approach: EPIRB, personal AIS beacons for every crew member, automatic lifejackets with harnesses and tethers, liferafts for full capacity, man-overboard recovery systems, fire extinguishers, flares and emergency tools, and an offshore medical kit — with 24/7 access to a doctor via satellite. Every passage starts with a full safety briefing before the lines come off. We sail as a team, and look out for one another.
Our pledge
Protecting the ocean we explore
For every nautical mile sailed, The Long Way donates €0.10 to marine conservation programmes.
€0.10 per nautical mile