Live The Dream

Jimmy Cornell on what Can really make or break a Cruising voyage.

- Jimmy Cornell

It is not always easy to define success or failure when it comes to voyaging – sailing in particular. Failure to arrive at a specific destination, for example, can happen for completely unforeseeable reasons, yet the resulting detour might end up, years down the line, being one of the most cherished memories of the entire trip.

However, from the cases of unhappy or abandoned voyages that have come to my knowledge over the years, the most common causes contributing to overall success or failure are as follows: the boat itself; the crew; access to funds; self-sufficiency; and, finally, attitude to cruising and life at sea.

As these are such important matters for anyone planning a long sailing trip, I conducted a wide-ranging survey among a large sample of long-distance sailors. The results were first published in my book World Voyage Planner, and my initial findings have been updated from observations made in the intervening years among participants in a series of transatlantic rallies.

Deciding what kind of boat to acquire for a long voyage is often more difficult than deciding to do the voyage itself, especially when there is such a bewildering range of boats available. There is no doubt that the choice of boat can seriously affect the quality and enjoyment of a long sailing trip, and a wrong choice may even lead to the adventure being abandoned.