Changing your life... An aim for more and more of our contemporaries, tired of having to chase time and not seeing their children grow up. The aim: To live, to sail, with no other constraints than those we fix ourselves. To discover the world, have some nice encounters and above all, enjoy life, quite simply.
But nowadays sailing round the world is not reserved for millionaires or experienced sailors.
The crossings (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian...) will remain etched in your memory. Under spinnaker (or gennaker), downwind, all you have to do is enjoy them!
The Atlantic
However let’s be clear: sailing round the world is a real adventure. It is no longer a question of a bit of eyeball navigation between the islands, but one of completing a full circuit of the earth. You don’t leave for a voyage like this without being well prepared. The skipper and his or her crew must bear in mind what awaits them: A minimum of three years – but five years is ideal for enjoying it to the full and taking the time to discover the wonders which surround us, at your own rhythm. On a round the world voyage, there are stopovers in some wonderful islands, but also crossings of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, before returning via the dreaded Cape of Good Hope. A real high seas itinerary, which requires you to have a boat in top condition and perfectly maintained. In return for which, a round the world trip is perfectly feasible. The only obligation is to be in the right places at the right periods.
We start with the Atlantic, often the first big crossing the crew will have to face. Leaving from Europe, and before tackling the actual Atlantic crossing between the Canaries and the West Indies, you will have to cross the Bay of Biscay. To avoid very bad weather, it is best to leave between May and the end of August. If you are leaving from the Mediterranean, you will have to cross the Golfe du Lion at the right moment. Between May and October ideally, by keeping an eye on the weather, you will be able to cross it safely and head for Gibraltar, then the Canaries. Once in the Canaries, you will have to wait for the official end of the hurricane season (November) before you set off. But over these last few years, we have seen some very violent phenomena at the end of November, and even in December. To avoid any unpleasant surprises, it’s best to leave at the beginning of December, to arrive in the West Indies for Christmas. What better gift could you offer your crew? As we have seen in the previous pages, the West Indies can easily delay you for several years. Here you can sail from Grenada to the Bahamas, following a string of wonderful islands. And what can we say about the coast of Central America? Mexico, Belize, Venezuela, San Blas, Guyana... There is something to suit all tastes, and once again more than enough to spend a lifetime there. It will take you at least one or two years to get to know this cruising paradise well. And while cruising in the West Indies, we remain ‘close to home’. It is easy to get back to Europe or the USA by air, or in a few weeks’ non-stop sailing. In the right season, it only takes about twenty days to cross the Atlantic, and you can return home almost easily... But once you have decided to go through the Panama Canal, the return trip passes almost inevitably via the Pacific, the Indian, South Africa and then back up the Atlantic. You should therefore only go through this ‘door’ judiciously!
During the crossings, one of the preoccupations is cooking…
The Pacific
After having got to know the West Indies, if you really want to sail round the world, you will have to think about heading towards the Pacific. The obligatory passage is then the Panama Canal, as the route via Cape Horn is neither reasonable nor pleasant... To reach Panama from the West Indian islands, it is best to avoid the period when the trade winds are at their strongest, from January to April. You will therefore pass either before, in November or December, or after, from April onwards. This is the ideal, as it will allow you to arrive at the right time to cross the Pacific. And the Pacific is a major part of your round the world voyage. If you look at a map of the world, this ocean alone represents almost half the surface of the planet... From Panama, you are bound to want to go and see the Galapagos, situated 900 miles from the Canal. Not easy, with unfavorable winds and stressful flat calms. But things are better between January and June. Next, set a course for Polynesia, for the longest crossing of your round the world voyage. No less than 2,900 miles between the Galapagos and the Marquesas, but downwind, and with a favorable current: It’s often the most intense memory of the whole voyage! Marquesas, Tuamotus, Society Islands – you will be able to enjoy these mythical islands to the full, and understand why they always have us dreaming. The authorities allow you to remain in French Polynesia for eighteen consecutive months, with no restrictions on nationality. Beware, it is advisable to get information before you leave, as once you have reached the end of this period, your only choices are to leave, or ‘Papeetise’ the boat. As ‘Papeetising’ consists of paying a tax of 18% of the boat’s value (+10% if you are not a European resident), it is best to be well organized. After this year in Polynesia, you will therefore have to leave! But fortunately, the voyage is far from over. You are actually only half way across the Pacific... the Cook Islands, Suvarov (the island where the hermit Tom Neale lived for nearly fifteen years, and on which Bernard Moitessier tried to grow fruit trees), Palmerston, then finally Tonga open up to you. Here you will spend an important moment on your voyage, when you cross the International Date Line. One day it’s Saturday, the next it’s Monday! No Sunday for you this year, and at the end of your voyage, you will therefore have lived one day less than those who stayed ashore. One day less, but lots of memories!
The voyage continues, still in the Pacific, with the Fiji Islands. Here we enter Melanesia, and both the culture and the inhabitants are completely different from those in Polynesia. New atmospheres and different encounters, on a trip which now resembles a voyage in time.
It is now mid-November, and time to shelter from the hurricanes. So you will head for New Zealand, to then sail up towards New Caledonia or Vanuatu. When you then arrive in Australia, don’t forget to eat everything aboard, as the local customs officials have a habit of destroying all fresh food arriving by sea.
Australia is not an island-continent for nothing, and here again, you can spend a long time enjoying both the interior and the incredible coral reef and its tens of thousands of anchorages.
Once you have passed Panama, the return trip is almost inevitably via South Africa. The voyage really begins!
The Indian
You are now at the door to the Indian Ocean. Here, hurricanes wreak havoc from November to April. To cross this ocean, which can be at least as formidable as the Pacific, there are two major options: the northerly route, which brings you back to Europe via the Red Sea, and the southerly route, which takes you round the African continent via the Cape of Good Hope. The pirates who are wreaking havoc off Somalia have, for the moment, closed the door to the Red Sea, and since 2010 it has been impossible and dangerous to return via Suez. You will therefore have to head south, which means you won’t be able to visit almost all of south-east Asia. A shame! On the way to the southernmost tip of Africa, you will nevertheless be able to stop in some magic places, such as Mauritius, then Madagascar. ‘Mada’ deserves at least two or three months, if you have the time, as you are unlikely to return there by boat, and the area is fantastic! From there, you head for Africa. This is the least pleasant part of the voyage, with the possibility of bad weather and big seas. The Pilot Charts show clearly: you will have the best chance of encountering moderate, favorable winds in the southern spring, between October and November. There is no point in taking risks, so you must try to pass at this time, bearing in mind that the local weather forecasts are only reliable over about twelve hours... Once in Africa, your only choice is to sail in small hops, from protected bay to sheltered anchorage, until you can finally round the Cape of Good Hope.
Rounding this headland is a big moment, as it’s not every day that you sail (in the opposite direction) in the tracks of the famous record-hunting sailors. Speaking of records, we bet that you will beat your own here, by reaching 34°S...
After the relief at rounding the Cape, all that remains is to sail back up the South Atlantic via St Helena and its famous anticyclone, which could cause you some delays. We continue towards Brazil. The easiest route (but not the shortest) then consists of heading towards the West Indies, pushed along by the wind and current. A final Atlantic crossing, and that’s it, you have circumnavigated the globe and you are certain: the earth really is round!
Polynesia’s dream anchorages open up to you after sailing half way round the world. But the voyage has only just begun!
Return via the east or the south…
If you don’t want to pass via Africa, two other solutions exist: the Horn, or Hawaii...
To date, just one of our readers has returned via the Horn (see Multihulls World n° 121). Aboard Mowgli, a Banana 43, Philippe left New Zealand singlehanded, to reach Ushuaia, via Cape Horn... A nice sail, but a bit 'sporty' however!
The other solution consists of sailing up towards Hawaii, then heading towards the United States. This is valid if you are leaving from Tahiti, but more complicated if you are already in Australia... Once in Hawaii, most candidates for this route wait until the end of June to reach the north of the USA. They sail round the north of the anticyclone present in the Pacific at this time, thus taking advantage of favorable winds throughout the 2,400 miles (by the direct route) from Honolulu to Seattle.
The cruising is then magical, along the coasts of California, then Mexico, before going back through the Canal and finding yourself in the Atlantic again.
And one day, you have to choose your return route…
The Weather
We don’t take chances with the weather at sea, and even less so when it is a question of crossing oceans such as the Atlantic, the Pacific or the Indian...
We therefore cross the Atlantic from the end of November onwards, and not before, to avoid meeting hurricanes.
We tackle the Pacific from the end of April onwards, and take advantage of the Humboldt Current, which is a real conveyor belt, taking you directly to the Marquesas...
The Indian is an ocean which can be difficult: The right period to go from Australia towards the Cape of Good Hope is from May to October.
We pass the Cape in November and sail peacefully to the West Indies, before crossing the Atlantic again via the north, from May-June onwards. And that’s it; you’ve sailed round the world. Ideally, reckon on between 3 and 5 years to enjoy it to the full. Bon voyage!
These days, the return trip to the Atlantic really has to be made via South Africa…
Is it possible to sail round the world in a year?
A boat which is fast enough, seaworthy and well prepared, sailed by an experienced crew, can well imagine sailing round the world in a year. Leaving in spring, in April, allows you to avoid the risks of winter depressions, and to head for the West Indies before the arrival of the hurricanes. The Panama Canal is passed in May, and you arrive in Polynesia in June. You then have to cross the second part of the Pacific before September, and reach Durban in South Africa before December. You then round the Cape of Good Hope in January, and head for the West Indies, or directly to the Azores, to arrive in Europe in May, after the winter gales. You will then have sailed 27,000 miles in 13 months. Not bad!
