Karin Wenger (*1979) grew up in Zurich, but the “travel bug” and her interest in foreign worlds and cultures lured her into the wide world at an early age. She studied political science, communication and journalism in Switzerland, Ireland and at Birseit University in the West Bank, worked as a snowboard instructor in Grindelwald, as a horse carriage driver in Bern, as gaucha in Argentina and as peace observer in Chiapas, Mexico. From 2004 to 2007 she worked as freelance journalist in the Middle East, among others for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. She reports about this time in her book «Checkpoint Huwara – Israelische Elitesoldaten und palästinensische Widerstandskämpfer brechen das Schweigen». From 2007 to 2008, she was the project coordinator for the NGO “Medical Aid for Palestinians” in the refugee camps on the Syrian-Iraqi border. In 2009, she moved to New Delhi, where she started her job as South Asia correspondent for Radio SRF. In 2016 she relocated to Bangkok and traveled through Asia as Southeast Asia correspondent, reporting on political, economic and social events in countries from Papua New Guinea to Myanmar. In the spring of 2022, she published three books, «Jacob der Gefangene – eine Reise durch das indische Justizsystem», «Bis zum nächsten Monsun – Menschen in Extremsituationen» and «Verbotene Lieder – eine afghanische Sängerin verliert ihre Heimat». Now she enjoys a sabbatical, living on the ocean.
An avid diver, Karin has long been fascinated by the sea and underwater worlds, these alien universes and their inhabitants. During the pandemic, she and Alex learned to sail in Thailand. At that time they didn’t know that this was the beginning of a new adventure….
Karin Wenger is a storyteller – and this doesn’t change on the boat. She writes articles, blog entries and runs the podcast “BoatCast Mabul”, telling stories of the sea and the people and places they encounter while sailing. Besides discovering different worlds and writing about their sailing adventures, she is also interested in marine research and marine conservation and is looking for interesting projects where Mabul and her crew could get involved.
Portrait by Pia Zanetti
Alexander Kiermayer (*1984) grew up in Rosenheim, where he also studied and spent most of his life. He loves being close to nature, the mountains and lakes. An avid sportsman, he spends a lot of time hiking, mountain biking, but the sea has also been part of his home since early childhood. Family vacations on a power boat in the Mediterranean and diving in the Red Sea awakened Alex’s love for the sea at an early age. In 2019, he set up his own business and has since been working as a freelance electrical engineer, supporting start-ups and developing various projects. Thanks to self-employment, he has more freedom and more time to discover the worlds in and around the sea. That’s how he met Karin on a dive boat off the island of Mabul near Borneo….the rest is history….
Alex is the engineer on board. He has whipped Mabul into shape in two months of work, knows a lot about electronics and engines, and is a gifted tinkerer and handyman, which is essential on a sailboat. He would like to work with a research institute or company in the nautical field, developing electronics and software and testing them on Mabul.
Want more?
You’ll find a brief boat tour on Mabul here…
