routes to take to sail around the world????

[chris2998]

Using crew finding sites to find a good crew is not a so bad idea and if not the best way, a fairly good one.
I found out that people who register themselves on those sites are really willing to sail, or learn and they also take a risk : signing on with a bad skipper on a wrong boat. The risks are equal both side, or should I say,
there is more risk for the crew because he or she may end up in a bad situation, somewhere if they have to leave the boat because of incompatibility. That can lead to very bizarre situations......not pleasant at all.. There is always a risk no matter even if your crew is the best friend you know from high school...or somebody else best friend or former best crew... if you have never sailed or be on a boat with this person, the experience may turn out to be a big mistake. A complete stranger can become your best friend, and your best friend can become a complete stranger after a few days at sea. I heard horror stories as much as good ones, you can only rely on your good judgment of character, and should try to put yourself in the crew shoes. The fact is you are sharing your little vital space with a stranger. As the owner it is your little world, as the skipper
you have the responsability of it and are in command, that can lead to some abuse of  power and some skippers can be really .... (well you know what :o..). On the other hand the most common critic and the worst to bear I think is to have a crew who does not respect your stuff, who think he or she is better or can do better than the skipper. I often heard that it is better to have a complete inexperienced crew
but willing to learn that an experienced one who brags a little bit too much.
For most of people willing to be a crew, their best chance is those internet sites. Some are better than others, the rest is up to you to know how to filter informations and how to judge people, there is also a good part of luck and  it requires a little time and effort, but the result can be really rewarding for the crew and the skipper.

good write up, I have no experience other then some sailing lessons and going out a couple of times on someone else 35 footer which I must say one time was very scary the crew and captain I was with had no freaking clue it was to much boat for them and even though saying a while ago I wanted a 35 footer since I have rethought that it is for sure to much boat for me having a 35 footer but a 31 I think I could learn to handle easily on my own or with one other crew member. I just don't think I could go the whole route crewing on someone elses boat long term anyway if it was it would have to be a weekend but not sure even about that. I like being in control of my own life after the few times I've been on other peoples boat wheather it be fishing or sailing

Chris

[Amgine]

Saying "I want to sail around the world" isn't good enough.

There are just too many variables which aren't defined to give any help. The second most important thing is time - are you going sailing for the rest of your life? is this just until the cruising kitty is empty? do you have a specific time limit, like a 2-year or 3-year sabbatical?

The most important thing is your boat, because that will limit how fast you can go and how long you can stay out on any one passage.

The usual trade winds route is exactly what you think it is: move into the trades regions, usually the northern hemisphere side, and slide along down wind from east to west. The primary planning goals are to maximize good sailing weather and minimize exposure to severe weather. Destinations are not primary goals, not on a circ. The usual route will not include Japan, for example, because it is difficult to avoid exposure to typhoon season while also getting there with the favorable monsoon.

If you have a time limit on this particular cruise, you will quickly find that you also have a departure time of year. If you need to be back in 3 years, then you have to be in certain waters at certain times to either catch the good weather or avoid the bad weather, and that will mean leaving early enough from your starting point but not too early. For me, on the left coast of Canada, I need to leave mid August but not later than mid September to get to southern California waters, but I mustn't leave those for Sea of Cortez before end of November... and so on.

[chris2998]

I could probally be gone for 2 years and I will probally have to just quit my job to do this but I'm gonna do it,

[CapnK]

Good points, Amgine - Grog!

[Manannan]

When I hear people claiming they will sail around the world in 2 or 3 years, or when I hear of  people who did it, sorry, I am not impressed. What is the point ? For a lot of people it is the thing to do, I guess it sounds good on a resume. The important thing is why you do it, and what you will learn from it. If it is to voyage, to know your fellow earth citizens, forget it, it is too short, beside you have to go on the ''highways'' of the seas, passing through, avoiding the most interesting places. So forget a circumnavigation if you have a time limit, any time limit. Oh yes, you can do it, but what for, to do seminars and telling about your experience, write a book about it, get published in Cruising World.? ::)... No, take your time, enjoy, take all the opportunities to know a place, the people, their culture.  But that is up to everybody, and again, sailing around the world is more than swallowing miles after miles against time and seasons, it is a human experience, a unique experience even if the world seemed to have shrunk with all the modern technology. There is no shame to have sailed for 25 years, and not yet have completing a circumnavigation. Forget the ''usual routes'', the gathering of the sheep.. No, sailing around the world is not good enough, not good enough to enjoy the world...

[chris2998]

so what are yall saying wait till retirement and I could keel over and die and won't get my dream? yeah I uderstand take you're time and all and yes I'd like to.  If I can figure out how much it will cost me a month to live which I don't think I'll be spending over a gran I hope because I am not a person who lves the whole rockstar lifestyle then hopefully I can spend more then two years out there, gotta figure in repairs for the boat how much I need to setup aside just for them. I am not 100% sure where or what rought I want to take. I know for sure I want to see Galoppogus islands, Fiji and Tahiti and Austraila, Madagascar for sure

[newt]

Chris- I think the goal is just to get more from your experience. The old saying" If you don't know where your going anyplace will do" applies here. As for waiting- I don't think you need to. You can pick up a world cruiser for less than 20 k, and if you maintain everything and are resourceful about your needs... I think you can make your goals and achieve them. I think we are all on the same side here. :D

[Oldrig]

Chris,

Don't wait 'til retirement, but try to log some heavy-duty sea time (like Randy suggested) to make sure this is really what you want.

I'm 61, and I definitely waited too long. My "dream" now is to cross the Atlantic--but not in my 25-footer, although Cape Dory 25Ds have made the crossing.

Anyway, get some sea time, and that might be enough reward in itself.

Good luck!

--Joe

[chris2998]

newt, I agree 200% yes I need experience I mean my goal is to leave in 3 and a half year now when this time comes and I don't feel like I am quite ready and have not done enough overnighters and short runs maybe down to Pensicola FL or whatever then I will postpone it a little longer. I will not do anything that will kill myself and leave my family grieveing you know? but as the saying goes Sh*t does happen.
I have found a SC 31 for just over 20 gran but still think it would need a fare amount of work but I don't think it would be to bad. The bad thing it is pretty far away, found a westsail alot closer to me in much better shape but they want alot more so we will see what happens in a year from what I have saved up. I will not take a loan out on a boat not the way this economy is going. I mean I have a good job now but you never know. I would be happier if I could pay it all off and owe nothing on it, it's just the way I am. I see way to many young people doing crazy things with loans and there gonna loose there house if the economy keeps going like it is.

[dnice]

If just 'cruising' is your goal, there are plenty of ways to be a lifetime cruiser and enjoy your destinations and maybe even complete a circumnavigation in the process... But if circumnavigating is your goal, the story becomes very different.

There are plenty of reasons to do a 'fast' circumnavigation... calling any circumnavigation unimpressive is ridiculous, your goals may be different than other peoples, and a persons reasoning for circumnavigating and the things they may learn in the process, could very well be far more interesting than your reasoning for a langourous island hopping "adventure".

I'm just saying, not everybody's goals are the same.
And hopefully impressing people will not be the goal for anything any of us does.

I personally would prefer to take ten years to go around the world and visit every place I can for as long as I can.
But the unfortunate reality for some people is, money.

If your goal is to circumnavigate the globe, then you have to plan it according to your budget, period.

Hopefully you will get out there and find ways to make money, and spend more time than you imagined enjoying cultures and lifestyles that we all dream of... but you cannot 'plan' on that. You have to make do with what you have and just go for it.

[Amgine]

Okay, that's quite do-able. Now if I knew where you plan to be departing from I can make suggestions about when you have to leave.

Because of your time frame you know you'll be limiting the number of possible side trips - but that's true whether you go for 3 years or 30. One of the benefits is you will likely know exactly which countries you will be stopping at, for how long, and when. This will make it easier to organize your paperwork for visas and permits.

If you're leaving from the east coast of North America, your departure time will likely be late November, heading for the Caribbean. You will want to transit the Panama Canal before March, and in the Marquesas before the end of April. Leave French Polynesia after Bastille Day, but before the end of July, en route eventually to Fiji. Cyclone season here is December to March, so you need to be in Vava'u, Pago Pago, or New Zealand. End year one.

There's some slush at this point in the schedule, especially since you may be coming from different places, but you probably want to be heading for the Torres Strait and the Indian Ocean in April; an earlier arrival gives the opportunity to cruise Indonesia if you have a permit. Crossing the Indian Ocean should be begun before the end of August, and made in large reasonably quick jumps with little dawdling. Again, the cyclone season begins in December, so departure from Mauritius to Durban should be started before the end of October. End year two.

The leg to Cape Town is best in January/February. Beyond the Cape of Good Hope you could sail direct for Brazil or the Lesser Antilles, and work your way up through the Caribbean and thence back to the USA, quickly for a 2.5 year cruise or waiting out the hurricane season and dashing north into winter for exactly 3 years. Another option would be to head from Cape Town to Azores, then to Europe remembering to be headed back to the Canaries in order to cross the Atlantic in late November; very little time in the EU but that may be just the right amount of time.

[Amgine]

Much tighter, but still do-able.

Departing the east coast of North America, same basic route as previous, with a few timing changes and cutting some of the bad weather seasons a bit closer.

Leave early November, first week, sailing direct for the Virgin Islands. If you're going to skip most of the Caribbean, you have a bit more time and two possible routes: Bahamas and the Windward Passage, or the ICW, cut through Florida - after either sail direct to Panama, trying to transit in January. Again, arrive Marquesas end of March (Don't know if I made that clear before; end of March is end of cyclone season.) Fiji by July. Torres Strait by end of August. (These passages are timed to get the most of the trade wind strength, so hatfuls of wind, sometimes more than cruisers are really looking for but you will need the speed.) Big jumps into the Indian Ocean, with not much time in port. Depart Mauritius to Durban before the end of October. End of year one.

The last year of this cruise is identical to the previous one; basically you hurried across the South Pacific to get past the cyclone season instead of dawdling and sitting out a season.

From Durban to Cape Town is best January/February. From Cape of Good Hope you can sail direct to Brazil or head north to the Azores and on to Europe. If the latter, be sure to be back in the Canaries by November, so departing Gibraltar October.

You'll probably notice I have not mentioned a single timing for the Red Sea-Mediterranean route to Europe. At present and for the past several years that has been an unnecessarily risky route, and I cannot suggest it. But Cornell has time frames for it if you are interested in researching it.

[chris2998]

yes i have Cornell's book which I need to kinda start thinking about when to leave and all. I figured I would leave from Louisiana after hurrcane season and head straight for the Panama canal and when I make it back to the caribean I would then hit up barbaods and all as I come back to Louisiana but who knows it's really all up in the air. I have lots of planning and figuring out how to avoid all these hurricane seasons

[Manannan]

Ok may be I was a little harsh on my comment. :-\ I have been around people who took so much pride and were so arrogant because they had completed the circle in 2 years, that I started to get annoyed, especially when they asked me why haven't I completed one in 25 years of voyaging ! I have not because I got stuck several time trying to survive, make some money to be able to go on. And I do not regret because I have experienced more this way, living a few months to a few years in some foreign countries. (Not particularly langourous islands hopping....)Though, no doubt, if I had had the choice, I would have kept going and really stopped wherever I wanted and stayed where I wanted, trying to find more remote places, (I am not an island junky either...) But also I recommend caution, do not be too tight on a time schedule, it happened that I lost a boat this way.
If it has to be the experience of a life time, to my opinion it shouldn't be a race against time. On a tight budget, money can last a while, and it is always possible to keep going after a few little jobs on the way. But it is everyone choice, I do not argue there. And Chris, you will make you own choice, and you are in the right path by studying your route now and ask for some advices.

[dnice]

Ok may be I was a little harsh on my comment. :-\ I have been around people who took so much pride and were so arrogant because they had completed the circle in 2 years, that I started to get annoyed, especially when they asked me why haven't I completed one in 25 years of voyaging ! I have not because I got stuck several time trying to survive, make some money to be able to go on. And I do not regret because I have experienced more this way, living a few months to a few years in some foreign countries. (Not particularly langourous islands hopping....)Though, no doubt, if I had had the choice, I would have kept going and really stopped wherever I wanted and stayed where I wanted, trying to find more remote places, (I am not an island junky either...) But also I recommend caution, do not be too tight on a time schedule, it happened that I lost a boat this way.
If it has to be the experience of a life time, to my opinion it shouldn't be a race against time. On a tight budget, money can last a while, and it is always possible to keep going after a few little jobs on the way. But it is everyone choice, I do not argue there. And Chris, you will make you own choice, and you are in the right path by studying your route now and ask for some advices.

To me, thats exactly what I hope for as a cruiser/voyager. Every time you leave a place, you are heading into the unknown, an entirely new experience, with all the pitfalls, dangers, surprises, and spiritual, emotional, and physical benefits that come with it. Life++

25 years of voyaging is just that... I would never question why you hadn't completed a circumnavigation... maybe you should hang out with more sailfar type of folks :p

A planned circumnavigation is almost the exact opposite. Although there will be surprises and dangers and things, for the most part, you know exactly where your headed and what you will be doing when you get there. You will be fighting against time the whole way, etc.. etc.. But if you understand that, and still make it your goal, then you are the man to do it.

I think whatever anybody has planned is the right plan. Obviously the more you can budget/plan for the unexpected, the better. But I wouldn't let that stuff stop me from trying. Although, if it means saving up for an extra year to get a much fuller experience, I would recommend saving that year. If its a matter of 'years' then forget that, go now!

[Manannan]

With some luck I will have 25 more years to complete my circumnavigation, may be it will be done in 2 or 3 years, that will leave me with another 20 years to go around again and go back to the places I really liked  ;) since I have a passion for exploring on land too.

[AdriftAtSea]

And find new ones you missed the first two or three times through. :)

With some luck I will have 25 more years to complete my circumnavigation, may be it will be done in 2 or 3 years, that will leave me with another 20 years to go around again and go back to the places I really liked  ;) since I have a passion for exploring on land too.

[Amgine]

I know of a kid whose family made two slow circumnavigations before he was 12. His goal when I talked with him (at age 24) was to finish college as an engineer so he can fix things while sailing to the places his family never went. At the time he was living aboard one sailboat and restoring another, building a cruising kitty working at a boat yard, and going to college full-time.

Not bad accomplishments, or goals. Finishing a circumnavigation is for quitters, neh? ::wink::

[David_Old_Jersey]

I have only been RTW once........by Jumbo Jet  ;D

But spent a lot of time wandering around bits of the world (it's a big planet!) for extended periods over many years without a boat.

What I learnt (even though I knew beforehand) was that doing the constant travelling thing without a purpose just lost it's...er.....purpose  :P

An aim to do a specific journey in a specific time (whether RTW by boat or to Timbucktoo by Motorbike) is not an acheivement to be sniffed at and plenty of enjoyable experiances along the way and interesting people met......but at the end of the trip you have finished. and therefore need to do something else, even if that be back to work to pay for it  ;D or the next trip........which is great if that is the desire.

On the other hand ambling around the planet with maybe a vague aim for a RTW and enroute staying in places for extended periods has many plusses to recomend it - for me still plenty of enjoyable experiances to be had. but also you get a chance to develop freindships with folk - simply by being in the same place for long enough to do so (heck, I even married a local  :P).

For me it is the people that make a place / experiance and for me that takes time........but the really grrrrrrrreat thing is that folk differ on that one  8), as well as on ambitions and dreams (which we get to change as many times as we want  8))........otherwise the world would be a rather dull place  ;D