> Danjel Henriksson, Capt'n
> Jonatan Bonthron
> Kajsa Björn

--Extra muscle--
> Tim Harvey
> Martin Molde
> Amel & Sebastian
> Anna Stecksén
> Ulrika Roos
> Anton Ljungberg
> Jimmy Norlén

Born in Överkalix, at the 66th North Latitude of Sweden in 1982, Danjel was brought up to believe that nothing is impossible, ever. In Sweden's sparsely-populated North, a person can choose either a life of sport and outdoor adventure, or fall in love with engines. Danjel chose the outdoors, and his defining characteristic is that he will always rise to a challenge.

A competitive downhill ski racer and basketball athlete, Danjel drew an interest in Energy Infrastructure Engineering from his father's mission to bring wind power to Sweden. Perusing his studies at the University of Umeå, Danjel felt it was time to discover why he was studying. "If I knew how to construct a wind power plant," he says, "I also needed to understand why it was important for the world, and for that I had to experience the Earth for myself. The round-world sailing trip is a fundamental part of my education."

Despite his academic ambitions, Danjel is happiest when composing guitar songs or enduring the forces of nature, gripping the Sally Blue's tiller with a rope-burned hand in the driving wind and salt spray of an ocean storm. His favorite adage is that "the world is round" which has as many implications for the interconnectedness of nature as for his chances of making it home to where his sailing journey began: Kalix, the northernmost port in Sweden.

Born in 1982 in the remote Swedish mining town of Kiruna at the 68th Northern latitude, Jonatan was brought up - up mountains, in fact - in a sled pulled by his two family dogs, Siberian Huskies, over the Arctic ice. Inspired by the expedition stories of his father and uncle (a Swedish producer of Arctic nature documentaries), Jonatan was passionate about mountaineering and skiing early in his youth, and then as a teenager he focused on tearing down slopes on a snowboard, and climbing walls of vertical rock and ice.

At seventeen, to celebrate the Everest adventure of Sweden's world-renowned climber Goran Kropp, Jonatan launched a tribute mini-expedition by bicycle and foot to Sweden's tallest peak. "We mountain biked on rough roads and through creeks as high up as we could, then started climbing over the rocks before fatigue finally stopped us somewhere short of the summit. The point was more to have fun and challenge ourselves, because Goran inspired us, like he inspired kids all over Sweden."

Now, Jonatan is challenging a new medium, the open sea, which he hopes will similarly give Swedish youth something to celebrate. A technically-minded student of Energy Engineering at Umea University, Jonatan is also a skilled computer programmer who writes code for the expedition website, and coordinates electronic navigation systems on board the Sally Blue.

He fondly remembers a phone call that came during a poker game with friends, from his university mate Danjel Henriksson, who said "Jonte, I'm in Stockholm and I just bought a sailboat. How soon can you be here?" Over five hair-raising autumn days sailing 400 Nautical miles north to Umea, they snapped a steel forestay, broke their engine and took on so much water that "my sleeping bag was floating inside the boat," says Jonatan. When Danjel suggested they join forces to sail around the world, Jonatan saw it as a challenging and slightly crazy chance to see the world - in other words, a perfect idea.

Her interest in swimming and paddling near her family's riverside home was balanced by a passion for mounting her beast of a 900 cc motorcycle, and becoming one with the roads of northern Europe. A leader by nature, Kajsa became head of the student government at the University of Umea in 2004-2005, where she has almost completed a degree in mechanical engineering.

Kajsa´s legendary motor skills have made her chief mechanic on the Sally Blue, where the 40-year old ship's engine has proven a worthy adversary: at port calls, she gets greasy to strip, fix and rebuild the Albin 021 machine, which performs beautifully for a few minutes before breaking in a new and unexpected way. As a result, Sally Blue's circumnavigation has been a low-emission affair featuring some dicey sail-only port entries and exits, adding to the challenge and excitement of the journey.

Being the lone female on board, Kajsa brings balance and harmony to the team, with a smile that would split her head if not stopped by her ears. Her pet peeve on the ocean has been the vicious sea sickness that hits hard after spells on shore, but determination is Kajsa's defining characteristic. No matter how much she misses moose dinners and fast wheels back home, this innocent girl from the country is unlikely to do anything except to prevail and endure.

Born in Vancouver in January 1978, Tim was inspired early in life by the old-growth forests and waterways of Canada´s west coast. His apetite for paddle-powered exploration dates back to a family canoe trip along one of the Earth´s most wild and rugged temperate coastlines, the southwestern Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) when Tim was eight.

After studies in English literature and journalism at the University of Victoria, Tim was dispatched to the endangered wetlands of El Salvador, Central America, by the Canadian International Development Agency's Youth Internship Program, where he produced wildlife photography that was featured in a cross-Canada tour.

In 2004, Tim was hired as a travelling adventure writer for the Vancouver Sun, for the duration of the Vancouver to Moscow adventure by human power. Tim filed over 30 dispatches from the Alaska and Siberia to be published in Canadian newspapers and magazines before cycling into Moscow in Ausust 2005, at which point he focussed on the challenge of returning to Vancouver without burning fossil fuels.

A graduate of the Gulf Island Film and Television School, Tim is producing an adventure film he hopes will inspire others to tread lightly on the Earth. He says the strains of travel, be it frozen toes on the tundra, near-death accidents at sea, or run-ins with surly Russian bandits deep in the boreal forest, are all made worthwhile by the chance to inspire youth and adults alike. "I get jazzed when kids email me about how they understand the need to live a low-emission, bicycle-based lifestyle, which they see as both fun and globally important."

Tim recently contributed to a book published in 2006 by Greystone Books entitled Generations , funded by Action Canada, which collects the stories of young Canadians working towards a sustainable future.

Martin is born in 1981 in the north-norwegian town Tromsö. At the age of five years i was brought to Bryssel by his parents were he attended to a swedish school. Thats why he is so found of suedes and the opurtunity to sail with the Vega Sally Blue was an chanse to live many norwegish peoples dream he just couldn't miss.

He first set sail in an old gaffriged wooden boat designed by Colin Archer when he moved to Oslo to study antropology at the university. The dream of the big oceans might have been his mothers as she was working on an atlantic crossing boat in her youth.

Martin feels as best when he can stray around in the wildernes in the north. He is passionated skier, hunter and fishingman (He says, but still he didnt catch one single fish during his sail whith Lady Sally...) He is in the eyes of the suedes the typical Norwegian but could still have been misstaken for an Wikng if it wasn't for the brown hair, his accent and the lusekofta he's always carrying...

After all, martin is a nice and funny guy, even if he has got norwegian passport. And when he wakes you up to your watch whith the words: ”Jae e sulten, å traenger en guleböj, akkurat nu!” is it hard not to smile. Martins studies of antropologi in Oslo fuels a genuine interest in , exept the rastafariculture, antropological perspektives on power. If somebody wonders how he could afford to sail whith the suedes after half a year as paying crew on a pleasureyacht he answers leasurely; "oilmoney". That might be funny to say but to be honest there is nothing but hard work in an sports store behind the story of sucess... Whith other words; he's the typical norwegian.

Amel. After her family had emigrated from Marocco in the sixties and setteled down in Paris Amel was born in the capital of France 1975. A few years earlier did a boy named Sebastian first see the light in Colombia, Bogota. What they didn't know was that there paths should cross...

During a riot in Paris 2003, when the bricks where separating air, blood and power they met. The issue were a domestic political question conserning the french policy about retierdment.
They both spent time in political organisations trying to change the society through decreasing differenses between rich and poor. Another important "fight" is the educational system since they both are teachers. Amel teach in geografi and history and Sebastian in domestic language; french.

They met Sally Blue accidently in teh yachtclub of colon, looking for a boat to africa. They are on a one year travel and felt like adding some more adventureus legs when they realised it would be hard to find a boat heading for africa. Neither one of them had sailed before stepping on Sally Blue and it has been whith both pleasure and pain they discovered the beauty and the trill of the wild sea. They bouth had to feed the fishes and layed awake whole nights when tunderstorms were shaking Sally Blue and decided, on land again, never to buy a boat themselves.

Amel and Sebastian would like to state the fact that a luxury catamaran offered them to sail to Equador but that they chose Sally Blue because of the nice company, the thick hull of the Vega and teh wery competent crew. They felt secure as long as we stayed in harbour. Before Colon and Mantas (Equador) they traveled through asia and central america. An one occurance they worked woulentarely on an Coffey plantage wherefrom they can tell noumerous storys about social missery. "You have no idee how much work layes beneth half a kilo of coffe. The beanes are all hand-picked" Sayes Sebastian. Something to think about when you complane about the prices on bananas or coffe perhaps.

As last words, Amelwould like to encourage other cupples to travel together. Its is a good way to test the relationship and many times they nearly broke up and flew home. We an Sally Beauty didn't see much quarrel; but it hadn't been strange whith some arguing. I mean; what's to expect from two notourusly revolutionary persons sharing 3 sqv.meters for ten days. Wet, hungry and seasick...

In a small house in central Umeå, northern Sweden, this 24-year-old girl got her first memories. With a musician as a father the music early became a big part of her life and she had her first violin lesson at the age of four. Classical music, folk's music and lullabies are among the favourites and from age 13 to 15 Anna was in music class in school. In high school she changed the focus to nature science and English but she kept having a chair in different orchestras. Backstage at the theatre Norrlandsoperan is a place she always loved, but the number one favourite place is the family cabin by the ocean. It stands for safety and happy memories where she could explore her big interest in nature and outdoor activities. Long daytrips skiing on the ice, to watch impressive predator birds and to pick blueberries are nice glimpses in life.

Anna took her degree in physiotherapy in 2005 and then became the first fulltime chief of the Student union of medicine in Umeå. After this learning but hectically year it became tempting to find time for thoughts, less stimulants and reading. That it was possible to combine this with adventure, sailing and a missed friend made it even better. Annas earlier sailing experience was when she as a 17-year-old was left alone on a boat where the dragging anchor and eventually got saved by young handsome men. A positive experience in other words.

Ulrika grew up in the willage Mojsö (born y. 1983) outside Umeå in Västerbotten , Sweden. Mosjö is a typical small, unknown, close to un-mapped, place among hundreds of other small, unknown places in the bushy part of northern Sweden

She spent her childhood digging snowcaves, skiing and playing in the wild forest and developed early a strong interest for Biology wich she is also studying on the university today –going for her master degree with only one semester left.

Ulrika was never in that close contact with the sea even though Mosjö's only attraction is a small lake. Her father on the other hand was a sailor as a bachelor and use to tell stories about the raging seas and beautiful summernights in the Swedish archipelago as soon as he gets the chance. Probably, that's wherefrom she got the idée of sailing.

Other coincidences that led to a life on the east Indian ocean was her younger sisters relationship with a classmate to Danjel and Jonathan who told her about the adventure and show her runtjorden.com. When she later on started to study Porpuises and the populations in the Bothnian Sea she spent quite a lot of time in the Danish archipelago watching the sea looking for Porpoises dreaming about sailing boats…

And that was the drop that filled the chalk over the rim. She sent a email applying for a ride and the rest is history by now. Ulrika, with her easygoing style, strength and thoughness has been a real asset for us onboard Sally Blue

Born to be a actor Anton first saw the dawn of the day on midsummer 1980. With two parents working at the theatre he spent his childhood backstage, onstage and in the audience and got his upbring from the drames of Strindberg, Moberg and Rousseau.

The family moved around a lot and he went to primery school in Luleå and the Gültsa area which is quite rural and quiet. Hence, the winters were spent digging snowcaves, the summers bathing and fishing and the rest of the time, of course, with the first Nintendo. Like all boys born in the early eightees he still know the theme-songs of Zelda, gun smoke, and Megaman… Oh, these good old days…

However, despite the heritage, Anton did never become a actor and started studying mechanical engeneering in Umeå. The interest for disassembling och reassembling things probably came from the noumerous R/C-cars crashed backstage during loooong nights at the theater. His father was a guitar builder so the workshop was often awaliable for car repairs...

How Anton ended up at Sally Blue is still a mystery. Some lost love, a spontaneously planned trip and a fortunate chance took him to us. His good houmour, happy personality and interest for fishing have, anyhow, in all ways enriched our travel.

During his childhood in the town Östersund in northern Sweden , Jimmy spent the most days on cross-country skiing. A plan to build a perpeetum mobile later took him to Umeå for studies in energy engineering. In Umeå he changed the skis for downhill on telemark and he found the passion in climbing.

That passion has taken him to several places in the world. In Russia he went up Mount Elbrus and he made a tour in South East Asia the same year to climb in Thailand and Malaysia . Numerous of miles by car have been spent in Europe and Jimmy has lived in both Spain and France to be able to climb as much as possible. There have also been plans on different projects that never really happened of the simple reason that there always is somebody else with an idea that seems great, and he follows them instead. Jimmy has probably got a lot of friends with good ideas, because there is always a project running. Planning and seeking information has not been prioritised, witch often leads to different kinds of problems, but according to Jimmy that only makes it more fun and challenging. There is nothing wrong with the spontaneity. Not the lust for adventure either.

Many adventures naturally lead to a wallet with flies flying out of it in real Donald Duck-style. Therefore each and every one of the adventures is on a really tight budget, especially for a student. A ski season in the French Valdísere was financed on working as a taxi driver black – in his own car, but that doesn't stop him from skipping the next project. Jimmy is of that reason glad to spend the next weeks on the ocean was no money can be spent. Expectations for the sail has been few since he in line with earlier adventures got the idea, made up his mind and booked the flight only one month before departure – a month spent on ski in Canada . Jimmy admits that he for the first time felt a little nervous about the trip, but that disappeared as soon as he saw the strong shining hull of Sally Blue afloat at Steam May Point.