Planning

[Rachael Kelly]

Alright, well, I have 2 years to prepare for this- what would you recommend I do to be totally ready for this trip?
I would probably want to be on one of the slower group ships. But maybe not a 2 year travel time... I would like to visit the local cities and maybe villages- maybe taking a year? (I don't know if this would be possible or not)
I'm going to take sailing classes asap. Hopefully in the next month. How much would one budget for this trip? Since I would prefer participating the slightly longer trip...
What are things that I should pack? How MUCH can I pack?
Any ideas on phone service?
One person should probably not go alone, but as of this point I don't have a partner or anything like that, how would I find a group and start conversing?
Is there a limit to the amount of people participating in this?
Maybe I could invite others from my sailing classes?
I look forward to your replies! I'm ready to get ready for this! :)

[Kirk Miller]

Hello Rachael,

I know a guy names Gill Hummle who has been sailing around the world alone for the last 12 years (you may be able to google him). He says as long as your not a big drinker to budget $5,000 a year. Also the more the merryer and the safer, so invite as many people as possible. I havent looked into phone service to much but I know you can get satalight internet from which you can run scipe which my be best so you can see you family back home.

[Callum Watt]

Kirks reply's pretty much spot on, $5000 a year is pretty reasonable given you're living costs are reduced a lot when you're off land. If you don't have a long time to spare I'm sure there are plenty people going on this who wouldn't mind changing crew at a point in the journey,so you could set your time and a reasonable estimate of where you will be when you're year(or however long) is up. So added to your costs is the price of a flight home, including baggage allowance for all the souvenirs you've picked up on the way :-) As for what you should pack, go for the worst case scenario, when its cold and wet and miserable,and think what you would want with you then. A decent set of sailing waterproofs and boots will be probably the biggest expenditure, but when the alternative is being soaked through it weighs up. After thats out the way it's up to you clothing wise, plenty of gear to be wearing when its sunny thats quick drying and simple to wash. Your hands would thank you for a good decent set of gloves(or 2) to put something between them and the ropes, get the best you can find, i've went through 2 pair in 6 months,but the alternative is waiting for your hands to build up a resistance to them = several weeks of sore hands. The rest is really just normal travel gear,plenty sunscreen, aftersun and sunglasses (all essential on the water). Buy your bag after you've put all your gear together, nothing worse than having something far too small and end up having to leave something important, and always leave a little bit extra room for the things that you acquire on the way. Finding a group or someone to pair up with is a good idea, and always trust your instinct. If something doesn't feel safe,chances are it isn't. This applies to both the people you travel with and the boat you will travel in, always satisfy yourself that they can both get you back to shore safely, I've refused 2 jobs because of these exact reasons, safety first. Hope you enjoy your trip, we might see each other on the way! Good luck