How to Plan a Circumnavigation?

[Lagoon4us]

We have two 20' shipping containers back in Australia that contain our past life (possessions wise) the rest is on board and that's not much......

[Greenhand]

Originally Posted by Lagoon4us

We have two 20' shipping containers back in Australia that contain our past life (possessions wise) the rest is on board and that's not much......

I am pretty sure everything we own, plus one of the cars, would fit in one 20' container, so it is all a matter of perspective.

[ArtM]

Originally Posted by Greenhand

I am pretty sure everything we own, plus one of the cars, would fit in one 20' container, so it is all a matter of perspective.

Unless you're very sure you will be coming back for these things very soon (like in 2 years), I recommend you skip the storage.

The cost of the storage to prevent degradation is fairly high - especially for goods that you probably will not be returning for.

Will you really want to return to your old furniture, kitchen goods, appliances, car?

Or are you more likely going to return to a different kind of life, reflecting a different set of priorities and interests than you had when you were creating your current collection (perhaps while you were raising children or building a career)?

Vehicles degrade over time and lose value due to obsolescence. Without routine care, you will come back to a car with dried out fabrics, weakened seals, and probably a storage bill that will exceed the cost of simply selling it now, and purchasing a replacement later.

[Lagoon4us]

We still have family and visit a few times a year, storage costs us nothing as we own the containers and they reside on a friends property, we have 30 years of life in the containers and they represent the important bits.

Different situations = different solutions i guess.

[AiniA]

Not sure when you plan to get your boat but the more you know about its systems the better. Also consider what diagnostic and repair skills you need to develop or expand. Decide what tools you need and don't need. Start collecting the spare parts you might need (both specific things like impellers, zincs, and a hundred other things, but also useful 'stuff' to have onboard to do general fixes. Plan stowage. Do trial voyages to test the boat and yourselves. The time will pass quickly.

[DenverSailors]

Just curious...it's five years since your first post...what happened?

[tmoandj]

Hi, wow- five years! Well, we moved out to the boat last autumn. We spent the winter working on the boat and learning all of the systems but we spent very little time actually moving. This summer we got to some actual travelling and spent 75 days cruising around desolation sound area before heading home to help with harvest. This winter we are planning to do some sailing around the gulf islands. We didn't get a lot of wing this summer and don't feel all that confident in our sailing skills so we're hoping for some wind this winter!
We ended up buying a semi-trailer unit to store all of our stuff in and left it at the family farm. The jury is still out on whether that is worthwhile but the trailer cost $2k with no ongoing cost so whatever.
Overall, the adventure so far has been worth any and all sacrifices, there have been irreplacable experiences and time spent with family!