On the 1st of June 2022, we will begin to sail around the world. The plan is, after the last Skylger Koffie on Terschelling, to turn our boat to the south to sail for a long period.
Although the route is not one hundred percent planned yet, we can at least show you a global plan. As mentioned before, we will leave the Netherlands in the week of the 1st of June. There is a big chance that we will sail directly to South England. From there, we can choose to cross the Bay of Biscay in one go to A Coruña or to go down the French coast to Spain. This second route takes much more time, of course, but it goes through an area that is said to be incredibly beautiful. From A Coruña, we will sail further south via the Spanish and Portuguese coasts.
Sometime in October, we will make the relatively short crossing to the Canary Islands. We will sail around for a while and exchange knowledge with participants and followers of the ARC. Participation will probably not happen for financial reasons. In November, we sail to the Cape Verde Islands. Here too we will explore the archipelago for a while. The Atlantic crossing will take place in November/December. It will take us about 9 days. Nick’s birthday and Christmas a few days later are days that we want to celebrate in the Caribbean. Of course, we will also make our long-awaited New Year’s Eve dive. Fortunately, we will dive in azure-blue water that is warmer than the average summer temperature in the Netherlands.
We have not made a tight schedule in the Caribbean either. Areas we want to see in any case are St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The name alone sounds like a 1960s band and many of the Pirates of the Caribbean scenes were shot in the area. We have to see that with our own eyes. In addition, Cuba is high on the list to visit. We would like to have seen and experienced this. The list of locations will probably be supplemented with too many points to actually visit.
After this, the route becomes completely uncertain. Around May 2023 we have to decide whether to sail on to the north, to cross back over to the Azores via New York and Newport, both places very high on our list, and then sail back to the Netherlands via England. The trip will then end around October 2023. Option 2 is to stay in New York/Newport during the Hurricane season, or to spend this season near the Leeward Islands and go through the Panama Canal at the end of 2023 to continue the journey via French Polynesia, New Zealand and Australia. Where will the journey end? No idea. The choice in May will depend on the motivation to sail on and probably especially our finances. A six-month or year of work in the United States or the Caribbean is certainly among the options.
In short: 2 things we will try to stick to. 1: departure in the week of the 1st of June 2022. 2: Christmas in the Caribbean. Follow our blogs on this website and Instagram page to find out if we will succeed in doing so.
