His dedication to building or modifying his yachts to the simple junk rig and proving their seaworthiness has been inspirational to a yachting community of minimalists who find it most important to be at sea or with a community of like-minded sailors.His independent philosophy of design and construction has allowed him to sail the world’s oceans without the burden of sophisticated and expensive systems.

Leiv Poncet’s remarkable solo voyages over the past 25 years include his circumnavigation of the Southern Ocean, voyages from the Falkland Islands to the Aleutian Islands, and remarkable, first-ever, high latitude sea-kayaking trips.  His sailing achievements are further highlighted by his use of the 38-foot steel sloop, Peregrine, a French Trireme model, which has taken him to places like South Georgia and beyond.

Every day of the 9 day journey we would receive simple, factual, unemotional advice via Sat Phone text messaging, about what to expect from the wind and waves, when to change course to improve our comfort, and how to safely speed our passage

“She was a beautiful boat, and what made it good for my wife Rhona and me was that we were the first to fish at Sandy Cape with a decent boat. We learnt to catch crayfish there before they ever knew there were crayfish off the continental shelf.”