Boreal Adventure Sailing - Zug

Paul D.

Tolles Segelboot mit grossartigem Chef und weltberühmten Captain. BRAVO

Sophie R.

Magique Groenland avec Varuna, une nature splendide, une navigation top entre les icebergs et même des aurores boréales ! Une très belle croisière grâce au capitaine qui nous a même offert des spectacles inouïs de baleines ! Merci aussi Luse pour toute cette attention généreuse pour une super ambiance. On a adoré !

Erwan S.

Nous avons effectué en aout 2023 un voyage extraordinaire au Groenland sur le Varuna, un magnifique bateau de 22 mètres. Les paysages étaient à couper le souffle et dans un calme qui change de nos vies quotidiennes.
10 jours inoubliables avec Lionel et Luse que l’on regrette de ne pas avoir rencontré plus tôt. Le meilleur capitaine jamais rencontré, maîtrisant parfaitement le bateau malgré la démesure des icebergs et nous trouvant tous les jours des endroits féériques pour nos mouillages.
Une mention spéciale pour Luse et sa gentillesse, toujours à notre écoute. Et quel talent de cuisinière. Incroyable dans un endroit aussi exigu ! Ce fut divin !
Nadia & Erwan

Deborah C. M.

My husband and I traveled with Boreal Adventure Sailing to celebrate our honeymoon doing "Ski & Sail" in the Lyngen Alps. It was one of the most special trips of our lives. We felt so cared for the entire time.
The boat was perfect. It is clear that Lionel cares for the boat (Varuna) with detail and passion. We were so comfortable. The cap they put on the top of the boat allowed for us to feel as though we were outdoors the whole time while remaining comfortable, cozy, and warm. We never had to compromise on whether or not we wanted to feel outside but remain warm / comfortable. He is also very clever with storage on the boat such that all of our gear was organized and was able to air out throughout the trip (including skins). Luse is filled with love and kindness and that is felt in how she takes care of us aboard. The food was exceptional, each meal different leveraging local ingredients (fresh caught cod) with spices + flavours she knew the group needed and was good for us. Always healthy but always sweets + treats. We burned ~1800 calories per day on the climbs and she knew how to keep us fed and energized! And she was such a welcoming presence each day when we returned. Roman the guide had a great sense of humour and also a keen attention to the details of the mountains and a respect for Lionel and the sailing needs. He found great lines / snow and was perfectly balanced in looking after the group but giving us freedom. He even found a fun sauna for us one day! It is clear that he loves what he does and is knowledgeable / passionate.

We hope to travel again with Boreal Adventure Sailing!

Eero S.

My Ski & Sail trip to Svalbard with Boreal Adventure Sailing was unforgettable. The skiing locations were incredible, and the crew was friendly and attentive. The boat was comfortable and well-equipped. I highly recommend this experience to anyone looking for a unique adventure.

Roman S.

We had a very bad experience with Boreal Adventures this summer and I can personally not recommend anyone to join their tours, simply because I think it's not save.
We got into a life threatening situation as we got stuck in the drift ice a few miles off the coast of Greenland for several days. The boat was not maneuverable anymore, we had bad weather approaching, warnings from locals and the emergency services about the severity of our situation urging us to initiate a rescue mission, two failed rescue attempts by nearby boats, massive icebergs who almost crushed the boat and ultimately frozen fresh water supply, which left us with few liters of water to drink. Despite all of that, Lionel the Skipper and Vartan the owner of Boreal did not seem to prioritize the safety of the passengers and rest of crew adequately, as they refused to call it an emergency and initiate the needed rescue. They seemed mostly concerned about their mutual financial investment in their boat. The captain told us that he doesn’t want to initiate a rescue and even declined the request of the passengers and co-captain to be evacuated by helicopter on their own costs, as he believed that this would mean that he needs to leave the ship behind. We kept urging him to call an evacuation for us, but he kept rejecting it, despite the situation getting constantly worse. It became clear, that although Lionel is a very experienced sailor, he is someone that doesn’t give up and takes immense risks, which is maybe the right mindset when breaking a world record single handedly, but surely the completely wrong mindset when being responsible for guests and crew with nothing to win except losing ones life and an insured boat.
The situation we had ended up in was totally predictable, as the ice charts prior entering had clearly shown a 50-80% ice coverage and more than 30% is not safe to enter as per the water pilot guidebook. The captain had ignored this as well as information from other boats, due to time pressure in meeting clients in Greenland.
After 48h stuck in the ice, I as a passenger, in alignment with everyone on board incl. the co-captain, initiated the distress call. Although I had told Lionel prior that we are going to do this if he doesn’t, he got physically violent against me and sabotaged our rescue call by disconnecting the radio. He only put it back on when I told him that this is probably a criminal act. We managed to initiate the rescue mission and the authorities told us that it would take more than 30 hours for a military vessel to reach us, since a helicopter rescue wasn't possible due to bad weather.

We ultimately managed to free the boat ourselves a few hours before the arrival of the warship, with the help of a nearby research vessel and their ice radar. This was pure luck as without the ice radar we would have had no chance.The were numerous other very concerning situations as due to our skippers very low english skills, he miscommunicated the boat’s coordinates several times and also misunderstood simple directions given over radio by the research vessel, which would have steered the boat right into the next ice field instead of out of it.

Instead of an apology to the guests or recognition of maybe some wrong decisions, we received nothing from the captain or the company itself, other than being made fun of and a letter a few days later, making false accusations and threatening to potentially sue me.

Although we were all sailors and skippers ourselves, we had underestimated how dependent our safety is on a single person. It became clear to us that for the team from Boreal Adventures its only an emergency once the boat is lost, which is way to late if you are in one of the remotest areas of the world surrounded by ice und freezing water temperatures.

Other things were disturbing as well, for example the weird bullying behavior of Luse (First Mate & Co-Owner) towards some of the guests and the mountain guide. It just created an uncomfortable atmosphere and apparently happened before with others.

Lilla M.

The sail and ski adventure at Svalbar was amazing, even better than I would have dreamed of. The Boat Varuna is absolutely fabulous, very well thought for sailing in cold waters and well equipped for skiing tours. Our captain Pascal took so well care of us, even carrying us to the dinghy 😊. Charlotte was not only an excellent chef 🧑‍🍳 , but also a great entertainer. With our Guide Brage we felt very safe, at the same time as we had so much fun. I would absolutely recommend this adventure for my friends.

Daniela G.

Ski & Sail is the perfect combination of two hobbies, and it is amazing sliding down through untouched snow while overviewing the glittering sea and the anchoring boat (Varuna). The Lyngen Alps is a great destination offering gigantic fjords, nice ascents, spectacular views and awsome descents.
Varuna is very well equipped and offered much more comfort than expected (much space in the cabins and „living room“, cosy temperatures inside). The crew was very nice: a very competent skipper (Lionel), a phantastic cook and warm host (Luse – amazing what she served out of her small galley!), and a mountain guide (Brian) with a lot of local knowledge and insider tips (e.g. sauna on a lonely island).
We would have appreciated more sailing rather than going by engine. And we would have loved being more involved in sailing (not just handing over a rope).
But over all we had a great time, fine weather and an unforgettable experience with Boreal Adventure Sailing.