About Robin and Ellidah
The Skipper and Author
My name is Robin Olsen Iversen.
I’m 34 years young and the Skipper and owner of Ellidah. We have sailed more than 20,000 nautical miles across many countries between three continents. We have crossed the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean together, which has been a magnificent experience.
I want to share my story from The Journey to inspire others with sailing in their hearts and a dream to explore distant countries and vast oceans.
Living on a sailboat is a lifestyle that has given me significant experience and knowledge in sailing and sailboats. Before I started sailing, I had zero experience. I read tons of content online to teach myself the basics I needed.
Now, I want to share this knowledge with you through this website and hopefully help you with questions about anything related to sailing, sailboats, and life aboard.
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Work Experience
I was initially educated as an electrician and then moved over to working offshore as an ROV Pilot Technician in 2012. We work with subsea operations and remote underwater technology in various areas of the world.
I have more than ten years of experience working at sea and hold the STCW Offshore Safety license and the Norwegian Skipper’s license. Since moving onboard Ellidah, I have been contracting between seasons to keep the cruising kitty full and Ellidah in ship shape.
Working in the offshore industry lets me keep up with the latest technology and brings me great experience and knowledge that can directly apply to the technical aspect of owning and sailing a complex sailboat.
Besides, I enjoy working on big mighty ships with the world’s most advanced nautical technology!
Sailing Experience
I bought Ellidah in Aguadulce – Spain and made a few trips up and down the Spanish coast during the first season before I parked in Yacht Port Cartagena for the winter. Then I made my first passage from Spain to Morocco and back that same winter.
The following season, we cruised to the Balearic Islands, sailed around Formentera, Ibiza, and Mallorca, and briefly visited Menorca. We continued with a passage to southern Sardinia before moving on to Sicily.
Then, we circumnavigated Sicily and visited Favignana and the Aeolian islands. It was almost winter again, and I parked Ellidah in Licata while waiting for the next season.
The following season, we continued the journey from Sicily and crossed the Mediterranean again to arrive in Monastir in Tunisia. Our second trip to the African continent.
After a lot of boat work, we sailed up to Malta and along to the Ionian Sea in Greece, where we hopped from Zakhyntos to Corfu and visited the islands in between.
I wanted to leave the Mediterranean and sail across the Atlantic, so we went back to Sicily, continued to the Maddalena Islands in Sardinia, and back down to Almerimar in Spain after another short visit to the Balearic islands. I left Ellidah for a while to work and save up the cruising kitty, which always seemed to get empty rather quickly, especially during the preparation for the big ocean crossing.
Crossing the Atlantic Ocean
After spending some time in Almerimar preparing Ellidah for a big ocean crossing and replacing the standing rig, we set sail to Gibraltar, where we picked up some gorgeous brand-new sails.
With everything onboard and ready, we left the Mediterranean and sailed down to Las Palmas, where we met many fellow sailors on their way across the Atlantic. We had some time to do the final preparations before continuing down to Cape Verde.
We explored Sal and Sao Vicente before we embarked on the journey’s third and longest leg: The Atlantic Crossing. Sixteen days later, we arrived in Saint Martin after one of my life’s most extraordinary sailing experiences. And possibly my greatest achievement!
Arriving in the Caribbean was an epic adventure, and we continued up to the British Virgin Islands and spent a few weeks exploring the archipelago.
Next, we went back to Saint Martin before continuing along the island chain south to Antigua, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St Lucia, and Carriacou in Grenada. We finally ended up in Trinidad, where I parked Ellidah for hurricane season.
The following season, we continued to explore the Caribbean and visited the Grenadines, the ABC islands, Colombia, and finally Panama.
S/Y Ellidah – Jeanneau Sun Legende 41
Sailing Yacht Ellidah is a Jeanneau Sun Legende 41 built in France in 1988. I have learned that she was sold new in Canada, where she spent her first sailing years. She was then sailed back to Europe at some point, but the history is a bit unclear. Ellidah has been in the Caribbean before, I don’t know when in her timeline and if it was before or after she was initially brought to Norway.
Her name was originally Soave, which is a name derived from the Latin word SUĀVE. The name is printed on a brass plate on her bulkhead and means “sweet, pleasant, attractive, and delectable,” which I find very fitting for her. She is indeed sweet and pleasant, with attractive lines, and has repeatedly proven to be a solid blue water sailboat!
Eventually, she got bought by another Norwegian couple who sailed her from Norway and down to the Mediterranean. They cruised her around the Med for many years under the name “Mandela” before I finally bought her in 2019.
I wanted to give her a strong name with roots among my ancestor sailors, so I named her Ellidah. She is named after the first Viking ship in the north gifted to Viking by Ægir, The God of The Sea. As “Ellida” is a common ship name these days, I made a unique variation ending the name with an “h,” making her the only registered sailboat named Ellidah. How cool is that? May she inherit her mother’s abilities and strength in the name of the great Ægir.
Viking is the name of the son of Vifil and Eimyrja. He once rescued a shipwrecked man, took him home, and treated him with kind hospitality. The stranded man proved to be the sea god Ægir in disguise.
As a courtesy to Viking’s hospitality, Ægir gifted Viking a magic dragon ship called Ellida, the first Viking ship in the north. Viking saw his great boat for the first time the day after Ægir left.
Without a helmsman or sailor, she made her way through the skerries before finally coming to anchor all by herself. Ellida was prominent as a fortress but faster than an eagle.
She had planks not fastened by nails but grown together. She was the most powerful ship, could sail in any weather on any ocean and would obey her skipper’s command.
Frithiofssaga – Norse Legend
| Name | S/Y Ellidah |
| Brand | Jeanneau Sun Legende 41 |
| Year | 1988 |
| Homeport | Narvik |
| Flag | Norway |
| Call sign | LG2063 |
| MMSI | 257965470 |
| Lenght | 41 ft / 12.3 m |
| Beam | 12.95 ft / 3.95 m |
| Draft | 6.5 ft / 2 m |
| Water capacity | 350 l |
| Fuel capacity | 150 l |
| Engine | Volvo Penta D2 55 |
| Solar power | 570 W + Victron 100/50 |
| House battery capacity | 380 Ah LiFePo4 |
| Inverter | 1x 2000W + 1x 350W |
| RIB | Highfield UL290 |
| Outboard | Yamaha Enduro 15 HP + Yamaha 6 HP |
| Ground tackle | 25 kg Rocna and 20 kg Delta + 75 m chain |
