Tahina’s Circumnavigation Route

[UPDATED July 2011]

View Tahina Circumnavigation Route in a larger map | View in Google Earth
The green lines represent our actual track for where Tahina has gone so far. The orange line is our possible future route (subject to change).

The route Tahina will be taking around the world is partially determined by winds and weather, and partly determined by our desires to see certain places. Most sailing circumnavigators take the trade wind route which is from east to west. The trade winds are favorable winds for a sailing vessel (generally in the same direction you want to go). These winds are also generally favorable speeds and fewer storms if you go during the right times of the year. The route takes those leaving from the eastern US through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific to eventually end up near Australia. Then it takes you north of Australia across Indonesia and into the Indian Sea.

Due to the increasing hazard of piracy in the Red Sea, we currently no longer plan to go in those waters. As a result of this, and other factors, we have chosen to not go to the Mediterranean during this trip. We will instead go around the Cape of Good Hope (stopping to visit parts of Africa by land), and then cross the South Atlantic to Brazil. There we will explore parts of South America by land before continuing to sail up and around to the Caribbean where we will complete our circumnavigation. It is unfortunate that a few individuals have chosen to attack small yachts forcing many sailors to cancel their plans to complete their circumnavigations, pay enormous fees to have their vessel transported on ships through the Red Sea, sell their boats in Australia and end their trips, or take the longer trip around the Cape of Good Hope.

The route you see in the map above is our current rough draft. Our plans may change as we go along. We think we will learn about other places we want to go along the way, and weather and other factors may alter the route. As you can see, we have already traveled through the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, to the Galapagos, French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Tonga, New Zealand, and Fiji. We will continue to Vanuatu and New Caledonia before heading to Australia. We also currently plan to visit Indonesia and Singapore, and Thailand.

Another important point: we will extend our travels over land and by plane to see other countries not visited by boat. We currently plan to visit China, India, and several countries in Africa in addition to the many countries close to the rough draft route we have drawn. And, we may change this route to change the countries/islands we visit by boat as well.