Portrait: Solo on the high seas - novice sailor crosses the Atlantic on 18 feet
Kristina Müller
· 05.01.2024
The small boat rocks. The Atlantic lifts it, lowers it, lifts it, lowers it, as land finally appears in the grey-blue monotony. After 30 lonely days at sea, the Caribbean island of Antigua emerges from the haze off the bow of the swaying Hurley 18. Her skipper, 26-year-old Nicolas Manthos, stands in the companionway with a flowered sun hat on his head and a bare upper body, beaming into the film camera with which he is capturing the moment: "We crossed the Atlantic!" he shouts. And then, waves make the Hurley stagger: "I like it! I will do this again!"
In fact, the young man from Stuttgart was so infected by his Atlantic crossing in the tiny boat that he also sailed it back to Europe. 3,900 nautical miles across the North Atlantic - a trip that many skippers in much larger boats would not dare to undertake. But Manthos had long been fascinated by ocean sailing - and was a bit pragmatic: "I actually wanted to sell the boat in the Caribbean, but nobody wanted it," he says in an interview with YACHT, a good six months after the end of his great sailing adventure.
Source of inspiration for the Atlantic crossing
His solo trip across the Atlantic was inspired by none other than Wilfried Erdmann. As a teenager, Manthos found a copy of "Allein gegen den Wind" (Alone against the wind) in his grandad's attic, in which Erdmann reports on his solo non-stop journey westwards around the world. "That sparked a thought in me," recalls Manthos, now 28 years old. "What's it like to be alone for so long? Can I do that too?" Until then, he had nothing to do with sailing, although he always found the idea appealing.
Up until this point, Manthos preferred to take off to experience adventures. He has a rare profession: flying instructor. As an employee of several paragliding schools in southern Germany, he taught others how to soar through the air or took interested people on tandem flights. Paragliding expeditions have taken him halfway around the world. "I've always liked doing things where you don't know exactly what's going to happen next."
So now sailing. He is attracted by the parallels with flying: "Just getting out, just being away from the normal world. You don't take the problems from the ground with you. In principle, it's exactly the same with sailing. You take off and have your peace and quiet," says Manthos. He reads and reads everything he can get his hands on about solo sailing, until he finally comes to the conclusion that there is only one way to find out whether being alone on the sea for a long time suits him: by trying it out.
Nicolas Manthos was born in Stuttgart, where he grew up far away from the nearest coast. He spent his childhood and youth in the mountains, where he watched paragliders. As a teenager, Nicolas, known as Nico, began climbing and took up slacklining, the trendy sport in which daredevils balance on a ribbon stretched between two points. He and his friends are drawn to the mountains between gorges or to do tricks in the park.
But then an accident happens, young Nicolas has just graduated from school. "A piece of metal snapped and flew into my face," recalls the sporty man with the calm voice. "It was a close call, I could have been killed." He lies in hospital for months, brooding, thinking about life, in which a decision has to be made anyway: go to university or start an apprenticeship? The outdoor enthusiast decides in favour of a less predetermined path: "After the accident, the only thing that really mattered to me was doing what I really enjoy. On the whole, that never stopped," he says and laughs. It was then that he started paragliding, initially just as self-taught as he would dedicate himself years later to finding the right boat for his sailing adventure.
A small boat as a challenge
During his research, he comes across a book about sailing around the world in an 18-foot boat. He also found a small but seaworthy boat suitable for the beginning - and for his budget. "I didn't even know whether I would enjoy sailing. And a small boat is a great challenge. I wanted to be connected with the elements." He sets off in search of a Hurley 22, a British long keeler on which sailors have travelled long distances. But he couldn't find one, instead he found a smaller Hurley 18, which was parked on Lake Chiemsee and cost 3,000 euros with a trailer. Manthos goes for it.
He has not yet sailed a mile in his life, but is now an owner. Secretly, he already has an Atlantic crossing at the back of his mind as he sets about refitting and equipping his new boat called "1/4 Life Crisis". A friend suggested the name with a grin: "You're 26 now, and what you're doing somehow sounds like a life crisis."
Manthos paints the underwater hull, installs a galley and a battery, attaches an outboard motor to the stern and connects a small solar panel. He buys nautical charts and a GPS device, discards the idea of astronavigation and reassures himself that, in an emergency, there are GPS transmitters in his smartphone, satellite messenger, spare mobile phone and spare GPS.
Test drive in Greece
The adventure begins in the Mediterranean. In autumn 2020, Manthos and a friend who had quickly obtained a sailing licence towed the "1/4 Life Crisis" to Greece on a trailer. It is the ideal testing ground for the ambitious sailing novice: "We cruised around, anchored, everything was easy peasy, cosy and super cool!"
They also practise night sailing - with the Atlantic always in the back of their minds. The young man is now no longer just infected by reading about sailing, but by sailing itself.
As a flight instructor, he works two to three weeks at a time in summer and then has almost as much time off. There is no flying in winter, so he can devote himself fully to the next step: Fitting out for the Atlantic. Manthos gives his boat a wind steering system, an Epirb and a life raft, orders fresh sails and makes new running rigging from Dyneema. His thoughts are constantly on his project. "I was constantly thinking about possible problems, playing through every scenario and making plans for what I would do if, for example, a backstay broke, the rudder blade snapped or the power failed," says the skipper. "I haven't really thought about anything else since I bought the boat. I was completely obsessed!"
In June 2021, he leaves Greece behind, passes the coast of Italy, the Strait of Messina and then sails via Sardinia and Spain to Gibraltar. He sails during his days off in summer. While he travels back to work, the Hurley waits in a harbour somewhere.
The 1,270 nautical mile test trip from Greece to Gibraltar is a success. The 1.87 metre tall sailor feels comfortable in his nutshell. Nevertheless, he had doubts and travelled home. "I had doubts because nobody was standing behind me and saying: 'It'll be fine! I really had to make the decision one hundred per cent on my own." But he realises that he feels prepared and comfortable on board and that one thought keeps recurring: "If I don't sail off now, I'll be annoyed every day." At the end of January 2022, he travels back to the boat, checks everything, provisions and waits for a good weather window. "Then I'll have sailed off!"
Weather conditions on the Atlantic
Knowledge of winds and thermals is a basic requirement for a safe paragliding flight. Manthos had already completed well over a thousand by the time he set off across the Atlantic and therefore feels fit to deal with the weather. He observes the trade wind conditions on the Atlantic long before setting off and comes to the conclusion that he will encounter stable shifting winds in December, January or February.
It has a shortwave receiver and an InReach satellite emergency transmitter on board to receive weather data. However, he doesn't use any of these on the way west. "I had packed so many provisions and knew that even if it got super flat, that would be enough. You can't do too much wrong with the trade winds," says Manthos, "and I can't get out of the way with the small boat anyway. I would have taken it as it came."
The calculation works out. A constant 20 knots from the north-northeast pushes the "1/4 Life Crisis" over 600 nautical miles to Lanzarote. The Hurley logs a hundred miles a day, everything as planned. The professional allows himself a few paragliding flights on Lanzarote - the large wing has room on board as well as provisions for 60 days and plenty of books - then Europe stays astern for good and Manthos sets course for the Caribbean.
It is not yet clear which island he wants to head for when he sets sail. But chance helps the likeable South German. In the middle of the Atlantic, he receives a message from a mate via his InReach. His father is a sailor and knows the owner of the yacht club in Antigua. The "guy with the mini boat" is therefore very welcome at the posh Caribbean address.
Preparation is the be-all and end-all
However, the only serious problem Manthos encounters during the crossing is not due to chance, but to his meticulous preparation: the forestay breaks. It is the only wire that he has not replaced with Dyneema before setting off. But a replacement is already prepared, attached to the masthead and quickly rigged.
Manthos enjoys a life reduced to pure sailing. He finds his rhythm. In the morning, he makes tea, has breakfast, checks the boat and, if necessary, tidies things up. He cooks and bakes fresh, "just like normal", he says, but without a fridge. The only thing he lacks is a corkscrew - he realises this when he tries to open a bottle of red wine at half-time. To sleep, he lays his almost one metre ninety across the forward berth, leans against the ship's side and wedges himself between a bag of waterproof clothes. To pass the time, he reads a good 20 books during the trip. Once he has finished reading them, he follows all the instructions he has saved on his mobile phone: from mast profiles, autopilots and fittings to rigging.
He develops absolute confidence in his boat. Apart from a few leaks - when there is too much water in the cockpit, water seeps into the boat via the forecastle boxes - there are no major problems. "I never felt uncomfortable or unsafe," summarises Manthos. "I adjusted the wind steering system and then you just sail down there comfortably. The boat was a good choice!"
Alone on the Atlantic
In the course of the journey, he finds an answer to the question that drives him. Yes, he can be alone with himself on the ocean. "Of course you have a bad day and ask yourself: 'What am I doing here?", he says looking back. He also gets a little bored - it would be nice to be able to trim a little more, step on the gas a little more. Nevertheless, after three weeks, the feeling of being able to sail that long again sets in. After 30 days, Antigua comes into sight, and Manthos knows that this was just the beginning.
How - and whether - the Hurley should return to Europe was not something the Atlantic aspirant had given much thought to before setting off. He had considered selling her in the Caribbean, buying a larger boat and sailing back. But nobody wants the mini yacht. Instead, he receives incredulous looks at the Antigua Yacht Club and is repeatedly asked in amazement where he came from with the small boat.
The idea of bringing the Hurley back on its own keel quickly took hold - "even though there were even fewer references for such a project and I was even more reliant on myself and my risk management".
But first Manthos has to return home. Early summer begins in Europe and with it the flying season. His boat is allowed to moor for free at a buoy belonging to the yacht club. He is not back until Christmas and prepares everything for the trip home. He takes the boat out of the water, replaces the jetties, checks the steering gear and sells the outboard motor, which he hardly uses anyway and which only bothers him as a "dead weight" at the stern. On 2 May 2023, he sets sail again, heading north-east.
Surprised by the weather
Watching the entertaining YouTube videos of his journey, you can only imagine the hardships of the trip back: first days of calm due to an Azores high lying in the way, then upwind bludgeoning. "I hardly had any westerly winds, either south or north or quite strong easterly winds. It was wet, unpleasant and brutal for the boat." For the first time, Manthos doubts the Hurley. "I thought: 'Damn, I hope everything holds." A friend ashore provides him with weather information via InReach. Instead of heading for Horta as planned, he avoids a depression and heads for Flores, the westernmost island in the Azores, where he hides out. Then, finally, the longed-for south-westerly wind sets in. Manthos sets course for France, and the Hurley reaches the top mark of the voyage at 120 nautical miles. "That was a dream to sail!" Eight weeks after leaving the Caribbean, Lorient lies before him at dawn.
Why Lorient of all places? This time, the sailing novice, who has just crossed the Atlantic in both directions in a remarkably small boat, did not choose the destination at random. It's part of his new, big idea that has stayed with him ever since he arrived in the Caribbean. "Sailing alone is fun, and I hadn't yet reached my personal limit. I wanted to go further, more uncomfortable, faster. That's why I wanted to arrive in this offshore mecca in France," explains Manthos. There he wants to look around for a boat for his next sailing project: It should take him around the world single-handed and non-stop, but also fast - the goal is a new speed record for 40-foot yachts.
Manthos pursues his own plan
Nicolas Manthos is not the type of person who needs a regatta to push himself. He wants to do the circumnavigation alone, just like the Atlantic crossing. "The special thing for me was the adventure with this small boat and the freedom to do what I wanted without any kind of schedule," he says looking back.
He wants to concentrate fully on his new project for two years, with the mammoth voyage due to start in November 2025. He bought the boat for it, a second-hand Class 40, in 2023, calculated the budget he will need, advertised the Hurley and quit his job.
From February, when his "Oneworld" - a Rogers design built for the Frenchman Tanguy de Lamotte - is launched in St Malo, he wants to actively seek sponsors. Nico Manthos has not yet sailed a mile in his new boat, let alone in another Class 40 or a comparable racer. That doesn't bother him. "The idea has been growing for two years and now it's time to get going," he says happily. "I've also made a deal with the saleswoman; she's going to go out on the water with me for a few days and show me everything." He can hardly wait.
