In this first expedition of the Plankton program,[2] Papazov set out to determine whether zoo-plankton can provide sufficient nutrition to survive on in extreme conditions.
On board Dju II (a conventional dinghy), he spent 15 days alone off the coast of Sozopol in the Bay of Burgas in the Black Sea, eating nothing but plankton.
In 26 days, they crossed the Black Sea from Varna to Sochi, aboard a standard keel-less lifeboat, Dju III.
The two-person crew had to keep 4-hour steering shifts around the clock to ensure the boat didn't flip over in the turbulent Atlantic.
Unlike most yachts, Dju IV was originally a ship's lifeboat, made of two sheets of plastic bolted together.
It sported a full deck, an outboard engine which powered a lit compass and their radio and a water pump.
In the first days of the expedition, the boat's radio antenna broke, cutting off communication with the outside world and making issuing a distress call impossible.
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.
The crew consisted of Doncho Papazov, Julia Papazova, their 5-year-old daughter Yana, Simeon Idakiev, Boris Siriyski, Rumen Kostov and Peter Andonov.
Doncho and Julia took their daughter Yana (then 6), tested in the Europe expedition, along for the journey,[8] triggering some cautions from their family and various child welfare advocates.
Papazov's final major expedition, a solo around-the-world voyage along the "Impossible Route", was undertaken on Tivia.