haha it doesnt have to be quick, would just be interesting to see your exact route

Awesome report, great pics, thanks for sharing!

Did ya'll ever get seasick? I get it easily, hate that feeling. Does it go away if you've been at sea long enough?

What did your girlfriend think of you getting laid at every port you visited?

How tough was the adjustment to "regular" life after ya'll got back? Were you glad to be home or wished the adventure could continue longer?

Where is the boat now?

L8r.. BB

neither of us ever got sea sick. most people who do get sick get over it in 1 or 2 days

neither of us ever got sea sick. most people who do get sick get over it in 1 or 2 days

the part about getting laid was hypothetical, but my brother was single.

it was good to be home, but i wouldn't mind going again.


the boat is in st. thomas, i am hanging out on it playing poker as i type this.

ohead you could do it close enough yourself, he gave a lot of detail and I assume it's mostly straight lines/great circles in between the port stops. Unless you specifically want to see bits where they didn't take the shortest route to get better weather conditions or something.

sick life

wow, just got around to this thread. fantastic read, thanks for sharing.

thanks. it has its moments. anyone can do it, if you really want something, give it hell.

wonder what the chances are that one of the mtt ballers would want to spend a week in the virgin islands, sitting on a boat, looking at women in bikinis, playing tourneys on their lap top? did i mention all the rum u can drink?

Great thread.

Did your bro know anything about boats or did you have to teach him everything? How did you know what to do, how to prepare, etc? Did you talk to others that had done it, etc or just research via books, etc.

I'm sure the answer is a google away but what is your opinion on doing this solo - is it possible in a sailboat and if so what boat is it doable in?

How far could you of gotten by yourself? Halfway, 1/4 the way, 1/10th. etc.

i had 0 experience when i bought the boat. i had been sailing 1 time, 10 yrs prior, in florida, for 4 hrs ( i thought it was so cool & said, this is for me). my brother had less experience than i did when we left. he worked on a daysail boat here for several months, sailing within a 5 - 10 mile radius, but neither of us had actually sailed anywhere.

it is kind of interesting that i freely admit this now. before we left i told everyone i was going to sail around the world & no one believed me & many people were sure i was going to die. everyone would ask " do you have any experience?" i would always say yes - w/o going into any details. when they asked & you said no, you would get the most horrific looks. even some family members were sure we were going to die. once you have done it, though, you can pretty much say whatever you want & tell people to f*** off.

when i decided it was something i wanted to do i read every book, magazine, etc. that i could find. you would be amazed at the # of people out there that did the same thing. if it is something you really want, you study everything you can & go for it.

as far as doing it solo, that was my plan b. i went w/ plan c. plan a was to take my girlfriend(at time of purchasing the boat), that relationship didn't work out. plan b was to do it solo (singehanded is the correct term). i figured out it was going to be expensive & decided on plan c - lets take my brother, have a bonding experience, & he can help pay! worked great!

sorry that paragraph is so confusing!

doing a circumnavigation solo is still in the back of my mind. i also play around w/ doing a non stop solo circumnavigation - then you have a real challenge!

If you could travel back in time before this trip, what advice would you give yourself so that you could have a better experience ?

Do you regret not bringing enough of any supplies ? if so which ?

From what you know now would you have rather done a 3+ year sail around the world ?

1. allow more time.

2. yes, you can not carry enough alcohol. you will think i'm kidding , but it is very expensive in many countries (bottle of absolut = $120 at grocery in the marquesas - beer $4 can in the grocery - in 2005 dollars).

some sailors knew/planned in advance & actually built liquor tanks into their boat - just as you would have a water tank - you would have a rum tank! - it was not that we were hard core drinkers, but much is centered around hanging out, socializing & having dinner w/ fellow sailors & this requires large quantities of booze.

3. yes, it would be much more enjoyable. for us though, the goal was to sail around the world & time / money only allowed us less than 2 years.

what do you do for a living in the Virgin Islands right now ? Do you own a house or live on the boat ? Is it expensive to live there ? Did you pay the boat off right away or did you have a loan for it ?

What's the plan when you pull up to an island after being at sea for so long ? Just find a place to park in a populated area and just get off and start exploring ? Was the language barrier in some of the places difficult ?

Is there showers/bath on the boat ? did you just keep restocking supplies when you pulled up to new countries/islands like water, rice etc ? How much $ did you start this trip with and how much did it cost you in all ? How much was the boat at the time you bought it and what do you think it's worth now ? Sick pics its threads like this that make me want to sell everything I got quit work and just go live life to the fullest.

re falling over: how much of the time were you clipped in? during foul weather at least?

also, did you feel safe taking a dip, like say in the doldrums?

What were the sleeping accommodations like?
Did you get in the water to poop?

basically never.

in the photos you see each of us wearing a harness once. this was on day 3 of the trip. other than that we never wore harnesses. we were very rare in this regard.

we had a rule - don't fall over - if you fall over you are dead. harnesses are cumbersome & uncomfortable, we simply made the choice to not wear them.

stupid? maybe - but the next time i curcumnavigate, it will be the same.

we wore harnesses on day 3 because it was rough, we didn't know what we were doing, & i was hanging over the stern of the boat trying to land a 150lb tuna, while my brother was holding me by my ankles!

I don't know why it took me so long to click on this thread. Really great OP, awesome photos too, just beautiful.


Edit: What did the US Navy do/want with your boat? Or did you skip that question intentionally?

i play poker

both? my gf & i own a condo together, & i spend a lot of time on the boat.

in some regards it is expensive - cost of living is high, but so much less is expected of you here. think - keeping up w/ the jones - no one even considers that here - no one cares what car you drive, or if you own a car (i lived here for almost 3 years w/o owning a car - & no one would take that into consideration as part of my social status) if you go out to a nice restaurant w/ friends you are expected to wear shorts& flip flops.

consider that rum is less expensive per gallon than orange juice - there are many paradoxes.

i sold everything i owned (of any value) & payed cash for the boat.

basically you selected the port you wanted to land in & went ashore, cleared customs, got drunk & then went sightseeing. some place were a little more complicated but basically thats it.

the boat has 2 staterooms & 2 heads ( fancy way of saying 2 beds & 2 small bathrooms w/ showers).

boat cost = cheap house. i would highly recommend selling everything & taking off to anyone who really has a burning desire to do so - not a passing fancy - but a real lasting desire.

sorry i never answered that - guess i missed it.

we were run down by the us navy about 200nm of the coast of panama enroute to the galapagos. they were on patrol for pirates.

this goes back to our original concern about piracy. when we were preparing for the trip everyone would always ask about pirates & i would dismiss their concerns. after the 1st leg of our trip, we get to panama & hear all these stories about people being chased & or boarded by pirates.

the year before a couple on a boat enroute to the galopagos was run down, boarded, tied up, had everything stolen & left for dead. the week before we made our passage 2 boats were "chased/pursued" at night in the same area.

the us navy had a 160' - 200' go fast ship, w/ helicopter, a couple hundred miles off shore patrolling for pirates.

we were new to offshore sailing/ pirates/ identifying boats & well the whole story is quite amusing but very long.

think about me trying to figure out how i am going to toss a molotov cocktail over the bow of a navy warship approaching at 30 kts!

lmao, that would not have ended well. What kind of ship was it, by the way? I remember hearing about a Navy Destroyer or Carrier (I forget now) saving some cruise liner from pirates off the coast of Africa, I think. It was like, some tiny tiny pirate boat, and then this mammoth US Navy ship.

You mentioned a gun as well, what kind was it?

i don't know exactly - will have to google- we actually have a picture of it on my old computer. i will try to find the picture & tell the whole story some time next week, if any body wants to hear it. - its actually fairly amusing in hindsight!

i had a .40 sigma handgun - definitely wouldn't be my 1st choice, but it was what i owned @ the time. if your going to take a gun, a short barrelled 12 gauge would be the right tool for the job. there is much debate about whether to have a gun aboard or not.

what kind of boats do these pirates go on? and how much pirates and how are they usually armed (imagining those crazy fellas from waterworld)? seems to me you need something like an assault rifle to defend against pirates.

wow, absolutely awesome thread.

do you know of any way you could have internet on the boat? like some sort of satellite connection?

those pics are great.

hard to say, but i believe usually small decrepit boats & i am guessing they are all armed differently.

the problem w/ a rifle would be similar to shooting someone on your sidewalk. that is why a shotgun would be the best tool - you can't really shoot them until they try to come aboard.

i really don't want this to spin off into guns, etc.. it was a very small, almost non existent part of the journey, so i am not going to discuss it further. sorry.

thank you.

we had text only email - 500 characters per, about 1/3 of the time.

you can get satellite internet - think 20k set up cost & probably minimum $500 month - basically only mega yachts have it.