Ship, costs, equipment, route, destinations: Over the past 20 years, sailing legend Bobby Schenk has used the same ten questions to determine the experiences of 100 sailing crews. In doing so, he has created a globally unique pool of knowledge from which future circumnavigators can draw important conclusions for their planning. The interviewees include many prominent names in cruising sailing - including the Erdmanns, the Hausners, Pieske, the Kammlers and the Kochs.
Times change, experience remains valuable
The first blue water sailors that Schenk interviewed in 1970, including Astrid and Wilfried Erdmann with their "Kathena", were still circumnavigating the world without sponsors, electronics and with a small yacht less than ten metres long. Over the years, crews with modernised equipment were added, who were already able to benefit from the circumnavigations that had been recorded up to that point: ship types adapted for the journey, planning of several legs, other financing options as well as GPS and high-tech electronics were the result.
Schenk emphasises that the records cannot be directly compared with each other due to the changing circumstances. Nevertheless, they provide interesting insights into the steps involved in sailing around the world, both then and now.
Find out more about Bobby Schenk's who's who in circumnavigation here.
