A great man for the "small boat long distances" philosophy is Fred Bickum. Check out his singlehanded circumnavigation on his Cape Dory 28, Fenix
http://www.sbastro.com/FeNIX/mainFrameSet.htm (http://www.sbastro.com/FeNIX/mainFrameSet.htm)
great site, Thank you!
Thanks that was pretty cool to see where this guy went
Be sure to check out the mods he made to Fenix. Pretty amassing.