Sorry to ask a follow-up question that's off topic, but since you have experience sailing around the world I can't resist.

You mentioned you were boarded serveral times but that it was almost always "Do you have guns or drugs on board?" and then when you said no they left.

But yet you grant a 5% chance of success smuggling cocaine on a sailboat from S. America to the USA.

Does the coast guard have drug dogs on all their ships?

Suppose someone sailed down from Washington state, taking their time stopping along ports in the USA and also central and South America, had lots of little vacationy type trinkets purchased from central and south america, and sailed back up, lots of pictures of them fishing, enjoying the culture of various different countries... basically fitting the profile of some people on an extended vacation via sailboat. Off the n part of s. america, mexico, and the s. part of the usa upon return they go out to do some deep sea fishing, etc. They do not do any kind of 'drug run'.

What % of these boats are going to be scrutinized by the coast guard? Are they going to bring drug dogs on board as a matter of routine? What would be a typical scenario?

How would the high risk of being caught come about? (I"m not doubting it, just curious as you have the somewhat unique and facinating experience of sailing around the world- which sounds friggin awseome, ur one lucky guy!)

got to try out my map-finding skills, hope I didn't butcher you route too much captain



http://xs225.xs.to/xs225/08120/grace-worldmap800.jpg <-- link to their route. warning this is a -LARGE- image.

How about the hurricane season ? Isn't it from Dec-May in the southern hemisphere ? Guess your **** out of luck if one forms around you huh. How about in Virgin islands ? You must get nailed every year how do you deal with it and/or where do you put your boat ?

really nice job w/ the map - thanks!

the only place you are off a little is at the very end. we came into the caribbean just south of dominica & then sailed straight to st. thomas.

we were boarded, but never by the us coast guard so i really can't say whether they all have dogs, how thorough their search would be, etc..

i do personally know of a couple people who have been boarded by the us coast guard & had their boat searched by dogs.

the scenerio you present probably has a higher chance of success than what i was envisioning. maybe even as high as 40-50% - hard to say. this doesn't seem like the kind of bet you would want to take the worst of though.

the scenerio i was envisioning was coming to florida, past cuba on the caribbean side - i think tis would be very difficult / nearly impossible.

part of the challenge of the trip is that you have to keep up w/ weather patterns around the world so that you are in the right region during the time of year that it has favorable weather.

if you arrive some where & stay too long your basically going to be stuck there for the rest of the year until favorable/safe weather comes around the next year.

st. thomas is in a bad spot for hurricanes, but we haven't had 1 since i have lived here. we have had some close calls, but i think the last 1 to actually hit here was marylin back in '95?

Hey thanks for doing this thread.

what are typical marina costs for docking overnight?

when you were caught in the doldrums and not moving in calm ocean water do you ever go for a swim?

How much fresh water do you carry? For the 45 day span do you have rain water catches or desalination purifiers as a backup?

and in the rare occassion you may have to go up against one of these, but usually you'll have the lost boys to help.




or maybe more like:

This is just an incredible, fascinating thread. Really, thank you so much for sharing!

I'm really fascinated by the pirate / lawlessness aspect.

How do laws apply in international waters? I imagine that if you attacked an American boat you would be executed when you got back to America or hunted down by the Navy.

But what if you attack pirate ships? Do you get in trouble since you had an American flag?

If I wanted to go pirate hunting, could I spend 2 mil on a boat and go at it?

marinas cost anywhere from $15 - $50 per night. most places you just anchor in the harbor for free & dinghy ashore.

we never swam - #1 rule was stay on the boat at all times. i know some people do, we didn't. lots of pouring buckets of water over your self though.

the boat holds about 120 gal. + 2 jerry jugs of 6 gal each.

for the 50 day passage we also saved every 2 liter bottle, gal. jug etc. & filled them before we left. we also caught rain water when we could, though there were few opportunities on that trip. we did have 1 day when we were crossing the equator when we were becalmed & it just dumped rain for a couple of hrs. we were on deck, scrubbing the boat, rinsing everything, bathing & collecting water - it takes very little to make yo really happy when you have been at sea for 20 days.

we did have a water maker, but it quite working about 2 months into the trip.

i believe it comes down to self defense. i believe if you attack anyone, that would make you the pirate.

you could spen 2 mil. on a boat, but there again, you are now the pirate. the only thing that makes a pirate a pirate, is attacking another boat at sea. unless you have a hook, parrot or a peg leg like the photos above - bu that is a whole different story.

nice pics - where is the parrot?

What happens when you got sick? Eg- with strep throat, a slight fever or typical cold symptoms.

I feel like it'd be hard to get over common illnesses on such a weird sleep schedule (plus I imagine you'd run out of kleenex and such).

So ya, what'd you do to prepare for that? And what was it like being sick at sea for days?

Sharks aren't any real danger in most beaches, what about the waters you were in?

I changed my desktop three times looking at those pics.

Great thread!

being sick at sea really sucks, but we were rarely sick. it is a really healthy lifestyle so your chances of being sick go down dramatically.

you eat really healthy - fresh fish & vegetables, rice, etc. - no fried foods, no fast food. you are in a clean environment w/ no pollution & no exposure to many of the chemicals you normally come across everyday. also, you aren't around people so you don't get exposed to any germs.

Great thread. I will do this before i die.

we spent a month in simons town south africa. this is where the great white sharks are known to breach when they feed. they are also known to eat swimmers & divers on occasion. they have also been spotted swimming in the marina at night.

when we were there we met a local guy who had been attacked while spear fishing. when the shark came at him he put out both arms to fend off the shark & the shark clamed down on both arm at the bicep. somehow he got free & lived, but his arms were pretty shredded.

they had tours where they would take you out in a small boat, put you in a really flimsy cage & then chum for sharks. if you saw some of the cages you would say no way in hell.

did see encounter any pirates?

i highly recommend it - the sooner the better. we met many people who waited until they retired to do it & they all wished they had done it sooner.

most of the retired people out there were really enjoying themselves & having a good time, but i can't imagine doing it for the 1st time at 60 yrs old. now that i have done it i can definitely see being able to do it again at 60-70 yrs old, given that i have experience & learned the hard way how to do things the easy way.

if you scroll back, this has been covered pretty extensively earlier in the thread.

"Sounds" a little crazy, maybe. But I have no idea, of course, and definitely see how it would get annoying. The extent of my knowledge is a couple summers along the Gulf of Mexico, which culminated in a regatta Fla to Mexico. That was only 2 nights, but they were hardcore on that trip about a double clip harness system--you never release the first, for even an instant, until you've secured the 2nd. That, and watching Deadliest Catch (re Berring Sea). You know, rogue waves and all.

I'd probably also skip harnesses most of the time. But what about the roughest patches, like Cape of Good Hope? Would you guys hole up below deck? Cause being out there you really stand to get washed away and there is nothing you can do about it, right?

and on a related note. It was sort of interesting when I mentioned my plans to my father, who sailed in the Merchant Marine, he was mortified by the idea of me going offshore in a small boat, there was such a range of hazards out there. (Loose containers floating just below the surface is my favorite.) Didn't stop me, and still wouldn't. But it did give me pause.

most people are fairly horrified at the thought of not wearing a harness - i definetely wouldn't recommend it for most people. but for us we were just really comfortable & confident about it. it is just a personal choice. some of the saltier singlehanders we met out there never wore them.

most people can't get past the dangers out there. honestly though it is a little like having an irrational fear of flying. of course there is always the chance you will die, but it is very slim & i am pretty sure you are safer out there than in any major city.

we knew of 1 boat that collided w/ a container - no damage & our friends hit a whale in the indian ocean - no damage.

when our friends hit the whale it was very calm, and they think the whale was sleeping on the surface & they just ran into it. when they hit the whale they literally scared the **** out of it & it created a giant god awful smelling slick.

lol. was the only place you were really worried about pirates in between australia and south africa ? I hear around Indonesia its considered to be by far the most dangerous area something like 50% of the world's pirating goes on in that area. Is the risk supposed to be much lower in the atlantic/pacific ocean ?

If it wasn't for playing poker, what would you do for a living there ? Is there tours n such you can bring tourists on in your boat if you had to to make $ ? How's the UIGEA treating you down there ?

What was the process like when moving down to that area ? Is living down there just like living in any other american city or is it a whole other world ? How much is property n stuff ? I've been thinking a lot about this lately doing something like moving way the hell away from where I live because in my area it's just INSANELY expensive to live.

Have you done any other trips ? Like do you ever just screw off in your boat and go around the caribbean for a few weeks and then come back ?