Armed with his YB Tracker in hand again, Jono Dunnett set off on his second windsurfing challenge; to sail solo round Europe from Russia to Russia. He only went and achieved it!
Due the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict, Jono had to alter his plan of sailing the Georgian Coastline and instead completed his final leg by bike. Jono completed his journey in September 2019. He said: “I am sad and grateful, fighting back tears through a smile.”
Following his previous endeavours of windsurfing round Britain, which inspired his self-published book “Long Standing Ambition”, Jono set his sights even higher. Setting sail from the coastal border that Norway shares with Russia on 20th May 2017, Jono pledged to complete his expedition round Europe solo and unsupported. He had a handful of sponsors for his kit, including YB Tracking, and used the proceeds from his book to keep his coffee supply up. Jono kept his followers up-to-date via his blog Windsurf Round Europe and his position was tracked via his YB Tracker here.
Before he set sail, Jono commented on using the YB Tracker, he said: "I am delighted that once again YB Tracking will be tracking the expedition. I used their excellent YB3 unit around Britain. It worked brilliantly and I have no hesitation taking exactly the same unit on this adventure."
“The YB3 is a reassuringly good bit of kit. The track it records goes direct to the website. The battery lasts for ages (depends upon update frequency but a week is no bother). When it does 'need' a charge that couldn't be easier: top up via USB cable connected to a solar charger / powerbank / mains power. Looking at the track is a lot of fun, but above all the unit is a big deal in terms of safety.
The unit is lightweight, robust and dependable. It comes with dedicated SOS and SMS by satellite functions that work anywhere on the planet, and probably beyond...
To top it all the nice folk at YB are knowledgeable, helpful and courteous to a tee.” - Jono Dunnett
YB Tracking has been very proud to support Jono on his incredible and truly unique adventure. When Jono approached us in 2015 and described his ambition to windsurf around the United Kingdom as a charity fundraising campaign, we couldn’t resist getting involved.
The inspiring stories of his experiences along the way were both heart-warming and demonstrated a profound level of interest in the campaign that we could not have predicted.
In 2017 Jono got in touch with us again and announced plans for an even more significant challenge; to windsurf along the entirety of the European coastline. The scope of this undertaking cannot be understated, the daily updates on his social media accounts highlighted every challenge from adverse weather to geopolitical obstacles. Nevertheless, Jono’s upbeat commentary and positive message has been a delight to follow.
It has been captivating to watch his progress over the last two years. A huge congratulations to Jono from all the YB Tracking Team!
Quote extracts and images taken from https://windsurfroundeurope.eu/.