Last updated: July 24, 2019
Martin Frey has completed the challenge of a lifetime. He is the only person to climb all seven summits and sail all seven seas.
Frey has circumnavigated the globe, sailed over 35,000 nautical miles and climbed over 14.5 vertical miles. On April 17, 2016, he sailed aboard Visit Seattle with his crew into Seattle. Thus, completing the last leg of the Clipper Round the World Race after a journey of 5,768 nautical miles. The accomplishment is the culmination of 11 years of tireless dedication from Frey, who reunited with his family upon arrival in Seattle.
Frey braved the harshest and most extreme conditions on earth to sail the seven seas. He persisted through multiple hardships, including huge storms with gusting winds of up to 80 mph and recurring bouts of seasickness. Still, he never gave up on his goal.
“Even though you’re miserable in the moment, you have this inner confidence and resolve that you will endure and persevere through the challenge. I think my previous experiences helped with that,” says Frey.
His journey to summit all seven highest peaks began back in 2005 with his summiting of Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro. After his final summit of Antarctica’s Mount Vinson in 2012, Frey found that sailing allowed him the opportunity to spend time with his family. He then decided to pursue circumnavigation of the globe, a quest that would enable him to become a world-record holder.
To complete the sailing component, Frey competed in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. The race has teams composed of over 700 amateur sailors from all different backgrounds and takes them on an ocean adventure regarded as one of the toughest challenges of endurance on earth.
7summits7seas.org; clipperroundtheworld.com
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