Planning eastbound circumnavigation

[SailingAirplane]

Hi guys,
I am just starting to plan an eastbound navigation and since i am planning to make it a life style, have all the time in the world. It will be at least 2 years before i depart from the netherlands and was wondering if anyone has any tips for planning an eastbound navigation on a small vessel (27ft) and potentially short-handed.
Thanks a bunch in advance

[JPA Cate]

Hello, Sailing Airplane,

Your profile doesn't tell us anything about your sailing experience so far, so it is really difficult to respond meaningfully to your request for planning tips without knowing where you're starting from. Do you want to cruise, or is the circumnavigation the thing you're after? What kind of a 27 footer do you have? We have a woman friend, a singlehander, whose boat is called Nehaj, it is a pretty bullet proof aluminum cutter, built by Kloopmans.

East about is the hard way, it is mostly upwind. You'll have to plan around avoiding hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones, and winter storms, as well. Until the South Pacific Islands open up from Covid, there will be some very long patches.

We met two people who were going east about. One was a man who'd escaped East Germany over the Berlin Wall. He had a small sailboat, too, and we met him in the Marquesas Is. (~ 7 N. and 139 W.), so he had come a long way by then. He struck me as being very, very tough. The others were a couple on a big boat, and he complained bitterly that his ablative paint had worn off before he was halfway to his expected haul out.

All for now,

Ann

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, SailingAirplane.

[Orion Jim]

If you intend to circumnavigate via the great capes then eastabout makes perfect sense. You can always use the trades to your advantage if you choose to linger and explore in more temperate seas. The doldrums will be a challenge of course but you have “all the time in the world”.