Escape to the Sea?

[NorthPaul]

How realistic is it to be able to liveaboard for years on end without being mainly tied up in a marina?

I'm thinking more along the lines of continuous cruising, even if that means spending periods at an anchorage or even drifting in the middle of an ocean/sea, inbetween the inevitable trips to shore for provisions and maintenance.

Is it feasible to be able to avoid the bad weather (through careful route planning and maybe choosing a suitable starting point) to make it enjoyable/safe to stay out for so long, or will it be inevitable at some point to need to seek shelter in a harbour/marina for more than a few days/weeks?

I suppose the obvious solution for a long cruise is circumnavigation, but I imagine that requires years of experience in bad/really bad conditions to be able to pull it off as there isn't a route that ensures mostly good weather?

[Cheechako]

It's very doable....if "at sea" means also at anchor.... you dont have to circumnavigate. Head toward the equator for hurricane season and head north in the off season.

[s/v Moondancer]

We only go into marinas when we have a pressing need, we are having some elecronics fitted at the moment, otherwise we don't spend a day a month in a marina; we have just spent 3 weeks 'on the hook' in Grenada.

Bad weather is hard to avoid totally but we have seen no more than 30-35 knots for the last 8 months between Charleston SC and Trinidad.