Restarting our Circumnavigation

By Darrel

When we were in the planning stages of our cruising journey we did a lot of reading about cruisers who were already doing or having completed such a journey. A common problem amongst cruising couples is to decide “when and where to next”. Cruisers have a lot of options open to them and sometimes have a difficult time deciding which option to choose.

When Loretta and I were working, two of our strong attributes were organizational skills and having a futuristic vision enabling us to plan ahead. So we really did not think that this common problem amongst other cruisers would repeat itself with us.

When we first left Canada in 2004 and up to the point when we arrived in Thailand, neither Loretta or I had a problem knowing when and where we were to head to next. Our circumnavigation was falling into place as we had originally planned. We were hoping to be back into the Caribbean by 2011 allowing us about five years to complete our circumnavigation. But when we arrived in South East Asia a number of things happened. Firstly instead of stopping here for two months we decided to stay put for ONE year allowing us to do some land travel to places such as Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. However having visited some of those countries raised our desire to visit others such as China, Laos, Japan, Hong Kong, etc.  In addition to increasing the list of places we wanted to visit we also fell in love with the Thai people, their culture, buying fresh fruit and veggies from the local markets, and yes their scrumptious food. So instead of staying here one year we have now been here almost four.  We were enjoying life here so much in fact that we considered selling CanKata and making this our home.

However, once we realized that it was too early for us to return to the life of the landlubbers, and did not actually mean to SELL CanKata but instead to SAIL CanKata, we started to think about our future options.

Having halted the sell of CanKata we are now like a bornagaincruiser.  Every so often one of us would slip out a word or phrase with the idea of moving on (together that is) but it never made it to the discussion level. These subtle hints continued for some time until one evening a fellow cruiser who is heading off to round the Cape of Good Hope this coming January asked us “why don’t you guys come with us?”  It was this invitation that finally got Loretta and I to the point where we discussed the desire to continue heading west. We knew that to continue heading west, we would have to take a completely different route than originally planned due to the f#&%ing sea terrorists from Somalia. Instead we would have to sail around the bottom of Africa and across the South Atlantic to Brazil in lieu of the Red Sea and Mediterranean route.

We were both quite receptive to this idea and decided that we should give it serious consideration. Reasons to continue with the circumnavigation included: seeing new places which we have not yet reached, e.g., Maldives, Chagos, Mauritius, Africa, Brazil, and New Guiney; seeing places that we deferred or missed previously, e.g., Sea of Cortez, Galapagos, American Samoa, Vanuatu, Solomon’s, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippians; revisiting some of the wonderful places we stopped at previously, e.g., San Blas Islands, and the French Marquesas; utilizing CanKata for what she was designed and equipped for; seeing some of our old friends in the Caribbean, e.g. Cat Tails and our friends from Orient Bay; and hopefully having our son Dylan and daughter-in-law Laura, and our two favourite grandchildren – Tehja and Taylor come to visit us while we are in nearby waters.

Loretta and I also agree that Thailand is where we want to end up when we do get “more mature” so this is where we intend to continue to.

So there you have it, Loretta and I are still well organized and good at planning – well until our next change of plans that is. Okay maybe we are just as wacky as all the other cruisers whom we have met since embarking on this wonderful chaotic lifestyle – perhaps it is contagious so look out. 

Memories from the first part of our circumnavigation:

Going through locks in the Erie Canal

Catching fish in the Atlantic

The Atlantic: where we didn't need solar screens on our windows.

The British Virgin Islands, back when monohulls were the majority.

Still one of our "top 5" beaches.

The Caribbean's Isle Fourchue is very rugged.
Will we anchor here again?

Will we meet up with the kids again in St. Martin?

With new routes being planned, we might not revisit Los Testigos
(north of Venezuela).

We plan to visit the San Blas islands again (east side of Panama).

The Las Perlas islands (west side of Panama)
 are also on our "revisit" list.

Going through the South Pacific again will be a treat.

CanKata in Bora Bora the first time.
And now, we hope, not the last time.

We plan to go full circle, and come back to Thailand.

Our unit at the Dewa Phuket will be waiting for us.