Welcome
to the fifth 
newsletter
1st
August 2008 - VOTE
VOTE NOW!
The first serious vote that’ll determine in which
direction I’ll be circumnavigating the world is now online. This one is
for real so log into the forum at http://www.w2n.co.uk/forum.html,
take a look at the options and use your vote carefully! Put simply, there are
only four options to choose from and they are the two canals (Panama or Suez)
or the two capes (Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn).
This vote will run until the 20th September when the winning route
will be announced and the dice will decide the first landfall.
So, from Portsmouth,
the options...
1. Heading SW via the Channel Islands before crossing the Bay of Biscay and
following the coast of Spain and Portugal before turning left at Gibraltar and
committing to an Easterly circumnavigation via the Mediterranean. This would
appear to be the most comfortable option - and it is for a while, except that
an easterly lap would inevitably include a cold and dangerous North Pacific
passage.
2. Heading SW, again down the Spanish / Portuguese coast to Madeira or the
Canary Islands before continuing south and rounding South Africa the long way
via the Cape of Good Hope. Again, this starts by following the recognised
cruising routes but going the long way around South Africa wouldn't be
everybody's choice. Just as with option 1, this route would include an easterly
crossing of the Indian and Pacific oceans although it would include a
fascinating cruise around much of Asia and up
the eastern Chinese coast.
3. Perhaps the most favoured westerly cruising route. Heading SW either
directly from Portsmouth via the Channel Islands and across the Bay of Biscay
or W to Lizard and directly to the Madeira or the Canary Islands before
following the trade winds to the Caribbean. Traditionally, this route would
then continue through the Panama Canal from where there are dozens of
fascinating Pacific
Islands to choose from.
The biggest danger with this option would be catching the tail end of the
'Tropical Storm' season in the Atlantic.
4. Starting just as in option 3, but instead of following the trade winds to
the Caribbean, option 4 would head straight for South
America. This would of course be fascinating but having committed
to a westerly circumnavigation, I would be faced with the reality of
negotiating the Straits of Magellan or perhaps even Cape Horn, the most feared Cape in the world. It really would be an epic adventure
that would make any sailor proud to have achieved but it is a notoriously
dangerous prospect.
Option
1 Mediterranean
Option
2 South Africa
Option
3 Caribbean
Option
4 South
America
Okay, so there are the options. You can change your vote as often as you like
but the option with the most votes on 20th September 2008 WILL be the one I'll
commit to. The winning option will determine the general direction and the dice
will then decide each landfall on that route.
Be nice!
THE DICE PARTY
You’ll know by now that the ‘Where to Next?’ circumnavigation
starts on September 21st 2008 – not long now. Well, you would
of course be very welcome to come and wave me off from Wicormarine in Portchester but
I’d like to invite you to a ‘Dice Party’ on September 20th.
I don’t know yet where it’ll be or how many people will turn up but
let me know if you’re interested and I can start thinking of some
suitably random ways of introducing you to the Dice Life! Email me at rob {CHANGE TO AT} w2n {DOT} co {DOT} uk if you think you might be able to
come and I’ll post more information on the next newsletter.
That’s all for now. Thanks for your interest in the
w2n project and please don’t hesitate to contact me with your comments
and thoughts. Please feel free to participate in the forum on the w2n website (www.w2n.co.uk) and introduce your friends to
the project.
All my very best,
Rob (Bee)
You are receiving this newsletter because
you have either registered an interest or because you haven’t – and
I think you should! If you are receiving it in error, please let me know by simply
replying to the email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
