Voyage to the Ends of the Earth
The Route
The voyage begins by heading westward from the Olympic Peninsula through the straights of Juan de Fuca to the open pacific. I will head west from there until clear of shipping lanes and turn south down the West Coast. The route heads south to the roaring forties, and east to Cape horn. Care will be taken to avoid the Chilean coast as it is one of the most inhospitable lee shores in the world. Once past the Falkland Islands I will head north for the more moderate conditions outside of the furious fifties. I have chosen to sail around latitude 42 in the Southern Ocean for the more consistent wind without the gales of the far south. This route will take me through the South Atlantic and Indian oceans, and past Australia and New Zealand. Once back in the Pacific, I will sail north past French Polynesia and Hawaii, over the Pacific High, and home.
The Rules
The trip will follow the rules for a solo nonstop circumnavigation as stated by the World Sailing Speed Record Council:
To sail around the world, a vessel must start from, and return to the same point, must cross all meridians of longitude, and must cross the equator. It may cross some, but not all, meridians more than once. The track of the vessel must be at least 21,600 nautical miles in length. In calculating this distance, it is assumed that the vessel will sail around Antarctica in the latitude 64 degrees south. A vessel starting in the southern hemisphere has to round an island, or other fixed point in the Northern hemisphere that will satisfy the minimum distance requirement.
‘Single-handed’ means there is only one person on board. If a single handed skipper accepts any kind of outside assistance than the voyage is no longer ‘single-handed.’
‘Without assistance’ means that a vessel may not receive any kind of outside assistance whatever, nor take on any supplies, materials, or equipment, during a record attempt. A craft may be anchored or beached during the record attempt, but any repairs must be made by the crew without any outside resources or materials. It is never permitted to take on stores or equipment or get any other kind of help from another vessel whilst under way.