Teen’s solo journey sailing the Pacific ends in Honolulu

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – An Oregon teen is back on land after sailing solo from California to Hawaii.

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Ollie Bergquist set foot on land Monday after 20 days at sea.

“It’s crazy,” said Bergquist. “I did not think all of you guys would be here. I thought it would be like 10 people.”

His mom, Tia Bergquist, said, “It’s Memorial Day and I was just thinking how grateful I am to the men and women who gave their life so my son can live his dream.”

Bergquist sailed from Northern California to Honolulu, documenting his solo journey on Instagram. His daily video updates gained traction from viewers across the world.

“If he was late posting or something, I would start getting worried,” said Tia Bergquist. “I pretty much saw what you guys saw. Once in a while I would get a text saying, ‘I’m OK, Mom.’”

Tia Bergquist says her son’s dream to sail across the world started when he was 13. She said she thought he would eventually outgrow it — until he drove to British Columbia to buy a boat at 17.

“I bought Covenant. It’s previous name was Millennium Dragon, so that had to go,” said Ollie Bergquist.

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Bergquist’s trek through the Pacific was his third journey with Covenant — and the toughest one yet.

“The first three days, I was puking my guts out,” he said. “I didn’t know if I can keep food down. I might have to turn to San Francisco if I can’t get used to this.”

But he quickly got the hang of life at sea, which included catching his own dinner.

“I was sitting in my cockpit and the rod start spinning,” Bergquist said. “So I started reeling it and was like, ‘Oh, this may be a piece of trash,’ and then I saw it and was like, ‘Oh, this is so cool.’ Plate it up and it gave me a lot of motivation,” he said.

The Oregon native also celebrated another milestone at sea: turning 18 years old.

Bergquist said he plans to stay in Hawaii for a while and eventually wants to sail to Fiji.

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