# What does it take to sail around the world?



## baten (Jul 17, 2010)

Hello everyone!

My name is Fredrik, I'm 20 years old and live in Sweden. I have a dream - to sail around the world within ten years. Now I'm looking in to what is separating me from doing this.

My current experience: I've been sailing a small boat of 5.5 meters, called C55, for a couple of years in the Balitc sea up to wind strengths to about 12 m/s. Before that I took a sailing class aboard a 24 ft boat called J24. Besides this I've done some calm in-shore sailing on a friends 32 ft boat. 

Now to my questions:
How much more sailing experience would be necessary?
What kind of a boat would you advise? 
How big a crew would I need?
How long would it take?

I would really appreciate your answers.

/Fredrik


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## killarney_sailor (May 4, 2006)

*Some answers*



baten said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> Now to my questions:
> How much more sailing experience would be necessary?
> ...


I would suggest that you would need to have a lot more experience but developing the experience can happen a step at a time. Try to find crewing opportunities for longer trips to make sure that you enjoy it - long passages are different from shorter cruises and day sails.

Very hard to say what kind of boat you need without knowing more about you. For example, what sort of budget is there? How willing are you to put up with physical discomfort (a 15m boat is much more comfortable than an 8 m generally).

Crew size is somewhat dependent on the size of boat and your personality. Lots of people have sailed around the world by themselves on boats ranging from less than 7 m to very large craft. With two people you need to have a larger boat to carry more stuff and have more space. Last winter we saw two young Norwegian guys in the eastern Caribbean on a Vega 27 (not a large boat and they were both big guys) and they seemed to be having a great time.

As to time, it depends very much on your purpose in going - is to say that you have sailed around the world or to see something of the world. We are choosing the latter approach and have definite schedule in mind beyond a rough itinerary for the first year that will get us to New Zealand and out of the tropical cyclone belt for Nov/Apr 2011/2. Often times people start what they think will be a two- year circumnavigation and they are still doing it 10 year later because they find places they want to stay for a year or more. We met one couple who had recently completed their 18 year circumnavigation - they ended up in the Mediterranean for seven years for example.

What you want to do is feasible, keep doing your research and save your money.


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## puddinlegs (Jul 5, 2006)

Time. How much time do you need to budget for a boat? Which leads to money... how will you fund your trip and boat? The trick is to have a vocation or access to funds that allows you to make sufficient money (this is relative.. for some it's a lot, for others, a little) while having time to do some sailing to build hours and experience both on the water, and learning how to maintain boats and their systems. Jump on local race crews, volunteer for deliveries, etc... while you begin looking for your boat all the while keeping your eyes peeled and asking a lot of questions about what kind of boat will fit your goal and budget. Read a lot as well. Be aware of the date of publication as a great deal, but not all, standard' wisdom has changed over the years. If you're English is good, Robert Perry's "Yacht Design According to Perry" is a very readable primer on yacht design. I'm sure Sweden has some excellent books, sailing web forums, and general info available as well.

Here are a couple of interesting English language cruising discussion boards for you as well:

SSCA Discussion Board • Index page

Sailing Anarchy Forums -> Cruising Anarchy


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## wwilson (Jul 7, 2000)

Fredrik,

Here is a link that you might enjoy as a Swede. It won't answer your questions, but may whet your appetite.

s/v Yahgan's Web Site
English version

Be sure to click at:
12 filmer från Yaghans segling har visats i Dagens Industris TV kanal DI TV. Klicka här om du vill se filmerna. Filmerna har text på 50 valfria språk.
for some very nice You-Tube videos of the cruise.


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## ffiill (Jul 15, 2010)

*never too young*

When I was sixteen back in 1968 my ambition was The Single Handed Transatlantic Yacht Race-never did it but could and should. At 57 years old I have the boat but not the time.
Alard Coles who wrote the book heavy weather sailing was sailing with fishermen when 18 just after world war one-at 22years old he experienced his first storm when crossing the north sea from the baltic in a 28 footer.
I have always mainly sailed single handed currently with a 34 footer .
Never forget that Nelson went to sea when he was about 10 as did Cook.
Recently sat next to a 20 something year old on a long haul flight to New Zealand-he didnt own his own boat but had worked his way up to Ocean Yachtmaster qualifications through crewing for others and is now skippering long haul deliveries and writing artices for the yachting press,. He was being paid to go to NZ to have a go on and write up about some America Cup Ocean Racers.


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## msl (Jul 4, 2001)

This one might be going soon.
Dutch teenage sailor gets green light from mother - World news - Europe - msnbc.com


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## seabreeze_97 (Apr 30, 2006)

Check out atomvoyages.com 
Tons of info pertaining to your questions.


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

Considering how many seem to be going around the globe right now, with out a lot of experience, I would say it takes some cash, or a backer, along with lots of desire, and the ability to go for it, and keep going when things are down and out. Otherwise, a lot can be learned as you go, but some sailing experience help, and it seems like you have that. So many times, it is more of a plan on how to deal with issues, ie storms. No way to learn how to deal with high winds etc, than to go out in them, and how many times to you get a chance to sail in BFS conditions! 

So with that, go for it!


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## Heinous (Mar 25, 2009)

Accidental double post


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## Heinous (Mar 25, 2009)

How fast is 12 m/s..? 

Haha, I can't wait to go and do it myself. I would definitely get more offshore experience, and practice with having to make repairs at sea. Go for it!


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## baten (Jul 17, 2010)

Heinous said:


> How fast is 12 m/s..?
> 
> Haha, I can't wait to go and do it myself. I would definitely get more offshore experience, and practice with having to make repairs at sea. Go for it!


Sorry, 12 m/s is 23.3 knots. What I meant to say is that I don't freak out as soon as I leave my comfort zone. Usually it's about 15 knots and waves being about a meter high and when it blew 23 knots they were more like three, since waves from two directions meet (resulting in constructive interference) where I sail this 18 ft boat.

What do you mean by "volunteer for deliveries", puddinlegs?

So I guess that I can wait thinking about what boat and how big sail crew and focus on gaining experience and saving money.

Thank you everyone! I'll go about checking out those links you poster right away. You have been most helpful and I really appreciate your nothing is impossible attitude! In Sweden there is way to little of that mentality.


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## puddinlegs (Jul 5, 2006)

baten said:


> What do you mean by "volunteer for deliveries", puddinlegs?


Both cruising and race boats need to be moved from one place to the other. Often the owner or skipper might need help. That's where you say, "sure!" Sometimes it's as simple as moving a boat from one mooring to another, through locks or the like, or help a skipper move the boat to refuel. Then it might be a late summer delivery from one cruising area back home, or from north to south as the fall season closes in... stuff like that.


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## Boasun (Feb 10, 2007)

Actually the hidden but very necessary skills are Seamanship to the level of a ships bo'sun and engineering.
Note: Jessica Watson on her sea trials was dismasted. She was able to get the mast back on board and head for home. Plus when her fuel pump went out she was able to subsitute a water pump. 
Abby Sunderland lost her mast and called for help. Never recovered the mast.
Now which Girl would want to sail with you?

It is more than knowing how to set the sails in various winds. Also knowing how to navigate without a GPS is still a prime skill necessary to cross oceans. I've had GPS give up the ghost on me twice... But then my Navigation skills are from the Pre-GPS era. _(Don't need the GPS but it is nice to have.)_


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## Heinous (Mar 25, 2009)

Boasun said:


> Now which Girl would want to sail with you?


I can replace a pump myself, which one is better looking?


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## puddinlegs (Jul 5, 2006)

...ah, 16 will get you 20 as they say.


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## seabreeze_97 (Apr 30, 2006)

Quite a few very experienced sailors bailed from their stricken boats in the Fastnet '79 race, dismasted or not, so I'm not sure comparing the two girls in such a way carries much weight.


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## Anaconda (Jun 17, 2010)

Boasun said:


> Actually the hidden but very necessary skills are Seamanship to the level of a ships bo'sun and engineering.
> Note: Jessica Watson on her sea trials was dismasted. She was able to get the mast back on board and head for home. Plus when her fuel pump went out she was able to subsitute a water pump.
> Abby Sunderland lost her mast and called for help. Never recovered the mast.
> Now which Girl would want to sail with you?
> ...


Interesting take on history. As I read it Jessica Watson "T" boned a bulk carrier in calm conditions while asleep when she should have been on watch. Telephoned daddy for advice on what to do as the very first emergency response measure. Was not actually dismasted, but hooked her rig up with the bulk carrier and had the section above the spreaders fold over. She just motored home with the rig as it fell with a few messy loops of rope around the sails to stop them from flapping. I myself would choose neither to have on board in a crisis. Both may have learned from their experiences but without huge doses of luck neither would be around to tell the tale.


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## SimonV (Jul 6, 2006)

When My Kids Hit A Parked Car They Called Me


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## Anaconda (Jun 17, 2010)

SimonV said:


> When My Kids Hit A Parked Car They Called Me


Then I guess that it is your call whether they are ready to sail around the world or not.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

I'd like to add that besides all the stuff about being a fully qualified rocket scientist, one thing that a circumnavigation also needs is a vast amount of committment.

The reason I say that is because there is really only one logical route to follow if you're inexperienced and not a fool. That is the recognised cruising route from east to west.

If you are going to do this, there are a number of watersheds that, once you go beyond them, coming back is not an option. Places like the Canaries/Azores, Panama and Indonesia, to name just three. Once you pass these points from east to west, you're committed to a trip that takes weeks and sometimes months and you don't get to change your mind and turn back. Turning back means that you'll be sailing against the trades and the currents and only dumb people do that. And if something goes wrong with you or your equipment, you're in a life threatening situation because you have to keep going.

And of course stopping the voyage at any one of these points means that you're likely to go home without your boat. Are you ready to do that?


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## SimonV (Jul 6, 2006)

Flybyknight said:


> 0.389 knots


Not quite, 12 (meters / second) = 23.3261339 knots


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