Sailing the World with Montague – Scotland to the Caribbean
For the last year, Neill Hogarth and his partner Heidi have been living out their dream of sailing the world. Last April, they set out from Scotland in Artemis, a 36 foot Rustler sailing yacht equipped with everything they would need to live — including two Montague X90 folding mountain bikes. Having bikes aboard provide transportation and recreation for when they drop anchor and come ashore. Their journeys have brought them to some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, from the coast of Brittany to North Africa, and on to the Caribbean. Having off-road capable bikes that fold to store on-board allows them to get into the heart of nature reserves, to the top of volcanoes, and to the remote villages few tourists get to visit.
After starting their trip by heading north into the Shetland Islands of Scotland, Neill and Heidi headed south in search of warmer weather. Their first mountain biking excursion was the island of Guernsey. Located in the English Channel along the French coast, Guernsey is known for cliff-side views along its rocky coastline. After starting on a known bike route, Neil and Heidi decided to put their Montagues to the test by cutting their own path for a better view.
“Bikes are the perfect way to see the Island. Almost all our route was inaccesible to cars and it was much too far to walk in an afternoon. Once again we were so thankful to have our bikes with us,” writes Heidi.
After a stop in Brittany, it was on to the Spanish coast, leaving behind the English channel and entering the Atlantic. Pristine beaches sprawled out in front of high desert dotted with scrubby vegetation and winding rocky trails.
Pictured above is Heidi looking out from Cape Finisterre, a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be the end of the known world.
Neill and Heidi had custom bags made for transporting and storing their Montague folding bikes. The material provides superior water resistance, and the design separates the wheels for more compact storage aboard the Artemis. Below you see Neill lowering one down to a dinghy during low tide from a particularly high sea wall. Impressive!
The next leg of the journey brought them along the coast of northwest Africa, where they stopped for more riding in the Canary Islands and the Cape Verde Islands. Graciosa in the Canary Islands provided a noticeable change in scenery with red sandy terrain and distinct volcanic formations.
The Cape Verde Islands are also the product of volcanic activity, but offer a different riding experience with ocean-side cliffs, deep valleys, and mountainous rocky trails surrounded by vegetation. These climbs and descents put the Montague bikes and the legs that powered them, to the test.