Our voyage planning

The voyage planning was one of the most exciting projects ahead of our departure. Critical to this endeavour was a book recommended by a fellow sailor. He was introduced to us in the marina soon after Sorin came back from Croatia. An Australian born sailor, he had packed up his acting job in Sydney about 10 years ago, and since then he has sailed the Seven Seas. The book – World Voyage Planner – is a must read for anyone who plans a similar endeavour. And guess what? It is written by one of the most prominent figures in today’s sailing world – Jimmy Cornell – a Romanian from Brasov, Sorin’s birth town.

When dreaming about this voyage, we wanted to beat the record for the longest circumnavigation. Surely the idea of escaping the ‘real world’ for as long as possible was tempting. Yet, when planning our voyage and its duration we had to take into account our savings. We settled on a duration of between 3 to 4 years from 2018 to 2021/2022. In spring 2021, we would either cross the Atlantic from Cape of Good Hope back to the Caribbean (via Brazil) or sail up to Europe via St Helena, Cape Verde and the Canaries. The deciding factor is going to be the financial situation at the time. Hard to assess right now as there are too many unknowns!

Figuring out where we should be and when, to stay in the safe season, was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Fun and exciting! Understanding the weather cycles, the winds and currents specific to each area was very enlightening…

And we came up with the content of ‘Our Voyage’ page of the website!

One thing that Sorin wanted to get across to me (a determined and stubborn creature!) was that we should allow some flexibility in our planning. After all, enjoyment whilst staying safe is our main priority. I agreed with him. We will make sure to always have a plan B.

At the time of publishing this blog we will have left Limehouse Marina (where we had been living aboard for more than 3 years) for 1 day.

Saying goodbye to beautiful London – our home for over 10 years

We are sailing north on the East Coast of England to Ipswich (where Mehalah was built many years ago!) to do the antifouling. Weather permitting, 1st of June 2018 will be ‘the D day’. On 1st of June Eastern Europeans celebrate the Childrens’ Day; and after all, this voyage is the result of the two of us allowing ourselves to dream… an ability that adults sadly (but understandably!) tend to lose…

We will sail down the East Coast of Englnd, and then along the South Coast to Falmouth. From Falmouth we will be setting off across the Bay of Biscay to Northern Spain. We would like to spend some time around the Cies Islands, before setting off to Gibraltar, the Canaries and finally Cape Verde. Late November we will cross ‘the pond’ to Lesser Antilles. We will then cruise to Martinique, Guadeloupe and St. Martin before sailing to the ABC Islands on the way to Panama for a crossing in February 2019.

From the readings done it seems that the vast South Pacific has most to offer. And so, we are both very much looking forward to crossing the Panama Canal and follow the ‘Coconut Milk Run’ to Fiji via Galapagos, Marquises and Tahiti. From Fiji, around October 2019, we will be heading South (to avoid the cyclone season) to New Zealand and then, Australia.

After spending a few weeks around the North Coast of New Zealand we will sail north east to arrive in Sydney in time for the decade renewal! The fireworks viewed from the Sidney harbour is a vista not to be missed!

We will be resuming our round the world trip in spring 2020.

After a couple of months in the new decade we will be sailing north to Brisbane. And from there to New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea to cross the Torres Strait in August 2021. After a stop in Darwin we will be heading north east to Bali. From Bali we will cross the Indian Ocean via Cocos Islands, Mauritius, and Reunion to reach Durban in November 2021. From there we will be looking to head to Cape Town. Good planning, with an eye on the weather forecast is most critical when going across the Cape of Good Hope. The Agulhas Current running south parallel to the West side of the African continent hit by southerly gales can create significant size waves.

Once in Cape Town, we will decide whether we will cross the Atlantic via St Helena or if from St Helena we will return to Europe via Cape Verde and the Canaries. Missing the opportunity to go back to the Caribbean (ideally through Brazil) and from there north to the Bahamas and crossing the Atlantic east via Bermuda and the Azores (to complete our round the world in Cies Arhipelago) would be a shame… But the decision will be made closer to the time.

Regardless of the route taken and the delights and challenges along the way, this is a journey of a lifetime and a dream come true!

13 thoughts on “Our voyage planning”

    1. Hi Ruth, Tom and Billy! Welcome back and hope you had a great time. We had an impressive send off from the marina. We are hoping to get hold of a video and share:) Shame you were not there, but hopefully you will come to see us somewhere, before we cross the Bay of Biscay to Spain.

  1. I hope it’s not raining hard in Ipswich! A lot less exotic than the upcoming coconut milk run 🙂 Lots of love we miss you already!!!

    1. My lovely, so very nice to hear from you! I am in Romania for a couple of days for my father’s Bay – back today in Ipswich. Sorin was saying that it rained heavily yesterday…I miss you too and it is such a pleasure indeed to hear from you! Much love, stay happy and healthy!

      1. Of course I am following the blog and tracking you both on your little map to make sure you are still happy and safe!! ?

  2. Great plan, Guys, wish you all the best along the way! You’ve had quite a journey so far already and what an adventure lies still ahead of you! Keep us posted. 🙂

  3. Ideea de CIRCUMTERRA a fost intr-o vreme „noul Everest” (asa cum azi e „pasajul de nord-vest”), si nici azi actiunea nu e demodata: sunt mult mai multi oameni care au urcat Everestul decat cei care au facut Circumterra.
    Ideea a „prins” si in Romania. Prima tentativa pe care o stiu a fost a yachtului Dris care a ridicat ancora in 1939 (daca nu gresesc), ajungand pana in Malta. Echipajul lui era format din doi marinari militari, Drimba si Isbasescu (de unde numele Dris) care odata cu izbucnirea conflagratiei mondiale au fost chemati acasa, sub arme.
    Razboiul cu toate nenorocirile lui a decimat flota de yachturi a Romaniei. Simtind ca vor pierde ambarcatiile prin rechizitionare, proprietarii le-au vandut pe cele mai multe familiilor de evrei care au fugit cu ele din calea holocaustului… si duse au fost. Apoi regimul comunist a descurajat construirea de yachturi si cu atat mai mult plecarile. In anii 80 s-a creeat o bresa de catre Radu Theodoru care a facut cateva calatorii pana in Egeea cu yachtul sau Hai-Hui 2, celebru datorita cartilor scrise (Cu Hai-Hui 2 spre sud, Din nou spre sud, Croaziera contra cronometru, In lupta cu valurile). In jurul lui s-au adunat o mana de entuziasti ce visau la o Circumterra romaneasca. Hai-Hui 2 era un yacht de doar 7m, deci prea mic, asa ca au construit altul, Decebal 1 si apoi Decebal 2, amandoua din otel, amandoua cu un destin trist. Decebal 1 cu un echipaj in care se gasea un sabotor nu a ajuns decat pana in Pireu, Decebal 2 greoi ca un bolovan datorita supradimensionarii a ajuns cu greu pana in Madeira unde echipajul a renuntat. Tulburatoarea poveste a lui Decebal 1 a fost publicata de Puiu Olteanu in cartea „Dincolo de orizont”, iar cea a calatoriei lui Decebal 2 de Radu Theodoru in volumul „Decebal-Circumterra, o tentativa refuzata”.
    Prima reusita a unei Circumterra romaneasca este atribuita lui Marius Albu care a plecat din Constanta in 1994 cu yachtul Phoenix si a inconjurat globul intrei ani, dar povestea lui e pusa la indoiala de unii sub pretext ca unele date tehnice ale calatoriei nu sunt credibile, dar din cartea lui Mircea Bradu, Între valuri și nori aflam ca Romulus Roman a facut calatoria in jurul lumii in 1991, plecand si reintorcandu-se dupa cativa ani in Australia, unde traieste si acum.
    Momentan Sorin Drugan este plecat solitar in Circumterra, la bordul velierului Ajax. Pana acum s-a descurcat bine (a traversat Atlanticul si Pacificul) si speram sa incheie cercul cu bine. Cam atat cunosc eu despre tentativele romanesti de circumterra.

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