It took almost three years and over forty thousand miles to complete the circumnavigation by sail. Special thanks go to the more than forty friends who joined Lil and me along the way...to both crew on the long passages and to enjoy the cruising in the many beautiful destinations.

Year one took us from our Florida home to Opua, New Zealand with many stops along the way. Stops included Guatemala, Panama (to transit the canal), the Galapagos and French Polynesia where we spent three months visiting many of their beautiful islands. Continuing on, we visited the Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga and then Fiji where we spent over six weeks enjoying the beauty of its islands. The last leg for the year was Fiji to New Zealand where we left the boat for a couple of months to return home for the holidays.

Year two took us from New Zealand to Thailand. We crossed the Tasman Sea to Brisbane, Australia, where we spent several months taking road trips and exploring its beautiful national parks. Next came the the sailing portion which took us up the Great Barrier Reef all the way to the most Northern part of Australia, Thursday Island. From Thursday Island, we made the 5-day passage to Indonesia where we spent the next three months sailing over twelve hundred miles, spending time on many of the islands of Indonesia all the way to Bali. From Bali, we continued north to Malaysia and on
to Thailand, where again, we left the boat to return home for the holidays.

Year three took us from Thailand back to our Florida home. The first part was to get Moonbeam ready to be shipped on a freighter to Turkey. The general consensus was that it was not safe to transit the Red Sea and Suez Canal due to threats from the Somali pirates and other problems in the Middle East. From Turkey, we spent the next two months cruising the Greek Isles starting in Crete. We then transited the Corinth Canal on our way to Croatia, Montenegro and then across the Adriatic Sea to Italy. From Italy, we sailed to Sardinia, the Balearic Islands and on to Barcelona. We then worked our way down the Spanish coast to Benalmadena, Spain, where we prepared Moonbeam for the Atlantic crossing.
After one quick stop for refueling in the Canary Islands, we continued on to Virgin Gorda in the BVI'S, where we met friends and celebrated Thanksgiving. The final leg included a stop in the Dominican Republic, then on to Key West to clear customs back into the USA, and the last ninety miles home to Marco Island.

Again, not only special thanks to the many friends who joined us along the way and made the trip both possible and pleasurable, but also to those armchair sailors who joined us by following our blog site along the way.

Also, thanks to our buddy, Steve, who meticulously tracked the circumnavigation on a globe (panorama above), which now occupies a prominent spot in our home and will serve as an important part of our memories.


Panoramic globe photo courtesy of Lauren and Justin,
30-somethings.

We're home at last...

The trip was a blast

The circumnavigation now in the past

What to do next? Better think fast!

Coming into the Marco River, we were greeted and escorted in by the police boat, Sea Tow, and the fire department with their hoses spraying. Also, many neighbors and friends came out in their boats to greet us. It was a very exciting welcome. At home, at our dock, there were many others Welcoming us back, as well.

Thanks to everyone who joined us along the way, and to all of those armchair followers of our blog.

NICE TO BE HOME!

Having arrived in Key West early this morning, the first item on the agenda was to clear into customs. Now completed and back on Moonbeam, the crew decided to reward Captain Ken for having completed the circumnavigation and almost 50,000 miles with the ceremonial dunking with a bucket of water.

This afternoon, we will depart for home, Marco Island, the last 90 miles of the trip.

(NOTE TO FOLLOWERS OF THE BLOG. WE HAVE GONE BACK AND FILLED IN SOME OF THE MISSING DAYS BETWEEN THE BVIs AND KEY WEST IN DATE ORDER)