The Plan 2.0

A change of plans. For now we are going to stay in the Caribbean and relax for a while instead of rushing through the Pacific. Spending the summer hurricane season down in Grenada with our friends and a similar timeframe to be back in New Zealand.

Why?

Crossing the Atlantic and arriving happily in the Caribbean was a huge milestone. We have loved the trip so far with the exception of the rush rush self-imposed schedule. We deliberately set it up this way, considering this trip as a brush across the highlights and to see as much as we could. Then in a later trip come back at a more relaxed pace to our favourite places.

 

With winter closing by the time we finished in the boatyard and the crossing preparation at La Linea (next to Gibraltar) we were pretty tired. So arriving the in the warm Caribbean and relaxing with so many awesome kids boats was pretty good. The favourite places list is getting pretty long and our envy has been slowly increasing of the cruisers we have met on relaxed timetables.

 

Added to this the distance from here back to New Zealand is longer than the trip so far and with less time. And most of the South Pacific is easily accessible by sailing from New Zealand. Add to this that the passages are the means to get to these places, rather than the end itself. Throw in a nice tax bill to import Drakkar into NZ and a smaller market to sell in. Topped off with heaps of kids boats and short easy sailing the amendment to the plan was a pretty easy decision.

 

 

The original 1.0 Plan

Its pretty exciting to be fulfilling a lifelong dream and even better to be sharing it with my family. Growing up on the water planted the seeds early on, fed by sea stories and more adventures on the water the Dream became a Goal with a Plan to achieve it. There were a few minor challenges with how to fund the trip and a wife that had never been on a boat before… With small regular steps it is amazing how far you can go.

So where are we going?

Sailing out from NZ is a Big first step across a fairly serious piece of ocean. We want to see the Med, Caribbean and Pacific, not so much pirate areas or high latitude capes. (Actually I would love to see some capes but this is a family starter trip remember) Add to that the bigger selection of boats in the Med, short coastal hopes to start and easy sailing route back to NZ made the decision pretty easy. And the hunt was on for a boat already in the Med.

S/V Drakkar is waiting patiently waiting for us in NW Italy. We will base ourselves out of a marina to shake the boat down and get used to being on board.

Then the adventure begins, Italy, Croatia, Greece, France, Spain before heading out to Morocco at the end of the season. Stage up at the Canaries to skip across the puddle in Dec 2016. Several months to explore some of the Caribbean before Panama canal and on to Galapagos. Then another puddle to cross for the coconut milk run down through Marquesas, French Polynesia, Tahiti, Tonga, Fiji and back to NZ when the cyclone season closes out Dec 2017. Doesn’t sound like much when you say it fast, but crosses half the planet and almost two years.