Elif and Mustafa Yurtbulmuş's world trip, which started in 2014 and ended in 2019, was published as a book after five years of work. Heron's World Tour (Balıkçıl’ın Dünya Turu) is a book that will be in the library of every sea lover.

The number 5 is a magic number for Mustafa Yurtbulmuş. It took him another five years to write the story of a round-the-world voyage that spanned five continents and five oceans in five years. Heron's World Tour is the freshest example of our amateur sailors' passion for sailing around the world, which started with Sadun Boro, and their desire to share their experiences.

The book published by Naviga Publications documents the duo's journey around the world day by day, step by step, frame by frame. Prepared in a diary format, the book is a textbook for those who dream the same thing, as well as a taste of adventure for those who love to step on land.

When Mustafa Yurtbulmuş, a journalism student, met Ms. Elif, a national athlete in shooting and a member of the Board of Directors of the Amateur Maritime Federation, the dream of traveling the world by sail, which he had been carrying for a long time, turned from a dream for one person into a joint dream. Deciding to embark on this journey together, the couple set sail from Marmaris on September 21, 2014.

After a two-year voyage across the Atlantic, stopping in the Caribbean and reaching the Pacific via Panama, the couple got married on the deck of the Heron in Sydney, Australia. From Australia, they set sail north, passing through Singapore and the Maldives before ending up in South Africa. Instead of returning home from there, they cross the Atlantic again and end up in the Caribbean once more. In fact, at this point, they have completed their world tour. Then, following the classic route, they return to Turkey via the Azores.

Yurtbulmuş's journey is full of so many stories and interesting events that it would require a separate book to summarize it. Nevertheless, the first encounter with whales, the New Year celebrated under flares, sharks, crocodiles, giant mushrooms, 22-kilogram mahi mahi, the famous sailboat Bounty, sea gypsies and smugglers can raise your pulse while reading. The book also offers interesting situations for amateur sailors. For example, what would you do if your rudder blade suddenly snaps off while you are sailing in the middle of the Arafura Sea, in dangerous waters, meaning you are completely rudderless? (Yes, it does!) Can laundry baskets be made into sea anchors? (Yes, they can!) What would you do if you were stranded on a boat drifting in the open sea in the dark? (Of course, you would hug each other!) But the Yurtbulmuş couple manage to survive all these difficulties thanks to their creativity and knowledge. That's when the reader breathes a sigh of relief, throws himself on deck and starts to enjoy the sun.

As you read The Heron's World Tour, you will be part of an extraordinary adventure, both difficult and beautiful. Most probably, you will start to dream of traveling around the world.