We are planning a trip around the world, up to 3 years. I have been studying maps, the weather, etc… but I still have many questions. Many people have sailed around the world before us, so I was wondering if anyone could help us. Any information is more than welcome!!

We want to start in Florida in November and sail to the Bahamas and go down the islands all the way to Tobago. Sail the north of Venezuela / ABC and then from Colombia to Panama. March / April – via Panama canal to Galapagos Islands. April – sail to the Marquesas. May to Sept / October from Marquesas, via Cook Islands, Samoa / Tonga, Fiji Islands, Vanuatu and sail up north to Salomon Islands.

And then I am a little stuck… Because we have enough time we want to sail when weather is best (no storms, rough waters, as little rain as possible as we will be filming/taking photos). Our 8-year-old daughter will also be coming with us so we really want to sail as SAFE and as FUN / RELAXED as possible. I want to make the possibility of being stuck in a storm as little as possible. I would be so grateful if anyone could help us with our planning.

We want to sail via Papua New Guinea to Philippines (maybe via Palau?). Malaysia, of course, visit islands, sail west of Malaysia north to Thailand. Sail west coast of Thailand / islands via Andaman Islands to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka to Maldives. Maldives to India. From India cross the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea.

Thank you very much!!

Looking forward to receiving a reply!!

Sandra Wijnveldt sandrawijnveldt@hotmail.com

I looked up your proposed route and provided you keep to the safe seasons, you should be ok. This means avoiding being in the tropical part of the South Pacific between November and April, so your planning is ok provided you get to Papua New Guinea by late October/early November.

The route via Palau is feasible, and the best time is early in the year (January-March). The North Indian Ocean is best crossed at the same time (January to March). There is a lot more information on all those routes in my World Cruising Routes (5th edition).

Bon voyage!

Jimmy Cornell, noonsite

If we are in Papua New Guinea in September, what would be the best route for us if we want to be in the Malacca Straight in November sailing north to Thailand? We don’t really want to go via Bali – Indonesian Small Sunda Islands as we have sailed them about 10 years ago. Would the Philippines be an option? Would we have enough time? Again I would be very grateful for your help /advice/recommendation.

I can well understand your wish to get to Sabah as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the reports we’ve had about the area south of Mindanao, as well as passing through the Sulu Sea, have not been good, hence my suggestion that you avoid that area. Of course, things may change for the better by the time you get there.

The other option is for you to sail north of PNG, possibly stop in Palau and then sail through the centre of the Philippines, well north of Mindanao.

Jimmy Cornell