Manuel Gomes Martins spends endless hours watching the sea, sitting on his boat and looking at its sliding in the water. He is the only Portuguese sailor that has made a trip around the world alone. Alone on his sail-boat he is now heading to India following the course of Gama.
TAP’s inflight commissary is carrying the adventure "From Portugal to India, 500 years later". Almost a 2 year trip to evocate and celebrate the epic of Pedro Álvares Cabral and Vasco da Gama. During 600 days in the ocean, "Casvie" will plough around 27 thousand miles through the Atlantic and Indian oceans - the equivalent to one turn and a quarter to the perimeter of planet Earth.
The navigator released the cables in Lisbon in November 17, 1996, heading to Sines, Vasco da Gama’s birth place. He then steered to Madeira and Cabo Verde. Christmas day caught him alone crossing the Atlantic ocean. New Year’s eve was celebrated in the Brazilian paradise island of Fernando de Noronha prior to arriving in Recife. Manuel Martins is now stopped in Rio de Janeiro.
Prior to this nautical adventure, Manuel Martins attended a training course in the Portuguese TV headquarters in order to make a video of his board diary during the whole trip. He was then able to make a video of himself and disclose the daily routine of a lonely navigator.
A team from RTP joined the sailor on his way from Lisbon to Sines and in Funchal. Later they boarded "Casvie" in Fernando de Noronha to go across to Recife.

(Source: RTC)