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.

we lived onboard the entire time. we were on a budget & slowly going broke.

My brother left to go exploring more than i did - it was my boat & responsibility, as well as my home. Imagine taking your house to a foreign country & leaving it where it could float away or get stolen!

We did do lots of day trips to check out everything & my brother left for days at a time. I only spent 2 nights off the boat. 1 in mauritius when we went sightseeing over night (w/ friends watching the boat) & 1 night when my girlfriend came to south africa & we went to the wine country overnight (brother on boat).

we were robbed at gun point in colon panama. colon is known as one of the worst seediest crime ridden places & was truly amazing, because of how bad it was. It was noon & we were walking just outside the "yacht club" when 3 kids 15- 18 ran up to us in the middle of the street. 1 kid had a revolver & put it in my face while the other 2 went through our pockets & took the little cash we had & our credit cards. Funny thing is we were on our way to the 1 casino in town, so we left most of our money on the boat, so we wouldn't gamble it. A taxi came down the street during this & kids ran off, leaving each of us still w/ maui jim sunglasses, watches, etc.. worst part was loosing credit cards & future hassle this would cause. police came & berated us for walking around - swear to god. had to go to police station next day to file report & we were berated again for walking around & told we should know better than to walk around town & to only go places by taxi. every place you went in colon had an armed security guy standing in front of the door w/ a shotgun.

you don't really extend it you plan for it to take 3-5 yrs when you leave. when we went we would sail to a country spend 1-2 weeks & sail to the next country. if you are going for 5 yrs you sail to a country & say damn it is nice here - i'll stay for 6 monhs.

Started in the caribbean & ended up back here. I live in the virgin islands - expat. The rum is excellent here, except we are all a little upset right now because they raised the price for GOOD dark rum from $6 to $7 per 1.75l. Also, when you go to a bar here a drink costs $4 & is %80 alcohol because the rum is cheaper than whatever you mix w/ it.

What route did you take? Panama canal?
What was the rigging of your boat? What did you usually set?
Did you ever hit doldrums?
What was your longest run between ports?
What flag did you fly?

Virgin Gorda. Still a nice place to harbor, or overrun with tourists?

did you see many L.B.F.M.'s ?

Pics of the boat or similar boats?

Badass.

pics of your boat?

No kidding. Lots of pics please! Also, do you read Lattitudes? Seems like the magazine for people bumming around the earth on sailboats.

What are the coils of line on the aft deck for?

Did you go to the cook islands?

Side story: My dad bought a sailboat some years ago that had been used for a lot of international sailing, and when we started poking around we found a full banana clip for (what looked like) a freakin' AK-47 hidden in one of the cabinets. OP isn't exaggerating about piracy.

will try to get some pics up tomorrow - they are on a different computer.

Used to read Lattitudes, blue water sailing, etc.. Now I mostly just read poker stuff. Once you have done it, it isn't that interesting to read about any more.

didn't go to the cook islands.

St. Thomas - Panama - through the canal - galapagos - marquesas - tuamotus -tahiti - tonga - fiji - australia - cocos keeling - rodriguez - mauritius - south africa - st. thomas


In theory, coils of line would be let out of the stern to foul an approaching boats prop & slow them down/ temporarily disable them.

cutter rigged ketch. We mostly used just an oversized headsail - which made the boat very easy to handle for 1 person, as you are basically always sailing single handed, because the other person is sleeping. In lighter air we often ran jib & jigger (headsail & mizzen).

yes, very miserable, you had to motor, very hot & noisy.

longest leg was from cape town souh africa back to st. thomas. we thought this would take approx. 35 days - it took 50 days - no land in sight for the 1st 49 days. we provisioned the boat for 35 days & nearly ran out of food (except fish - you could eat all the fish you wanted). By the way, i would own a bathroom prop bet.

American flag

Virgin Gorda is still nice, although there are some quiter spots.

Did you wear sunblock?

Did you see other boats along the way from Cape Town to St. Thomas? Is Castaways still overlooking the harbor? Did you get a bushwacker as soon as you landed?

saw few ships, never closer than a couple of miles away. it was not unusual to go for up to 2 weeks w/o seeing anything. not really a big bush wacker fan - 1 a couple times per yr is enough. Did go get a large pizza as soon as we arrived!

Also remembered, my brother has like 3 pages of photos from the trip on his photography website. i don't know how to link, but if you type in ryangettler.com it will take you to his page, then just clickon the sailing link.

I do

Photos from sailing around the world

Awesome set of photos, too.

absolutely had to. even w/ a tan & staying in the shade you would still get fried from the sun reflecting off the water. Sunscreen becomes a morning ritual just like brushing your teeth.

wow, thanks!

Wow those pics are awesome. Really bring back some memories. About 10 years before your brother moved there, I lived in St. Thomas--about halfway up the hill from Charlotte Amalie. I waited tables at Frenchmen's Reef. Ok some USVI questions now:

Did you go to the full moon party at Bomba's Love Shack on Tortola?

Did you ever go to an Italian place on the North side of St. Thomas called Ferrari's? (best Italian food I've ever had)

Is crack/crime still a major problem on St. Thomas?

How on earth could you not like a Bushwacker? -- tastes like a milkshake, strong as a Long Island Iced Tea. Best hangover cure in the world.

Is the male/female (non-West-Indian) ratio still like 5-1 on St. Thomas?

Did you ever trek out to the tiny point of land that sticks way out on the east of Megan's Bay?

just checked out the photos...wow, absolutley amazing.