Steve Pereira

When you go to sea in a small boat, you gain freedom and control over your life. In return, you lose control over the forces of nature. Commit to a lifestyle rather than a time restrained journey. That commitment will change your life. (if you survive it.)
Final point. Mortality I kept a journal of all the people I knew along the way who lost their boats, disappeared at sea or died. Learn from other’s mistakes if you can. Or motto was “Err on the side of safety.” And we were lucky. You can't predict that rogue wave that tears through you sails at night and flattens yours stanchions, or falling overboard the one time you don’t don a harness in rough conditions. It is life and death out there and your life depends on your good decision making and your partner’s.
Steve, please know that despite all of this this, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Good luck and safe sailing.
Bonnie McGee

3. Politics and health. You’ll get info from other boaters about great places to visit and places to avoid. An outbreak of cerebral malaria kept us from visiting the Solomons. Indonesian authorities were confiscating boats even with proper visas. You are at the mercy of whomever is in charge at the moment. You can’t afford to dismiss politics and rumors.
4. Gear repairs. Things will break and repairs will delay you.A sail torn by a gail off Port Elizabeth, a prop shaft cracked while leaving Darwin. Buy the best designed and built boat you can. Integrity in manufacturing is essential.Many boat builders cut corners.You need the best quality stainless in your winches, a sea kindly design, and a strongly laid up hull. I had complete faith in our boat and in bad conditions, that meant everything.

2. Your intentions Why are you embarking on this trip? We wanted to see places only accessible by boat. We wanted our own adventures. We avoided cities except Panama, Durbin and Capetown. Quality time ashore was really important to us. We wanted to indulge in other cultures rather than be tourists. Examine you and your partner’s goals.
3. Comraderie Life at sea is lonely. When younpull into Coco Keeling after ten rough days at sea, you’ll head for whatever masts you can see. You’ll want to swap stories and info. You’ll want to enjoy someone else’s ice maker. You’ll quickly make deep friendships and it will be hard to pull up and leave. Time will no longer be a stolen luxury. You will luxuriate in it. You only need to figure out how to spend it wisely.

Dear Steve, (I will post my comments in three posts)
I circumnavigated from ‘84-88 in a 33ft. Allied Luders. Yes, that was a couple lifetimes ago. Our route was similar to your proposed, except that due to political upheavals near Suez, we opted to round South Africa. Our trip took 41/2 years. We had planned on anywhere from 2-5 years.
What are the variables?
1. weather
Most sailors wait out the cyclone season somewhere relatively safe. We spent our first season on Bora Bora, (9 months in Fr. Poly total, up the river in Bundaberg, and in Gove. We experienced two cyclones three weeks apart in the harbor at Gove, despite that plan. So those holdovers add to your time. Plan to be someplace interesting. We bought an old car in Bundaburg and had camping equipment with us, so we visited a lot of parks as we cruised up the coast. We’s sail, then my husband would take a bus to retrieve the car, bring it to where we were and we’d go exploring. That can work in any part of the world.