C. RUFUS PENNINGTON, III — TRIAL ATTORNEY, OF COUNSEL Full legal biography at Coker Law →
The Log of a Corinthian Sailor

Rufus Pennington learns from the sea

Preparing for a solo, round-the-world non-stop voyage aboard Guerrera.

Where Guerrera is right now

The PredictWind tracker also shows current weather and Malabar's previous voyages.

PredictWind

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YellowBrick

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Guerrera's Calendar

Now – Oct 30

Training, ending in Lanzarote, Canary Islands

2,300 nm
Nov 1–18

Lanzarote to Recife

2,500 nmSOLO
Dec 1–22

Recife to Cape Town

Double-handed training.

4,500 nm
Jan – Feb

Cape Town & South Atlantic

Training, sailing out of Cape Town.

6,000 nm
Mar 15 – Apr 7

Cape Town to Recife

4,000 nmSOLO
Apr 22 – May 10

Recife to Horta, Azores

3,000 nmSOLO
May – Sep

Azores to Caen, refit, then Channel & Biscay

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See the full calendar →

How this all began

I came to yachting in a very American way. I got my hands on boats and took them out on the water and "taught myself." Which is to say the boats taught me. Eventually, they taught me well enough to sail across the ocean alone. But by learning this way, I failed to develop some essential skills and, to be honest, I picked up some bad habits. So now, I am starting anew and learning how to sail a fast boat properly. All so that I can attempt a solo non-stop circumnavigation.

The boat that taught me the most about sailing was "Malabar." The boat that I hope will carry me around the world is "Guerrera." On this site, you will find information about both; and you can find the current state of the project on social media. All the best!

The next time someone tells you they have a crazy idea — sailing alone across an ocean, or something just as impractical — don't tell them to wait until they have more money, or time, or a better excuse. Let your first words be, "oh, hell yes." — on solo ocean sailing

The Guerrera refit

Guerrera is a 2013 Class40 Akilaria RC3, 40 feet on deck, carbon-spar and fast. At the V1D2 yard in Caen she was taken down to the hull and rebuilt for a solo, non-stop circumnavigation, then commissioned, launched and put through her sea trials.

The full refit, in pictures →
Guerrera's bare hull lifted by crane outside the V1D2 yard in Caen

Malabar

Malabar under full sail

The boat that taught me the most. In 2025 Malabar carried me solo across the North Atlantic, Maine to Portugal, 3,088 nautical miles, after an aborted first attempt the year before.

Read the log, watch the films →