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Help Michael Elia rebuild after his rare and spectacular solo West-to-East Pacific Crossing on his sailboat, Promise Kept.
**UPDATED: Mike has landed around 8PM Sunday night, November 2, in Marina Del Rey!!!!**
My dear old friend Mike Elia just completed something incredible, and nearly impossible: He crossed the Pacific Ocean, *** solo *** from west to east - 6,450 n.miles from Fiji to California - on a 39 ft sailboat. This journey is not only extremely rare, it is also an all-in wager by Mike to get his boat (his only asset) home and repaired so he can build a future for he and his daughter, Chloe Rose, and move forward to the next chapter of his life.
Mike spent 59 days alone at sea. He will need our help. Please join me to help Mike and Chloe:
- Donate - any amount helps. All money raised will be transferred directly to Mike to help him repair the boat.
- Share: Please re-post this on all your channels - and let your local news/media stations know!
- Shout-out: Please give Mike some love and encouragement in the comments!
Here is my brief summary of this Magellan-esque odyssey to give you a sense of the What, Why, and How we can help Mike rebuild and secure a better future for he and Chloe:
What is this journey about?
This solo return journey is the culmination of a mind-blowing circumnavigation of the Pacific by sailboat: Mike and Chloe set out from California in October of 2022 on their boat, Promise Kept, and traveled down the coast of California and Mexico. Then, in April of 2024, they set sail from Puerto Vallarta and crossed the Pacific (!!!). This journey has taken them 10,000+ miles to some of the most beautiful places on earth including the Marquesas, Tuamotus, Tahiti and eventually to Fiji - a place that captured Mike’s heart.
And, follow the day-by-day on Mike's instagram page
Along the way to Fiji, Chloe finished high school remotely/online, while at the same time absorbing, along with Mike, the rich and varied life lessons of this incredible adventure. This has imbued them with fierce courage, resourcefulness, teamwork, mental toughness and preternaturally sound character. For Mike, all these have proved essential for this last phase of his journey…
Why: The return trip to save Promise Kept
After Chloe took a flight back to study in the USA and start the next step in her life, Mike was out of resources. His boat is his only asset. His greatest hope for rebuilding a simple life in Fiji: he needs to sell the boat. And the only place he can get a fair price is back here in the USA - and it must be restored to the condition in which he bought it.
So, Mike set sail going the ‘wrong way’ back across the Pacific, upwind against all prevailing winds, through a minefield of storms/squalls and with 100’s of container and tanker ships to dodge.
But, it has taken a profound toll - both on the boat, and on Mike.
A hard life well lived:
A native of Santa Barbara, Mike is a veteran who served in the Marines in the first Gulf War as a communications specialist. After the Marines, Mike overcame the trauma of combat to flourish in many varied pursuits - from auto mechanic, to stock broker, to professionally trained chef of Japanese cuisine. Mike’s life has also been marked by loss; He is the last living member of his family in his (or previous) generation.
But here he is, having completed a historic but harrowing journey, that has also been marked by mind-bogging challenges and near-catastrophic failures. Here’s just a sample:
Attempt 1: Mike’s first departure in June 2025 from Fiji came to a terrifying halt within 24 hours when his rudder failed: The fiberglass housing of the rudder shaft ruptured and water began leaking into the boat. He limped back by standing on the stern deck of the boat, using the hydrovane to steer the boat by hand - FOR 31 HOURS STRAIGHT, to get back to Fiji.
Attempt 2: Bruised mentally and physically, but not broken, he persevered, repaired the rudder and mustered the courage to start again by August. Attempt 2 is so far successful, but with continual challenges:
- Day 2 “hard collision. Heading for Wallis Island.” (I’ve still not heard what that was all about)
- A couple weeks in, the stove broke, and he had a “near catastrophe” (fire?). It was too dangerous to try to use again. The entire rest of the trip he ate everything (defrosted pasta, canned sardines, spam, etc.) at ‘room temperature’, and “making coffee” by chewing coffee beans!
- Within another week, storms destroyed 2 tanks of diesel and contaminated his 90 gallon fresh water supply. He resorted to jury-rigging his portable emergency watermaker.
- The wind turbine failed.
- Various ropes and tethers broke/failed.
- At some point the toilet broke.
- A rope got tangled under the boat – couldn’t run the motor until it was removed, and it was sapping some speed when under sail. It would be extremely dangerous to dive in to clear it… (eventually he does).
- And of course through all of this, He has been sailing ‘hard to wind’ ( as close into the prevailing easterly winds as possible) for nearly 5000 of nautical miles. He’s facing frequent squalls/storms with torrential rain, often up to 20’ seas and 30 to 50+ knots of wind - enough to rip the sails off the boat if they are not immediately lowered and reefed. This requires constant attention (and therefore little sleep), as the survival of the boat is far more important than speed. Mike summed it up: “I would be going faster but I’m running a conservative profile to try to reduce the stress on the boat and crew and the squalls have been absolutely relentless”.
- And finally on Oct 26th, he almost lost his mast . [The main stay buckle (the buckle that secures the front cable that holds up the mast from the front!) came loose. Cotter pin sheared and the Clevis Pin was working it’s way out. If that pin came fully out, THE MAST WOULD HAVE COME CRASHING DOWN, immobilizing all possible sailing as well as damaging all the communications and radar gear. It would have been a life threatening catastrophe. But he noticed and repaired it in time.
- Update Oct 29: And now he’s almost out of fuel.
- November 2, Mike arrived in Marina del Rey.
This is just a small snapshot of Mike’s 50+ days at sea alone, while Promise Kept - his only asset - was getting thrashed. He will need countless parts and supplies to restore his beloved boat back to top shape, so he can move forward and make a life for he and Chloe. I don’t really know how much he will need, but let’s get it started!!
I am calling all friends and acquaintances of Mike, or any sailor, or current or former military service member, or anyone who has struggled with the kind of loss Mike has endured, or anyone for whom his story resonates deeply for you as it has for me – Here's how you can join in and help Mike rebuild when he arrives in Marina del Rey:
- Donate (I will make matching donations up to the first $1000).
- Share: Please re-post this on all your channels -- and let your local news/media stations know!
- Shout-out: Please give Mike some love and encouragement
Details about me:
My name is David McClintock. I live in Santa Barbara. I’ve been friends with Mike since 10th grade (that was 1981 :-)
and my instagram profile.
This fund raiser is for the benefit of Michael Bruce Elia (Mike)
Mike'sFacebook page
All money raised will be transferred directly to Mike to repair his boat and restart.
Thank you!
