We have developed a route that takes in the locations we most want to go to and mostly involves sailing with the wind rather than against it. There are many factors that govern this plan, some of which are fixed (such as when the hurricane seasons are and what the prevailing winds are likely to be) and some are more fluid such as each country’s international border status and COVID requirements. Therefore, like all good cruisers we are going to have to be flexible and prepared to make changes along the way.
We bought the boat in Panama but we wanted to start in Florida so that we were in a location where it would be easy to get all the final things we needed for the boat and make it homely and safe. Also, that gives us the opportunity to have a 6 week shake down cruise in the Bahamas right at the start which involves a great mix of short day sails with the odd overnighter, anchoring and marina options, seclusion and more sociable anchorages and pretty good access to provisions. The idea is that this would give us many of the skills we would need to go further afield and to more remote locations.
From there we sail back to Panama, transit the Panama Canal, sail across the equator to the Galapagos (6 days approx) before “the big one”, over 3,000 miles and 3 weeks non stop sailing direct to French Polynesia. From there we follow the traditional “coconut route” island hopping through whatever South Pacific islands are open entering Australia at Lord Howe Island and then arriving at the Australian mainland at glorious Sydney Harbour at the end of October 2022.
Getting the boat to Florida from Panama will be challenging given the direct route is against the prevailing trade winds and ocean swells for much of the way. The plan is to do this in November 2021 which is at the tail end of hurricane season and therefore careful weather monitoring will be vital. For this trip we plan to have short hop to the San Blas Islands (leg 1) go east as far as Cartagena in Colombia (leg 2) and then due north through the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti entering the Bahamas at Great Inagua (leg 3). From there we will ride the Gulf Stream and trade winds all the way to West Palm Beach, Florida (leg 4) where we have booked a marina. We have decided against the route West of Cuba due to increased likelihood of hurricanes in the Western Caribbean at this time (thanks for the tip Jess!). We will have “bail out” options in Jamaica and the Bahamas if we need to sit out adverse weather.
Sailing Kilauea 