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Crossing the Atlantic as a family. Two crews, one shared longing for elsewhere.

Crossing the Atlantic as a family. Two crews, one shared longing for elsewhere.

Preparing an Atlantic crossing isn't just a matter of boat or weather. It's a life choice.

For two families aboard their Excess, the 2025 ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) was far more than a rally: the fulfilment of a long-held dream.

Caroline and Jonno, aboard Strelitzia, their Excess 14

Jonno discovered sailing in 2019. An immediate love affair. Very quickly, one thing became clear: the sea would be part of his life. Caroline, Franco-Colombian, grew up with the ocean, between childhood memories and early sailing trips along the south of France.

Together, they spent hours watching videos of liveaboards. The dream took shape… until the day they decided to take the leap. Now at the helm of Strelitzia, their Excess 14, they set off into the ARC with 3,000 miles ahead of them. A goal that sat right at the top of their bucket list.

Caroline and Kalle, aboard Lyfe, their Excess 11

Kalle knows the sea well. A former 49er sailor, he spent years in the world of racing and performance. But this crossing is different: he's living it as a family, with Caroline and their three children, Leif, Liv and Seve.

Their ambition? To perform in the rally, without ever losing sight of what matters most: the safety and wellbeing of their family. On board, life continues differently. The children follow school remotely from the owner's cabin, turned into a classroom. A reinvented daily life, to the rhythm of the ocean.

3000 Miles, Excess's new documentary, tells this story

The preparations, the doubts, the decisive choices, the turning points.

The documentary is available now.

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Sail Tahiti
Sail Tahiti
June 16, 2026
This is a fantastic movie, thanks to all the sailors involved and the Excess team. We get the feeling for their anxiety (at the start) and happiness (on the ocean and on the other side). Each sailor is different. Personally it takes me 2-3 days to get in my "ocean" mood. The 1st day your head is still on land, thinking about work etc, the 2nd day I am a bit lost and the third day I start to mentally transform. They describe it very well in the movie, this feeling that your body has expanded and you've become one with the boat, and at the same time that outside lies danger so you must stay on the boat. You're both bigger and smaller ...I guess people doing long treks in high altitudes must get similar feeling of becoming one with the mountain. This is why we cross oceans and live adventures. The fear at the start, the challenges in the middle, the happiness after. And the desire to do it again !