Interview: Moritz Wichmann about his circumnavigation with 221 fellow sailors
YACHT: Mr Wichmann, looking back now: Was your form of circumnavigation a good idea?
Moritz Wichmann: Except for the little things, definitely. But it was a great adventure. Sometimes annoying, sometimes just exhausting - that's when you had to persevere. But sometimes it was simply magical: those moments that we all chase after in life.
What would you do differently today?
For remote routes in the Pacific, I would look for crew much more long-term. When crossing the Atlantic, you're overwhelmed by enquiries and every backpacker is looking for one. For stages that are difficult to reach from Europe, however, it's not so easy to find fellow sailors. But my insider tip for anyone who wants to become a crew member: Shelter Bay Marina in Panama. There are many wealthy sailors on great boats who want to cross the Pacific and are desperately looking for fellow sailors.
Secondly, I would skip Australia's north coast because of the crocodiles. You can't just jump into the water there like you can in the Mediterranean. I would sail straight to Indonesia and spend more time there.
221 Fellow sailors: How did that go?
The traditional sailing literature advises: Test sail, check the crew extensively. I couldn't do that at all. I sailed too much and had too many people on board for that. But I was already used to it because I worked as a charter skipper for over ten years. You have to be a bit of a character for it. I get on with almost everyone.
What did you learn as a skipper while sailing around the world?
Before that, I mainly sailed boats and moored and unmoored them. On the circumnavigation, I then had to learn boat maintenance above all: mechanics, boat building, electrics. I wasn't a mechanic at all before the trip. On the way, I solved all kinds of problems myself, did more and more electrical work myself and finally even bled my engine down to the valves in the Red Sea. You become a bit of a sailmaker, electrician, mechanic - an all-rounder. And I gained enormous respect for craftsmen.
What was it like to sail on the Red Sea?
I wrote a blog post about it beforehand and gave it a lot of thought: yes, it's a risk, but it's manageable. You pass through Bab el Mandeb, the eye of the Red Sea, at night with a tailwind and current, as quickly as possible past the Yemeni coast, which is known for attacks by armed rebel groups. It takes a day and a half to get out of the danger zone. But so far the Houthis haven't attacked any private yachts, only freighters and tankers. Everything went well for me too. The problem was more that I couldn't find any fellow sailors. Everyone was scared. Then my father and my friend Peter from the USA came to help. It was an exhausting tour: 2,000 miles against the wind.
There were also positive surprises on the Red Sea: Sudan was great. Very poor, but the friendliest people. We were in Suakin. Djibouti, on the other hand, is a deregulated free trade chaos and unfortunately totally littered. The taxi drivers will tell you three times the price on principle. We also had a good experience in the Suez Canal: super nice pilots, young tugboat captains who guide yachts through the canal on the side. They gave us a small gift and we gave them something in return.
Why did you choose a Dufour 43?
That was a pragmatic decision. Winter 2021/22, end of the coronavirus pandemic, buyers' market. But it's also a really good boat, an honest all-rounder. The YACHT test report from 2001 said: well ventilated for tropical sailing, sails well in light winds, solidly laminated.
I gave my Dufour 43 a speed refit in three weeks after buying it: replaced the seacocks, replaced the rigging and changed the saildrive seal. I didn't want to wait a year and work on the boat, I wanted to go sailing straight away. I upgraded the rest along the way: lithium batteries in Mallorca, solar panels in Cape Town, watermaker repairs en route. Every eight to ten weeks, I took a planned week's break for a refit.
How much does it cost to sail around the world?
Good all-rounder boats, 40 to 45 feet, 20 to 25 years old, cost between 65,000 and 90,000 euros. What else have I invested over and above that? Difficult to say, quite a lot per year. I often had to buy spare parts twice on spec.
A monthly budget of 650 to 1,500 euros is often assumed in the literature. At 700 euros, you have to be very frugal, with rice and beans as your main food. I was travelling closer to 1,000-1,500 euros. It's all doable with financial discipline. Thanks to my fellow sailors, I even ended up with plus/minus zero. At the beginning I took 250 to 350 euros per week from fellow sailors, later 500 to 600 euros.
How did you manage that in terms of time?
I quit my job as a newspaper editor. Saved up for ten years, then chucked it all in. I had romantic ideas of writing articles from the boat, but I could forget that. I was completely occupied on board: Sailing, managing the crew, repairs, sourcing spare parts, social media. It wasn't possible to work on the side.
How are you doing now, one year after your return?
Good. Some people ask: How can you be back in normal life? Behind this is a romanticised idea of sailing around the world. It was a logistical challenge, there were magical moments. But it was a project that is now complete. I once joked that if I died tomorrow, I wouldn't be unhappy. Sailing around the world was one of my biggest goals in life. Everything else is nice on top now.
I try to maintain the boat. I fly to Greece every six to eight weeks for maintenance. In between, other skippers sail my boat. Let's see if that pays off.
You're going to be a father - the next circumnavigation is not on the cards for now?
Who knows? Maybe it's not a contradiction at all - there are people who sail or live on boats with small children. As Joe Strummer from The Clash said: The future is unwritten.
