My name is Bohdana Semenova. I am a sailor from Ukraine.
I have been on boats for as long as I can remember. I started sailing at the age of eight on the Dnipro River in Kyiv, racing dinghies and later becoming a Ukrainian Optimist champion. After that, sailing slowly stopped being a sport and became a way of life.
As a teenager, I sailed on my father’s 34-foot plywood boat — the boat he built with his own hands. I grew up on her, learned seamanship, raced, and worked in our family sailing business in Odesa. That boat shaped both my skills and my mindset.
At eighteen, I obtained my first skipper’s certificate. I wasn’t sure sailing would become my career, but my curiosity kept pulling me offshore. I built my own crew, taught sailing, raced, and organised charters.
In 2022, I left Ukraine with no clear plan, no money, and no experience living abroad — only a desire to see the world and find my place in it. That journey led me across oceans and continents: multiple Atlantic crossings, seasons in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, professional sailing work in the USA, and advanced offshore qualifications.
In 2024, I rounded Cape Horn, becoming the first Ukrainian woman to do so. After that, I spent months sailing in Chilean Patagonia — one of the wildest places on Earth — where strong winds, isolation, and raw nature tested everything I had learned.
After rounding Cape Horn, something shifted. The idea of a solo circumnavigation was no longer an abstract dream — it became the natural continuation of everything I had been preparing for. All the miles, storms, crossings, and quiet moments at sea were leading in the same direction.
I realized that I was ready. Ready not because I felt fearless, but because the ocean had already taught me how to listen, adapt, and stay present. Out there, with the wind in the sails and stars overhead, the noise of everything else disappears. At sea, life becomes simple, honest, and real — and that is where I feel most alive.
This voyage is also deeply personal. While I was growing up, my father was building his own dream — a plywood boat meant for the open ocean. I was there when she first touched the water. Now, years later, I want to take both her spirit and mine around the world — continuing a dream that began long before this expedition had a name.
I am inspired by people who choose a life of curiosity, courage, and commitment to their dreams. If this journey encourages even one person to take their own step into the unknown, then it will already have fulfilled its purpose.