„Once in my life I´d love to sail around the world!” This way or another, a wish like that may roam the head of any sailor now and then. It´s still regarded as an ultimate adventure, the dream vacation and sabbatical for so many people. I´d say that 90 per cent of all boats are sold because people want to do a circumnavigation. And even if they don´t – dreaming of it whilst going of the occasional weekend-trip often feels like a little escape from our everday´s routine.
Even if you have a green light for all of these three major preconditions: A proper boat, enough time and enough money, it´s still a very big step to eventually cast off all landlines and set sail to do your circumnavigation. But behold: There´s an alternative which will help you tackle the forth – and often neglected – hurdle to overcome: The huge administrative and organizational task that lies ahead when you really want to sail around the globe. I´ve talked to Victor Taburiaux who is in the midst of the planning of the next upcoming edition if the “GYLWO” – the Grand Large World Odyssey
From Flotilla Sailing to the ARC
Organized sailing adventures for a bunch of three to more than 20 boats is nothing really new. A whole, albeit small, part of the charter boat industry is organizing a wide spectrum of events for people who like to sail with others. And a small portion of this “travel industry” is dedicated to long haul sailing. The idea is simple: Together, but more loosely organized, one will tackle the challenge of traversing the Atlantic Ocean or even the whole world. Following a pre-arranged route, you will sail to specific destinations in a pre-determined time window. There the fleet is coming together, sharing some organized events, parties or undertakings, just to set sail for the next leg.
The advantages of participating in such an organized trip are plenty and pretty obvious: There is no pre-planning needed whatsoever in terms of sailing route, timely decisions (sailing seasons, hurricanes, monsoon season et cetera), Visa and customs issues, entry fees or other regulatory specifics all up to details like technical support or insurance details. Everything is pre-planned and you just have to sign on – and set sail. Best part of it: You won´t have to do it alone. Mostly, there´s a whole fleet of likeminded people. Since you can decide if you want to make friends or not, you can choose if you sail in a bulk of yachts or take on the legs on your own. That´s according to the saying: “Shared happiness is happiness doubled”, right? Where flotilla sailing is more known in the charter world, one man re-defined and even kind of invented the cruising version of it all: Jimmy Cornell.
The year 1986 shaped trans-atlantic sailing forever
Of course you know about Jimmy Cornell: Every sailor I know has at least one of his plenty books in his maritime shelf (mee too). Jimmy´s “World Cruising Routes” is a standard work for cruising and circumnavigators. In the mid Eighties Jimmy organized the inaugural edition of the ARC, the “Atlantic Rally for Cruisers” which has become the biggest and most important of all amateur offshore-cruising events in the world. Traditionally harnessing the trade winds from the Canary Islands, every year in December a huge fleet sets sail under the pennant of the ARC to hit Saint Lucia a few weeks later. With the “World ARC”, the “ARC Plus” or the “ARC Europe” and “ARC Baltic” many offshoots have been established. The ARC is open to any sailboat, any brand, any type – prerequisites for attending are fairly low. That´s the recipe for its success: The luxury 80-footer is equally welcome as the 20 years old Dufour 32 Classic …
With ever varying numbers of participants numbers, the ARC for example has become a huge event: Around 150 boats with a total of 800 to 900 crew members are gathering each December in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria and set sail to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Many say it has become an over-commercialized event, whilst others seek a more exclusive thrill. For the ARC World, some 40 boats sign in for the trip annually. So apparently, there is a market and stable demand for such events.
Luxury circumnavigations á la Oyster
You know that I am an Oyster-fanboy. One of the cool things about owning one of these most British boats there are is the “Oyster World Rally”. It´s a guided circumnavigation, exclusively limited and tailored to Oyster yachts. Another “brand only” circumnavigation of the “luxury” kind is the “GLYWO”, the Grand Large World Odyssey. This is an event exclusively made for yachts made by the French shipyards Allures, Garcia, RM Yachts, Outremer and ORC Catamarans. I´ve talked with Victor Taburiaux, one of the main organizers at Grand Large Yachting for the GLYWO in this matter.
„What the ARC lacks is time”, Victor says. He must know for sure because up until six years ago he worked for the World Cruising Club organizing the rally. He is a mix of travel expert, logistics specialist and part pro-skipper. The 36 years old globetrotter loves organizing and pulling off such events as a circumnavigation. The complexity and beauty of an event like this is what makes him curious to tackle every new edition. “With the World ARC you or underway for only 15 months”, he says. “That´s in my eyes too short the really being able to enjoy the full spectrum of what the rout has to offer.” Once arrived, there´s really only a few days and you have to move on. No time to let go and relax for a while. Victor fancies the idea of a “luxury circumnavigation” much more. And luxury, he insists, means not the comfort or amenities. It refers to the one thing that isn´t even really purchasable: Time.
Oyster´s World Rally, Victor says, was a big step ahead in this matter. Participants of this feat are 17-18 months underway. One and a half years, that´s half a year more compared to the World ARC. It´s exclusively limited to Oyster yachts and owners, but therefore offers a lot of services around the event. The 27.000 nautical miles long trip around the world is closely monitored from the shore-base back in England as well as flanked by Oyster-employees at the destinations after each leg. This includes technical service, weather routing and other amenities. “This is a great concept that offers much more than just the start and welcome party at the destination”, Victor emphasizes. “But even one and a half years, I fear, is far too short to really discover the world …”
The Grand Large World Odyssey concept
Putting together all of the proven, good things of both worlds, the French “GLYWO” adds what the other lack most: Time. “We would think that if you attend such an undertaking to sail to the most remotest islands of the Pacific Ocean or even around the Cape Horn, you should be able to spend at least a few weeks of time there. You should experience the local culture, the food, the people. Staying two or three nights in a buoy field and set sail for the next location … honestly, that´s not what a circumnavigation should be like!” Victor, having done it multiple times now, says, that the ideal time frame for really discovering the world by boat is three years. “Minimum!”, he adds. “With our World Odyssey we don´t want to rush around the globe, always on the run trying to avoid the Hurricane season.”
„Free Cruising“ and lots of time for individual, local sailing trips
The Grand Large World Odyssey offers two principal routes: The classic “coconut route” traversing the Panama Canal or the “southern route” around the notorious Cape Hoorn. It may seem as the standard dream route around the world and of course it covers most if not all of the locations any sailor would have on his bucket list. The real new thing about GLYWO is something they call “free cruising”. This is what sets apart this event from all the others. For the standard destinations, up to four nights in marinas or on buoys are included in the fee of the World Odyssey. But for many there is “free cruising”: Weeks, sometimes up to four months (!) of staying in the area or region with the opportunity to set sail on your personal sailing excursion. “The idea is to give the crew the room and time to add their own individual destinations to the route. For example, in the Marquesa archipelago you will have three months to sail around on your own. Same goes for Tahiti.” In New Zealand the fleet will have 4 months free cruising …
“Some put their boats on the dry to fly home to check if everything is fine or even work a whole. Others utilize the time to explore New Zealand and even Australia by car or in longer shore trips”, Victor tells me. When sailing, it´s really nice to see how every time smaller groups of sailors will team up to sail to the closer and neighboring atolls and archipelagoes. “It´s really up to you what you want to do in the free cruising time. Some will remain in the ports and have their families or friends fly in … that way the long trip around the world is shared with loved ones.” His team provides sailing directions and tips, even weather routing and expert knowledge to make the most of your free cruising-time. “This way we don´t push the fleet from destination to destination. On the contrary: Time pressure is not of any concern as the itinerary is easily manageable. No hustle!” The participants are flexible and can weave their personal, very individual destinations into the pre-organized route with ease.
Support around the World
A big issue on every circumnavigation is technical support, Victor says: “This way or another, you are going on a real offshore sailing adventure! Although we try to avoid bad weather best as we can, we will probably experience demanding conditions as well.” Everything from hull to sails and rigging will be under heightened stress – much more stess than it would get when sailed occasionally in European coastal waters. Paramount for the safety and wellbeing of the participants is therefore the technical service during the circumnavigation.
“Many sailors, although owning the right kind of boat which would be easily capable of completing such a trip, won´t do it because of fear of being stranded with a mechanical or technical malfunction, damage or failing spare part somewhere along the route. Many owners aren´t mechanics. And they don´t one to become one.” The solution: They bring the mechanics. During GLYWO, specialists for all parts of a yacht are flown in from France to no less than seven locations: “Inspection of each participating boat is included within the fee”, Victor says. This way any developing damage or failure can be detected well before something serious happens and taken on.
Another big plus is the shore-based support from HQ in France: Weather specialists are closely monitoring the general weather situation and will issue warnings if a depression is developing or approaching. Each boat will get a live tracker and access to pro weather prediction and -routing software for the duration of the tip. “If you have an issue or a question, you just ask the people at home and you will receive an answer with possible alternatives and suggestions. Thanks to Starlink this is now available from every location anywhere in the ocean. “You are never alone”, Victor assures me: “We have every boat of our fleet on screen all the time.”
For some it is the adventure of their lives, for some it´s just a start.
Victor says that the best part of his job is to get to know so many different people. Sometimes, during the event, he will be present on the boats sailing along, while most of the time he will be flying in to the destinations to prepare for the arrival of the fleet. “There are so many different types of sailors and interesting people attending.” For example, it´s interesting to note that most of the Outremer owners sold their catamaran after the event: “It seems that for many owners participating the GLYWO and sailing around the world in their cats was the big thing.” Totally in contrast to the aluminium-skippers …
Whereas I can totally understand that it might be a problem for most owners of such a large catamaran to go on sailing this huge ship for occasional or coastal cruising, it´s kind of pure luxury to imagine buying a Outremer 52 or 55 just for the circumnavigation. But why not? On the other hand: “Not a single Allures or Garcia Yacht has been sold after completion of the circumnavigation”, Victor says. On the contrary. Many of the seemed to have utilized the GLYWO to kind of “practice”, get to know their yachts and how long haul cruising is done: “Many crews later went on to tackle the Northwest-Passage or sail into the really remote areas in the far South or North.” Which type are you?
How much does the Grand Large World Odyssey cost?
Of all the things learned by talking with Victor, this was the most surprising: It is much less than I had initially thought. The entrance fees are calculated according to the boat´s type (mono or multihull), it´s size and number of people aboard. Included is the whole organization, all services and also the fees for the Panama Canal and pilots, the entry fee for the Galapagos Islands, the four nights at every destination and services like weather routing, tracking and shore-based services. Not to forget, technical survey in seven destinations along the route. So what would you think this all costs?
Entrance fees for the smallest boat and 2 persons start at 35.000 Euros and clock in at 50.000 Euros for the big Garcia and Allures flagships. If you divide this by the number of years, that´s less than 17.000 Euros per year, 1,400 Euro per month. “In the face of the many services and efforts we undertake, both in France and by flying in so many people from destination to destination this is not much, honestly”, Victor says. And I agree. Of course, you might think that you can plan ahead yourself, check weather and plan a route yourself and draw location suggestions out of books and the internet. “Sure you can do it”, Victor says, “but you know what? I know people who had to wait more than 2 weeks for a Panama pilot. Acquiring a permit to sail into the Galapagos archipelago is not a no-brainer either. And what about technical service?” Well, of course you could do it all yourself – but as I said at the beginning of this article, for many sailors this is an organizational nightmare. Apart from the logistics: If you sail alone, you won´t have the pleasure of sailing with so many likeminded people, who happen to become friends.
The next edition of the Grand Large World Odyssey will start on 1. September in La Grande Motte in the Mediterranean or at the Grand Large headquarters in Cherbourg on the Atlantic Ocean. There are some last tickets left for enthusiasts: “As of now, 24 of the 30 available slots are already booked. If somebody wants to join for the 2025-edition, be quick!”, Victor says. The fleet will be back around June 2028. Of course, you need to be owning an Allures, Garcia or RM Yacht – ordering one now won´t make it, but I guess there will be another edition of the GLYWO even for people who have just placed their order for a new boat in France.
If even the southern route of the GLYWO around the Hoorn is not “extreme” enough for you, you might again refer to the “father” of all sailing rallyes, Jimmy Cornell. At the start of 2025 he has announced his “High Latitude Challenge”, which is an adventure both sailing the Northwest Passage, and crossing the Cape Hoorn. A Hop-on hop-off trip taking you to the most remote areas of our planet and certainly not as “coconutty” as the GLYWO. By the way, I´ve interviewed an owner couple of a Garcia Exploration lately who, after completing the World Odyssey, enlisted for exactly this adventure: Proof of the above mentioned “start for something bigger.”
Pictures © by Positive Dreams Productions and kind permission by Grand Large Yachting
Also interesting to read:
How to tackle an Atlantic crossing
Half way round: Why a circumnavigation ended after just one half
How I once planned my Transat-adventure