Media Coverage

‘Of all the things’: After navigating 885 days across the globe, sailors return to pandemic

By: Caroline Ghisolfi

When Eric Bihl and Kennon Jones quit their jobs, bought a boat and set sail in 2018 to circumnavigate the globe, they expected to hit a few hurdles. 

Getting injured in a storm or having their 34-foot racing sailboat sink Titanic-style after hitting a semi-submerged shipping container in the ocean were on their list of things to avoid. They even had a plan B in the event of hitting a whale.

Mission to sail around the world ends with champagne celebration

By: Karina Elwood

FORT LAUDERDALE — Lauren Leifeste stood at the edge of a dock in Fort Lauderdale peering across the water and squinting closely at each boat.

“Is it them?” She anxiously asked a group of friends from college.

On Thursday afternoon, as black clouds rolled overhead, the worn boat finally pulled into view. Leifeste saw her fiance and his sailing partner, waving. Leifeste’s face lit up with a grin. The group yelped and cheered from the dock.

Their friends had just successfully circumnavigated the globe.

Wake forest magazine: Around the world in 900 days..

By: Kerry King

Part 1: It’s been more than two years since Eric Bihl (’10) and Kennon Jones (’10) set sail on a three-hour cruise, erh, make that a two-and-a-half-year cruise, around the world aboard their sturdy 34-foot sailboat, the Temjuin. Wake Forest Magazine first caught up with them a few months into their journey. As they near the end of their voyage, we caught up with them again as they departed Saint Helena (a British territory in the South Atlantic Ocean), bound for the U.S. Virgin Islands. In part 1 of a two-part email exchange, they talk about their biggest surprises, missing peanut butter, meeting Wake Foresters in unexpected places and how COVID-19 stranded them in Saint Helena. In part 2, they talk about life on board the Temjuin, their best and scariest experiences, and what they plan to do next…

Wake forest magazine: A beautiful way to see the world

By: Kerry King

Part 2: Eric Bihl (’10) and Kennon Jones (’10) are nearing the end of a two-and-a-half-year cruise sailing around the world. Wake Forest Magazine caught up with them as they departed Saint Helena, bound for the U.S. Virgin Islands. In part 1 of a two-part email exchange, they talked about their biggest surprises, missing peanut butter, meeting Wake Foresters in unexpected places and how COVID-19 stranded them in Saint Helena. In part 2, they talk about life on board their 34-foot sailboat, the Temjuin, their best and scariest experiences, and what they plan to do next.