Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The sailing adventure began on April 3, when the 54 foot Mexican sailboat, Sans Souci II and its' Mexican crew departed from Marina Riviera Nayarit, bound for the South Pacific and back, a total distance of almost 9,000 nautical miles, or 16,200 kilometers.

"It was an amazing experience. I believe that when you return from a trip of this length, you come back with another perspective on your life, yourself and your country," said the navigator, Pedro Fernandez, on the return of the vessel to the Marina Riviera Nayarit this July 4, 2011.

The journey took 100 days, as the Sans Souci II sailed from the Marina in Nayarit to Tahiti in the South Pacific and back.

Pedro Ochoa Fernández del Valle, the Captain Javier Monsalvo, Aldrete Enrique Cuesta, Ricardo Medellin and Poly Montelongo manned the ship Sans Souci II from Riviera Nayarit to the South Pacific. After a crew change, including the Captain, Javier Montalvo, Oscar Armando Montenegro, and Campos, the return journey was made, but with greater difficulty because navigation was carried out against the wind and waves during the entire return trip.

Pedro Fernandez stressed that this was the first time that a sailboat manned by Mexicans made a journey to and from the South Pacific in such a short time. It was a powerful experience for the crew because of all the dangerous situations that they had to go through.

These included loss of electrical power, a broken water pump, and a broken autopilot, which made for a number of days sailing by hand. Ironically, these experiences were inconsistent with the meaning of the name of the boat, "Without Problems," which is owned by Enrique Aldrete Cuesta.

During the voyage to the South Pacific the average speed was 6.5 knots over the 100-day adventure. This is considered a good speed considering that the winds and currents were against them on the return leg.

Pedro Fernandez and his crew indicated their future plan is to continue making this type of long ocean crossing, looking toward new islands and new horizons for navigating the 54-foot sailboat.