Doncho Papazov

Having decided to sponsor Papazov's next voyage, the Bulgarian National Television purchased a two-mast yacht, model "Conrad - 45A", built in Gdańsk, Poland in 1978. In exchange, Papazov was tasked with sailing the yacht from Gdańsk to Burgas along with a BNT filming crew. The yacht, named Tivia, took the journey around Europe in the winter of 1978, going through the Baltic Sea, the Bay of Biscay, the Mediterranean, and finally the Black Sea.

140 days (100 days at sea): March 17 - August 3, 1976.

Papazov's final major expedition, a solo around-the-world voyage along the "Impossible Route", was undertaken on Tivia. The Impossible Route was called that because of the turbulence of the ocean South of the 40th parallel. Upon its successful completion, Papazov became the first voyager to go around the world uninterrupted through Cape Horn.

Doncho Papazov (Bulgarian: Дончо Папазов) (born February 21, 1939 in Sofia, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian oceanographer, adventurer and journalist. He is most famous for several marine voyages of increasing difficulty.

Doncho Papazov was born in Sofia on February 21, 1939. He is a record-holding diver and has participated in numerous archeological dives. He was married to Olga Herdova, from Czech Republic and has one son Alexandr Herda (*1969), later he was married to Julia Gurkovska (1945–2001) and has a daughter, Yana. Doncho Papazov is the author of four books and many documentaries about his voyages. He spent over 20 years working as a journalist for the Bulgarian National Television. He was also a member of the Coordinating Council of the Union of Democratic Forces, a member of the 36th Ordinary National Assembly, and deputy chairman of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists (1993–1995). He currently resides in Sofia.