Looking For Joining/creating Team To Sail Around The World

[cal]

Hi im a 28 year old guy from sweden tired of dreaming about a Circumnavigation. Last year i sailed with a friend to norway with the Faroe islands as destination but our 24 feet boat did not share our enthusiasm!

But now its time for the real deal.

I am only in the very starting stage of my plan so I am looking to sail within 2-4 years. I am wondering if there are people out there thinking similar things wanting to join up or if there already is a group of people i can join.

Buying a boat in Sweden is expensive so I was planning to buy one wherever it may be. It needs to be in or close a condition for the circumnavigation.

Any help in direction would be very appreciated, maybe there are other forums or sites more suitable for my question?

// Cal

[MMNETSEA]

Hello Cal, Welcome to Cruiser Log.

Before we go further, tell us a bit more about your experience in Sailing. What reason do you have to want to circumnavigate. Give us a rough idea of your budget. What is your ideal boat ?

[cal]

Thanks for the welcome.

My experience in sailing is not extensive offshore. But I have been sailing my entire life close to coastland. I have also been in some competitions with our 28foot boat which i´ve enjoyed very much.

I have been in some very tough weather conditions so I have an idea of what situations might occur at a circomnavigation. When it comes to long distance sailing the trip to Norway is as far as i´ve come, sleeping in shifts and preparing food etc.

I have far to little experience to throw myself out on the big oceans but I believe waiting for having all the experience and the perfect situation I will wait my entire life, I know enough to estimate that i can do it while getting the experience needed to do it.

My reason? I love the sea, I love sailing, I love travelling and seeing new nature and culture. But such a drastic thing as to sail around the world? Im not sure i can answer... I know i need to do it, and when ive done it I will know the reason why i felt i needed to do it....hmm not making much sense am I? ;-)

Budget? very good question since that need to be compatible with whoever I sail with. Being quite young I have less needs for luxurary when it comes to sleep, food and endurance. So I am looking at quite cheap sailing, that is without nice restaurants, spending time in expensive ports etc.

I am reading books about this right now so I will get a better grasp of the budget and wherever it lands it is only a matter of how long untill i can save it. Maybe around 20.000 euro for 2-3 years?

I am planning to save all the money for the trip and probably borrow a big part for the boat, which i am estimating around 10 - 25.000 euro for the boat after all the equipment and installations.

Having the option to take on paying crew would be very nice as well.

When it comes to boat I am very open to suggestions. Either 2-4 people in a >30 foot boat. 4-6 in a >38 foot. Or maybe get a bigger group of 5-10 people to buy a bigger boat, and in which case maybe people will join and leave as she travels around the world. And maybe she could keep travelling and be used for charter and us the owners as skippers.

Some interesting boats i found in guatemala as example:

http://www.guatemala...3-for-sale.html

http://www.guatemala...io%20dulce.html

http://www.guatemala...8-for-sale.html

http://www.guatemala...-rio-dulce.html

The first one being in quite rough condition but seems like a very seaworthy boat for eventual visits to antarctica. (which would be quite profitable to bring paying crew)

It is close to my ideal boat, which is a boat made in aluminium/steel (not a must at all) bigger than 35foot which has only one reason in the design - safety and moves well in stormy seas - a slow and ugly boat

[Rod Headlee]

Hi good luck on your venture. I have found very few boats are actually ready to go to sea, even when advertised as such.

[delatbabel]

Why not join someone else's boat? It seems to me that there are more solo skippers looking for crew than there are crew willing and able to join up.

[JeanneP]

That Bruce Roberts design has a 7' draft it says. How did it get into the Rio Dulce, and how do they expect to get it out? The 6' draft Reinke will be enough of a challenge to get out, I wonder if the bigger boat's price has been so drastically reduced because of the challenge of getting out of there.

[cengle]

Delatbabel,

I'm new to Cruiser Log and the whole sailing community in general. However, I'm looking to get on a sailing crew or boat with the skills that I posses, thus far. So, when I saw your recommendation to Cal to join a sailing team I figured you might know how to do that. Where does one look to on the Internet to inquire about a possible position on a sailing crew?

- Chris

Originally Posted by delatbabel

Why not join someone else's boat? It seems to me that there are more solo skippers looking for crew than there are crew willing and able to join up.

[Gallivanters]

Hi Cal,

I'm certainly no expert, but... I probably am more care-free than most, so...

If I were you... I'd check prices for tickets and go to Gibraltar or the Canary Islands in October - two months from now. The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers is your best chance of getting away before the next snow falls in Sweden.

Head for the docks looking for boats willing to have extra crew. Be sure to pack all your belongings into one duffel bag and be sure to include your cheerful disposition.

Take your Passport and ATM Card and be prepared for adventure! Once you arrive in the Caribbean you'll be exposed to a great number of seaworthy (or once seaworthy) vessels to fit any budget and you can gain enough experience & skill on your way to Panama to have enough confidence to continue with your circumnavigation... or you may just find yourself delighted enough to be happily cruising around the West Indies the rest of your life! You certainly won't be the first guy to be seduced by the warm charms of the trade winds, clear waters & happy smiles found in the Caribbean. You don't even need your own boat - you can hitch rides on super luxurious yachts and even get paid well while you're at it!

If you're bent on getting your own boat for this - the only advice I'll offer as to the "right" boat for you is this: get a boat big enough to comfortably walk around inside... because it's difficult to get a lover to lay-down in a boat she cannot stand-up in. Don't get me wrong - lots of people sail around the world alone on little boats but every one of them I've met are always searching for the right lover to fit the boat & lifestyle.

Others here will disagree but I say JUST GO DO IT! Why wait 2 ~ 4 more years to realize your dream? Few people are ever 100% "ready" to go... even when they already own a seaworthy ocean basher. I've met people in every marina who are still waiting for everything to become "right" before they feel ready to sail away from the comforts of home. Some have waited their entire life to do a little living! You say yourself you're "tired of dreaming about sailing around the world." I say pack your bags, put on a new pair of Nike's and Just Do It!

I guarantee you won't regret it.

To Life!

Kirk

[delatbabel]

Hi Cal,

I cannot say more than Kirk already has.

Go to a marina in a well travelled area and knock on some hatches, and check the notice boards. That gets the skipper a good look at you, and you a good look at the skipper. It's a far better way of testing a boat's seaworthiness than seeing some photos on an internet site.

Fair winds and safe seas,

Del

[svdagny]

Hi Cal, We too dream of circumnavigation but have not found the right blend of opportunity, people, time. We don´t want to be financially responsible the whole way. And we don´t want to committ to hectic schedules, waiting around for people´s airplane vacations. My dream is to find another couple to share the expense and work load and have guests come and go along the way. And take a long time about it, not race. Perhaps we can keep in touch. We are never in a hurry. Good luck!

Originally Posted by cal

Hi im a 28 year old guy from sweden tired of dreaming about a Circumnavigation. Last year i sailed with a friend to norway with the Faroe islands as destination but our 24 feet boat did not share our enthusiasm!

But now its time for the real deal.

I am only in the very starting stage of my plan so I am looking to sail within 2-4 years. I am wondering if there are people out there thinking similar things wanting to join up or if there already is a group of people i can join.

Buying a boat in Sweden is expensive so I was planning to buy one wherever it may be. It needs to be in or close a condition for the circumnavigation.

Any help in direction would be very appreciated, maybe there are other forums or sites more suitable for my question?

// Cal