FULL CIRCLE

DO YOU DREAM OF SAILING AROUND THE WORLD? A CIRCUMNAVIGATION CAN MEAN DIFFERENT THINGS FOR DIFFERENT CRUISERS: JANNEKE KUYSTERS GUIDES YOU THROUGH YOUR ULTIMATE ROUTE PLANNING

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One of the biggest gifts you can give yourself is time. Time to do the things you love, time to set off on a world voyage on your own yacht. But where do you even start to plan a circumnavigation? There are many variables to consider - not least how much time you actually have. In the end, every world voyage is a tailor-made unique cruising experience. But, to help you get started, there are roughly four basic itineraries or approaches. Here we guide you through them.

KEY QUESTIONS

The first step is the best of all. Grab a world map and start marking all your dream destinations that you NEED to go to. Next, mark all your ‘nice to go’ choices.

Then, before you start to connect the dots to build your itinerary, look at some of the practicalities. First of all: climate, seasons and weather conditions. How does your dream itinerary fit into the world’s wind patterns and ocean currents?

Second: your yacht. Is she ready to go for long distance cruising, with just the regular maintenance jobs to do underway? Or do you still have to make some big upgrades or major maintenance after you've cast off, so you need to stop over at places where you can get parts and help.

The third consideration is the available time you have: in two years, you can do a fast circumnavigation, but upwards of three years makes for more leisurely cruising and lots of exploring. And how big a deal is it for you to cross your wake, or is visiting only the dream destinations a better idea?