what did one snowman say to the other snowman?

the galapagos were amazing & noteworthy, but a little barren, & the people were really friendly.

The marquesas were amazing, very lush, very stereo typical -what you think of in old movies & amazingly clean.

The tuamotus were very eery - you sailed up on them & couldn't spot them from more than about 5 miles away - like floating rafts w/ palm trees, but the diving was 2nd to none.

Tahiti, nice, but overrun w/ french people & outragously expensive.

Tonga, amazing - very laid back & friendly, seen by few.

Fiji - very pretty, inexpensive & friendly people.

For those of u thinking that the south pacific is full of beautiful, young local women - it is not.

Australia - if there was 1 stop i wouldn't make -this is it - sorry Bond, but u can have it. The next person to say "sorry mate, but i can't help ya" is going to get punched.

Mauritius & Rodriguez - most amazing stop - in the middle of the indian ocean, beautiful, unspoiled, inexpensive, very friendly locals & visited by few tourists.

South Africa - amazing on so many levels.

If you are looking for a truly unique experience i would recommend Mauritius & Rodriguez or the Marquesas.

damn it you stole my line.

what would pirates do if they caught u?

How do you outrun pirates in a sail boat? Also how did you fund the trip, and how much did you spend for the year?

well dude, we just don't know

you don't outrun anything in a sail boat.

our max speed was about 7 mph, average about 5 mph. When we were being chased off the coast of east timor we changed course several times & they continued to gain on us ( think 2-3 miles away and coming closer to within 1/2 mile) until a freighter came into sight & then they immediately turned around & went away. It is very unusual for a boat to pursue u in the middle of the ocean even if it is a mile away.

Since 2000 piracy has actually become a legitimate threat again & many sailboats have been chased & or boarded. As stupid as it sounds we took many precautions including, no lights at night in certain areas, molotov cocktails, gun, coils of line on the aft deck, etc.. Just remember you are hundreds of miles from anywhere or anyone - it is you against whoever comes across you - if they want to harass you.

Funding was the reason i took my brother rather than going alone! We both saved for a year & i put a lot of money into the boat ahead of time buying equipment & spare parts.

We spent roughly 30k for the trip, parts & shared expenses, not including the boat & everything i spent prior to departure. Everything else was individual.

How much prep time charting the trip, what ports you would visit, etc?

Why not 6 hour watch shifts instead of 3.5

Also (I know nothing about boats) did you have to re-fuel along the way and if so how did you know where to go to get fuel and how did you deal with currency issues?

How did you stay in contact with homeland and how often?

Is going to port like landing at an airport where you let them know ahead of time? How do you get them on the radio and how do you deal with the language barrier?

What food do you eat while at sea and how much could you store at a time (1 month, 1 week or what)?

No real time to "chart" the trip. all cruising routes are well known. It did take almost 4 years between the time i bought the boat, learned how to sail & prepared the boat & everything we would need & when we left.

We sailed almost exclusively, so we only burnt approx. 200 gal of diesel the entire trip around the world & the boat holds 100 gal. so fuel wasn't an issue - we would just " top up" every few months.

As far as money - credit cards work pretty much everywhere now & atms spit out local currency. Also, you just walk to the nearest bank upon arrival & they will help you (usually). We did have some problems after being robbed at gun point in Panama & relieved of our credit cards & the cash we had on us.

We had a handheld satellite phone for emergencies which we used to call home about once per week while at sea & also had satellite email (text only - limited to 500 characters) that worked about 1/3 of the time.

Generally upon arriving in a new country you just sail in & go ashore & ask where customs is - a few countries are more strict - but you use a world cruising guide that gives you all of the info for each stop.

we did 4 hr shifts - but between time wasted getting off your shift & going to bed & getting up to be on watch again you really only ever got 3.5 hrs sleep. some people we knew did 6 hr shifts, but it is generally just to long & tiring.

you could basically carry as much food as you were smart enough to buy in the last country, & then there is always fish. we ate fish 3 meals a day, every day. I still like fish, but just can't bring myself to buy it or order it in a restaurant now.

This sounds awesome, and is something I would like to do someday, but you don't see too excited about it. Would you have rather of only done a 4 month trip? better with more people, or people you weren't as familiar with even if they weren't as reliable?

Also if I was going to do this as a newbie would you recommend figuring it all out myself, or finding someone else more experienced to buddy up with?

One or two more I forgot - ever had your ship boarded and searched for contraband or drug trafficking by authorities? This had to happen a lot I would think but it sounds like it didn't.

Did you ever get laid in port and how hard was that.

Did you and your brother always live in the boat through out this trip ?

did you ever leave your boat for a couple days + to explore?

can you give more details of the gunpoint robbery ?

It was pretty awesome - best experience of my life -sorry if i sound otherwise & doing it w/ my younger brother was great - even if you do want to tie him to the anchor after a yr together aboard a 41' boat. we actually got along really well & had a great time, i just don't think most people can imagine spending this amount of time w/ someone in a small space, no matter how well you get along.

the trip took 13 months & the only regret was it couldn't be a 5 yr trip - many people who do this trip do it on a 2-5 yr plan. I would recommend it to anyone who thinks they want/ could do it. Sorry if my writing comes off as lacking enthusiasm.

fwiw - i think i will probably do this again in the next 20 yrs - on a 3-5 yr plan.

thanks, follow up question, how exactly do you extend a 1 year trip to 3-5 years? extended offshore excursions? more frequent ones? Or is just more of a lifestyle adjustment and you go where you please. Naive me sort of envisions you ending up in the Caribbean every two months to drink rum for 3 months straight

Yes, we were boarded & searched in many ports - most were routine & they didn't want to find anything - except australia - they were very thorough. most countries you went to they simply asked when you cleared in - any guns? drugs? etc.? you said no - that was it.

yes - not very hard. your a dude w/ his own boat sailing around the world, your tan, foreign accent & you have dropped 40 lb from eating fish & you have been at sea for weeks - you don't even need game.