Around the world in 23 years, a marriage, a boat and a lifetime of memories

For 23 years, Alfred and Rosemarie Alecio made their home on a sailing boat, Ironhouse, travelling across oceans and through places they had once only imagined visiting. 

It is a story they are telling in their book, From Gibraltar Around the World – 23 Years a Salt Water Marriage, which is on sale now with 50% of the proceeds going to GHITA.  

The couple’s journey started from this first marital home in Exmouth. Living near the harbour, they started with a small rowing boat before moving on to sailing along the Devon and Cornwall coasts. They then progressed to crossing the English Channel to explore the Channel Islands and France. 

As time and skills developed, they undertook a bigger task and sailed a “proper cruising yacht” from Exmouth to Lisbon. 

The passage took about 10 days, with no stops along the way. It took them through the Bay of Biscay, with Mrs Alecio recalling that the trip tested both her and the boat. Mr Alecio explained that a small sailing boat might cover roughly 100 miles a day.  

They were still working as teachers then, so their sailing trips had to fit around summer holidays. After reaching Lisbon, they made their way back to the UK by stopping at harbours along the route.  

That early trip wasn’t yet the start of their 23-year voyage around the world, it was just a part of the gradual progression that led them to prepare for a much longer journey. 

For Mr Alecio, the idea of going further “was inspired by a book that I once read by Eric Hiscock and his wife Susan,” he said, recalling their small yacht and the possibility of sailing beyond familiar waters. 

Eventually the couple left their jobs and set off in 1994, after years of preparation. 

“We set off just to go and see what happened,” Mrs Alecio recalled. 

But before that, the adventure of finding their boat, preparing their boat and numerous trips in the car from the UK to the Rock for Mr Alecio had to be undertaken. 

The Alecios found Ironhorse while visiting family and looking at boats at Shepard’s Marina. Mr Alecio was initially interested in buying an astronavigation calculator there and not a boat. 

But Mrs Alecio recalled that they noticed a boat nearby and said they would love to have it, but believed it wasn’t for sale. A broker told them that, in fact, it was as its owners had returned to the United States and no longer wanted it. They made an offer, which was accepted.  

Having bought her, they did some preparation work and then sailed her back to the UK via the Azores.  

Mr Alecio explained that the route also gave them the 1,000-mile, port-to-port passage needed to join the Ocean Cruising Club.  

Back in the UK, they spent about six months getting the boat ready for long-term living. Mr Alecio left his job to work on the preparations, while Mrs Alecio was still teaching.  

They stocked up on provisions, packed equipment, and rented out their house.  

“We left the UK in November 93 with a carload of kit for the boat,” said Mr Alecio. 

Some test cruises under their belt and they finally set off on their extended voyage from the Rock in September 1994. 

Their first destination was the uninhabited Portuguese Selvagem Islands, a breeding ground for thousands of seabirds. They then sailed to the Canary Islands and West Africa, and spent some time cruising up the Gambia river where they saw wildlife along its banks, before crossing the Atlantic to Salvador in Brazil. 

From there, they continued to French Guiana, Trinidad, the Caribbean and the Bahamas. 

After crossing the Gulf Stream, they spent two years cruising the east coast of the United States, before heading south again to Trinidad and onto Venezuela’s Orinoco Delta, the Netherlands Antilles’ ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao) and Colombia’s northern coast. 

In the early years, ham radio helped them keep in touch with family and receive weather information and navigation often relied on a sextant and dead reckoning. 

Once in the Pacific, they sailed south to Ecuador and went backpacking through South America before continuing to the Galápagos Islands. They then spent five years exploring the Pacific, visiting French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Easter Island, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. 

The next stage of their voyage took them to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.  

Over seven years in Southeast Asia, they combined shorter sailing trips during suitable seasons with inland travel during the monsoons. Their travels included Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, India, Nepal, China and Tibet, as well as Everest Base Camp. They also visited Australia before returning through Indonesia towards the southern Indian Ocean. 

There, the 23 years at sea ended abruptly during a planned 5,000-nautical-mile crossing towards South Africa, with stops at the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Rodrigues, Madagascar and Réunion, followed by the final 1,500-nautical-mile passage to Durban. 

While sailing from Réunion towards Richards Bay in South Africa, the couple struck something beneath the water. Their steering was damaged, the supports for the mast broke, and the engine began overheating. With the boat drifting south of Madagascar, they called for help and were rescued by a commercial bulk carrier. 

The rescue brought their life at sea to an unexpected close. The couple lost their boat and most of their possessions, including photographs and personal keepsakes. For Mrs Alecio, the loss was profound. 

“She was our home,” she said. 

Now in their 80s, they were 70 when they stepped ashore. Although they considered sailing again, they did not return to life at sea. The couple say it took time to come to terms with the end of the voyage and the loss of the boat that had carried them for more than two decades. 

Now they are bringing together memories of their travels in a book that draws on photographs, with Mr Alecio being a keen photographer and nature lover, and writing, Mrs Alecio having years of notebook writing under her belt.  

They are also supporting GHITA, who will receive 50% of book’s proceeds as Mrs Alecio has congenital hearing loss. 

The questions on what happened on their journey around the world, the people and nature they encountered, to their rescue and the subsequent trip back to land will be answered in their book, on sale now at the Heritage Shop, the airport Sky Shop, directly from GHITA or the couple on 20043593. 

The couple are hosting a complimentary talk on November 27 at John Mackintosh Hall 18:00-20:00.  And are planning to sell and sign books on Saturday, November 21, at the Piazza and Saturday, December 5, at the Morrisons entrance during the morning.