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Thies Matzen: Wanderer III: Southern Ocean by the Stars | Travel Grit Podcast

Published May 18, 2026

I, Bernie Harberts, did not use generative AI to write or illustrate this article. Spell check and grammar check, yes. AI, no.

My dear friends Thies Matzen and his wife Kicki Ericson have navigated their wooden sloop Wanderer III in the Southern Ocean for decades, mostly by stars and sextant. Their voyages under sail have inspired me for years, from overwintering two years on the sub-Antarctic South Georgia Island, to sailing Wanderer III to the Antarctica, the smallest traditional plank on frame boat ever to do so.

Sepia portrait of Thies Matzen of sailboat Wanderer III once owned by Eric and Susan Hiscock — Thies Matzen of Wanderer III (image based on photo by Thies Matzen and Kicki Ericson)

This week, I posted an amazing interview with Thies on my Travel Grit podcast. During our conversation, Thies talks about life aboard one of the most storied small boats in sailing history, navigating by sextant and stars in the Southern Ocean, what the ancient Polynesian navigators taught him about finding your place in the world, and why a small boat keeps the world big.

Listen to Thies on the Travel Grit podcast.

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