When the wind beckons - a family sails around the world

Julia: „My husband Christian and I have been sailing since we were children and also met through sailing. Together we sailed 550 nautical miles across the North Sea in wind force eight in the 2009 Helgoland-Edinburgh offshore regatta.

I myself have travelled around the world a lot in my life and also lived abroad for many years. Christian devoured the books by Burghard Pieske and Wolfgang Hausner when he was young and has dreamed of sailing around the world himself ever since. I was very quickly infected by his sailing travel bug!

In 2015, we had our first catamaran and sailed it as often as we could with our small children on the Baltic Sea. Matilda, our youngest, was eight months old on the first trip. We told the children about our circumnavigation from an early age. At home, the children liked to play 'sailing around the world' with the sofa as a sailing boat and the armchair as a dinghy...“

boot: So the children were quasi born with sailing in their genes. How did you finally prepare for the trip?

Julia: „It really began to materialise when we ordered our boat at the boot 2020 trade fair. We then both quit our jobs. We really wanted to feel free. You can only do that by giving up your safety net.

We rented out our flat furnished. Especially for the children, it was important to know that they could return 'home' at some point. 

 Actually, we also wanted to take some courses beforehand. Then COVID-19 came along and all the preparatory courses fell through. Neither first aid at sea nor an engine course were possible. Fortunately, we had already taken part in the blue water weekend seminar at the boot in 2019. Then at the beginning of 2021, we took a two-day online piracy prevention seminar run by the German police.“

Julia: „Originally we thought we’d do our circumnavigation on the Schionning Arrow 1200, our 'Wild Thing'. But then we realised that the boat would be too small for us all for such a trip and maybe not stable enough. So we looked around at other catamarans and then decided on an Outremer 45. It’s a very sporty vessel and has both a steering wheel and tiller steering on both hulls. It's really fun!“

Julia: „We definitely wanted another catamaran. It rolls less at anchor, the boat movements and heeling are much more pleasant than with a monohull - especially on the courses with aft winds that are prevalent on the barefoot route. Our boat has a children's hull and a parents' hull!

However, as we are sporty sailors, only a performance catamaran would do. The Outremer 45 convinced us right from the start. Extremely stable, with all the advantages of a boat optimised for good cruising speeds. In the right conditions, we can calculate between 180 and 200 nm. On the one hand, this is fun (our maximum speed was an unbelievable 19 knots) and on the other hand it gives us more safety, as we can avoid bad weather if necessary.“

boot: If there are children on board, the issue of safety is certainly very important to you.

Julia: „Yes, very much so! Basically, we believe we can guarantee better safety on a new high-quality boat than on a much older one. We get excellent support from the shipyards if there are problems, even here in the Caribbean. We do the usual regular checks, of course. We also have extensive safety equipment and technology on board, for example a completely independent emergency autopilot, satellite telephone or AIS transponder. We also focus on safety when it comes to procedures, for example at night we only sail on deck with a lifejacket and pegged down. As a matter of principle, we never carry out sailing manoeuvres alone at night - we wake each other up first.

 Last but not least, we have a very extensive first aid kit on board for medical emergencies at sea. Christian is a dentist with solid medical knowledge and can stitch wounds or give injections. In addition, I attended a two-day ‘Medical at Sea’ course.“

Julia: „We set off on our Wild Thing² in La Grande Motte in August 2021. We cruised in the Mediterranean, including Corsica, Sardinia, Barcelona and Menorca, and then returned to La Grande Motte for a shipyard check.

The circumnavigation didn’t begin until the beginning of November. In Gibraltar we had to wait 19 days for the right weather window for the 4-day sail to Lanzarote. We spent Christmas on La Gomera and set off for our Atlantic crossing on 27.12.2021 - just us and the kids. On day five of the Atlantic crossing, our gennaker broke, so it took us a total of 19 days to reach Union Island (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). Originally we wanted to sail with the participants of the 'Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey' towards Los Roques and Panama, but then we decided to explore the Caribbean a bit more. So we slowed down and sailed for another four months in the Antilles: Martinique, Guadeloupe, Antigua & Barbuda, St. Barts, British Virgin Islands, sometimes going back and forth to take part in various regattas!“

boot: Especially for the children, such a journey must be very exciting. But practical things like compulsory schooling and keeping the children occupied on long trips also play a role. How do you manage all that?

Julia: „Of course we want our children to be able to return to their grades when we return to Germany. That’s why it’s essential to do on-board schooling. In addition, our three children are very close and keep themselves and each other wonderfully occupied. We have a lot of toys, board games and books with us. Sometimes the Jenga bricks come out, then the cars, Lego, Playmobil, then we paint, play Monopoly, UNO, chess or backgammon. The children also like to listen to audio books a lot. We also have a small beamer on board, which we use for unforgettable cinema evenings - and the kids like to invite the children from other boats to join them.“

boot: Were there many challenges with the schooling?

Julia: „We all had to get used to life on board. We’re only two adults and have to teach three children. So we can't teach all three one-to-one at the same time. This means we always have to give at least one child tasks to work on alone.

On the other hand, individual lessons are extremely effective. We notice right away whether the child has understood the material and we can continue. We also integrate topics into the lessons that the children wouldn’t learn at home, for example, the great seafarers like Christopher Columbus, who discovered many Caribbean islands, or flying fish, whales, sea turtles and other marine animals, satellites, volcanoes, slavery in the Caribbean, cocoa and sugar cane. We’re discovering the world together!

A few years ago, of all the things you could worry about when sailing around the world, I was most concerned about the issue of schooling on board. Now, since the corona period with people doing home office and kids stuck at home who had to be schooled, looked after and cooked for at the same time, I see things differently. We have time for our children and can devote ourselves fully to teaching - if we don't happen to be changing tack on the high seas!“

Julia: „We're sailing the barefoot route, so the way is roughly sketched out. This far, we’ve already sailed 8500 nautical miles on the Wild Thing². From Martinique we will sail again to the Grenadines and from there to Bonaire. Then we’ll sail on to Cartagena in late autumn. From here we want to explore Colombia and maybe Costa Rica. Then to the San Blas Islands, through the Panama Canal into the Pacific, Galapagos, South Seas, New Zealand, Australia, the Indian Ocean to South Africa, Brazil and from there via the Caribbean to the Bahamas and the USA. Then it's back to Europe; perhaps via Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway or otherwise the traditional route via the Azores. But we’re flexible - if it turns out differently, that's fine too. It should be fun for all of us, we don't have to 'pull off' a fixed plan.“

boot: After so many nautical miles you must have experienced quite a lot - what were some highlights so far?

Julia: „There have been many! We like to sail at night with a beautiful starry sky. Often you see fluorescent plankton glittering in the water. It's an incredible natural spectacle. Whales are also among the highlights, of course. On the Atlantic crossing, a whole horde passed us by. Another time, in the east of St. Martin a whale surfaced very close to our boat. Gripping!

But also simply having time for watersports, e.g. windsurfing, or a cosy campfire on the beach are unforgettable moments.

On our trip we also met and became fond of many nice people whith whom we experienced unforgettable moments.“

Julia: „To name a single destination would probably not do justice to the many great places on our trip, and is very difficult.

In Europe, for example, we were very taken with Corsica and also La Gomera in the Canary Islands.

The Caribbean surprised us in a positive way. You so often hear and read that it’s 'overcrowded, unfriendly, unsafe, expensive'. We cannot confirm this. There are lots of beautiful islands and places in the Caribbean. The turquoise waters and sandy beaches in the Grenadines, the BVIs with the Baths, Sandy Pit on Jost Van Dyke, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Barths, the rainforest and waterfalls on Guadeloupe.... The people are very friendly and helpful. We find it simply wonderful and are glad that we took a few months to enjoy the great sailing spots in the Caribbean.“

boot: If others now also feel like embarking on such an adventure, what tips can you give them from your experiences?

Julia: „When you’re at home in your everyday life, there are always more reasons to stay than to give it all up and set sail. But when the wind beckons, you should cast off your lines and sail off into your adventure. And being able to experience this with our children makes it even more precious. We spend a very intense time full of impressions and grow even closer as a family. The memories of this special time will stay with us forever. 

Perhaps as a tip: People often tend to be a bit perfectionist. But you are never perfectly prepared! But that shouldn't stop you from realising your dream. You can still do it! So have the courage to let go and be free [laughs]!“

Dear Julia, thank you very much for the interview!