Lone Eagle’s 14,000 mile trip

First-time author publishes book on sailing across the world from Washington, DC, to Australia, a month after an up-close and personal encounter with terror on 9/11

Lone Eagle anchored in Cook's Bay on the Island of Moorea, Tahiti.

TRAVELLING more than 14,000 miles nautical miles, visiting 15 countries and dozens of islands over a two year period from the United States of America to Australia following a close call with the tragic events of September 11, 2001, first-time author Robert Bugge has shared his sea-faring adventure in his book The Log of Lone Eagle.

Following a series of cataclysmic events in his life in 2000, Mr Bugge decided with nothing left to lose, it was time to begin an adventure of a lifetime.

“I was practicing law in Washington, D.C. at the time when my father (Robert) died, and my marriage wasn’t going well," he said.

“My dad's best friend owned a boat, the Lone Eagle, and he died about a month after my dad so I bought the boat off the widow and I wanted to move to Australia. I was thinking how do I get the boat there, so I decided to sail it and right after I made that decision I was in Washington D.C. when 9/11 happened and I was up close and personal to it and that made my mind up for me.”

Lone Eagle docked at Robert Bugge's home in Yamba.

Describing The Log of Lone Eagle, Mr Bugge said the story is based off his experiences sailing through tropical paradises and crystal water, as well as the peril and danger that comes with the journey.

“My goal was to write about the voyage and there’s a lot of valuable tips and tricks that I learnt along the way,” he said.

“It was an incredible voyage, a pursuit of freedom, independence, self-reliance, and a life with limitless choices. I wanted it to be tempered only by the seas, the weather, and the distance to the next port of refuge.”

Mr Bugge has long had an association with Australia and the NSW north coast, dating back to when his father met his mother Ruby while serving as a merchant seaman during World War II.

“They eventually got married and moved back to the States, and after my dad died in 2000 that’s when I brought mum back to live in Australia in Urunga with her surviving sisters,” he said.

“It wasn’t until I was going through some family papers when I discovered that my mum didn’t get US citizenship until two years after I was born, so that was good for me to help get my Australian citizenship.”

After arriving in Australia following his adventure in 2003, Mr Bugge lived on his boat in Coffs Harbour for four years, and was involved in legal work brokering the Australia/United States free trade agreement, before establishing a consulting business.

“Most of my clients were in Sydney and I would sail down there and live on the boat,” he said.

“When I decided I was going to retire I though I’d like a nice little place to go that has deep water access and good sailing grounds so I got out the chart guide of NSW and saw Yamba, went for a look and just fell in love with it.”

The Log of Lone Eagle has been published on Amazon, and is available for purchase now.

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