Is there a wrong direction to circumnavigate?

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Suijin

When you're crossing 2,800 some odd miles of ocean at a stretch you really want to maximize your safety factor, and that primarily comes down to the predictability of weather patterns. You should have a very good reason for choosing the harder, less predictable route. Simply wanting to visit europe first instead of last, and paying for the privilege by bucking 15,000 miles of headwinds doesn't strike me as prudent thinking.

If you really want to visit europe first, cross via the Azores, do Europe, then return via the trades and continue on your way east to west.

That's what we intend to do: leave Toronto in June, '19 and "shakedown cruise in our own currency" until October, overwinter in Halifax, haul out for a bottom job at a commercial place and then cross the Atlantic to Ireland and the UK, cruise Brittany, visit Portugal and then Madeira, Canaries and then back to, say, Trinidad and then Panama and into the Pacific. The only semi-tricky bit is crossing Biscay in a sufficiently pleasant weather window in, say, October. Meaning we could hole up for the winter in Brittany and I can think of worse places...great place to take RYA courses, too!

While pilot charts are less predictive than they used to be, you could do worse than buying these two and getting a laminated world map and some erasable ink pens.

https://cornellsailing.com/publicati...uising-routes/
https://www.admiralty.co.uk/publicat...-for-the-world

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by Adelie

They need to invest in a copy, any edition, of Cornell's WorldCruisingRoutes.

100% agree - Get a copy and study it. It is not just the sailing time but the sailing season that you must plan for.

Examples: Sailing east to Ireland via Azores is a springtime endeavor. Canaries to Caribbean is best in late December or January.

Canaries to Caribbean can be a very rough trip. It can be the roughest part of a circumnavigation. It was for me.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by TXnewbie

Might be a dumb question however our plan is start in US June 2019 after wintering in southern waters, we are heading to Azores. From there we want to spend a few years in Europe with the kids. Question is should we continue to Pacific from there or head back across Atlantic through Panama to do all the Pacific island and eventually get to New Zealand and Australia then route back to US. Can you do all those southern islands while going west to east?

What follows is written in a friendly tone of voice and with the sole intent to help you.

Your question is a legitimate one. It is also a very elementary one.
(My POV is that no question is stupid if asked sincerely with the goal to learn.)

From your question it appears you want to do a circumnavigation. Many here do.

Your question also indicates you (as would anyone) have a lot to learn about the typical wind conditions on the ocean and around the planet. Put another way, it is a question that appears to indicate you have not done much study of the route and the typical winds and reasons why sailors on sailboats generally go East to West (or "Westabout") on circumnavigations, going with the tradewinds as much as possible.

So, your question begs another question:
How much open ocean sailing have you done?

I think it would help others here help you (and help you avoid getting a bunch of snarky comments) if you honestly and clearly told the forum what experience you have sailing, and in this case specifically sailing on the ocean. Include where you did it and describe the conditions and whether you were sailing against or with the wind. I suggest posting that description here in this thread, and also adding it to your CF Profile About Me page too.

For example, you may have only sailed on lakes and bays, or very little at all on the ocean. If so, just tell the forum that. Or you may have chartered a boat in the Caribbean. If so, describe the conditions and your experience and whether it included sailing upwind against the trade winds.

Put another way, clearly state how much upwind sailing (close hauled or close reach) you have done on the open ocean, if any. For how long, and how many days, and where and in what conditions.

Telling the forum about your own sailing experience in your post will help you get answers that are tailored to fit your own experience level, not those of the people commenting.

I hope that helps.

[LoudMusic]

I imagine circumnavigating longitudinally would be pretty rough.

[Otia]

East to West in the Pacific is either far up North or down South (like the Roaring 40s, Furious 50s, and Screaming 60s...)

[Ozifrog]

I've circumnavigates twice, cruising. In my opinion there is absolutely NO doubt about it. Follow the sunset.
Get with a convoy of yachts from Seychelles to the red sea. Avoid the cyclone seasons. When the sun is north of the equator you should be south of the equator and vice versa.
Do it. It will change the rest of your life.

[Pizzazz]

If you are set on Europe first (one reason I can imagine is if the kids are the right age) then cross the Atlantic the wrong way (painful but doable), then cruise the Med back and forth, then head West and complete 1.5 turns, i.e. say starting in Greece and ending up on the US East Coast in a couple of years' time. The other option would be to sell the boat and buy another in the Med, so that you can start your journey in Europe. As someone said above Gibraltar to Panama is six weeks which is just a moment in time relative to the timeframe for circumnavigation.

The other consideration is that although a circumnavigation sounds exciting, the interesting areas in my opinion are the Med, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. The rest is just sea miles. There are many areas that you can explore more effectively by flying to the place and staying at a hotel.

Good luck.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Otia

East to West in the Pacific is either far up North or down South (like the Roaring 40s, Furious 50s, and Screaming 60s...)

I think you mean West to East..

[Anders]

Suggest you consider the European winter weather and the Schengen requirement of max 90 days in any 180 days before deciding on spending a few years cruising Europe.

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by Otia

East to West in the Pacific is either far up North or down South (like the Roaring 40s, Furious 50s, and Screaming 60s...)

Not true at all. When going west in the South Pacific you adjust you latitude to get the best trade winds. The coconut milk run is no where near the roaring 40s. The farthest south most people get is about 35 degrees when going down to New Zealand.

Look at a world map. The most popular path through the South Pacific takes you to Galapagos, French Polynesia, Cooks, Vanautu, Fijian Islands and then down to NZ.

Did you mean west to east?

[JPA Cate]

Okay TXNewbie,

Going east around can be done, we've known a few who have done it. It will require a boat that goes well to windward, and a particular mind set. If what you have in mind is a family cruise, make sure the others are on board with it. It is a more difficult undertaking than a west around circumnavigation. Also, factor in the various hemispheres' hurricane seasons. ...and, don't use ablative bottom paint, it will go away too fast.

My suggestion is that you accumulate some coastal cruising miles, and then re-visit the idea.

My own personal notion is that for a family cruise, west around is a better way.

Your other issue, spending "years" in Europe will be complicated by Schengen realities.

Ann

[Otia]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I think you mean West to East..

Yes...

[Otia]

Originally Posted by stormalong

Not true at all.
Did you mean west to east?

Yes I meant eastbound

[belizesailor]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chay_Blyth

[contrail]

I, personally, would go West, but it's worth mentioning that the Pardeys did it eastabout. It was a fifferent world, then, and so was cruising. But sailing wise, by playing the monsoons correctly, they had it pretty good until their final leg across the northern North Pacific. IIRC, it was cold, foggy, and tough. They also didn't get to the South Pacific, that time, and they had no motor. Which is part of why they are icons.