Saša Fegic

Saša was born and raised in Zagreb, but caught the sea flu early on, so he has been sailing since the age of 12. He took his first formal sailing lessons in 1992 from Mladen Šutej, aboard this very boat, HIR 3. Skipper for over 20 years, former charter manager and sailing entrepreneur, his life revolves around sailing, so it was no surprise he had a dream to circumnavigate the world.

Choosing a neglected vintage sailboat to do it may have been a surprise, but his persistence left no doubt he would make it. He chose the toughest route because it was supposed to be the fastest and the cheapest way to get around the globe and it took him by the southernmost bar at YC Micalvi in Puerto Williams, the coolest place to take a beer. Admitted to prestigious society of Cape Horners, Saša is only the 2nd Croat who sailed around Cape Horn ‘the proper way’ and the only one who sailed around the world under Croatian flag ‘the wrong way’, via tough Southern route and around 3 great capes.

Saša's nominator summarised his voyage as follows: ‘Three great capes in a 40-year old boat. A legendary Croatian sailboat HIR 3 skippered by Saša Fegic completed a 39,000 mile west to east circumnavigation of the globe around three great capes and after 28 months at sea returned to the homeport in Mali Losinjon 17/10/2020’