Most west-coast based boats first cross their outbound track on a circumnavigation in Mexico. The Seattle based SV Totem and the Gifford family are no different. They announced they had crossed their outbound track near Zihuatenejo, Mexico. Behan Giffords long-running blog caught the imagination of many a sailor. Good for them!
My book studied successful west-coast circumnavigators, and it found most complete a round the world sailing trip in 5.5 years. The SV Totem crew are on slow end of the distribution with 10 years and counting to return to their home port.
Here is a profile done by the Business Insider of SV Totem:
No word if the Seattle based boat SV Delos, Slow Boat Sailing Podcast episode 10 and 33 guests, will be following in their wake next season. Delos, which is in the eastern Caribbean, has been trailing and bumping into SV Totem for a while and has interviewed their crew.
They departed Panama in late March after transiting the canal. Their quick progress to Mexico indicates they may be trying to reach the USA before the start of hurricane season on June 1. Mexico is one of the most active regions for hurricanes in the eastern Pacific. SV Totem saw the devastating category 5 hurricanes Irma and Maria pass just north of them when they were cruising the eastern Caribbean in fall 2017. They sustained no damage, and eventually spent much of the remainder of hurricane season which goes from June to November in Grenada. Grenada is considered outside the “box” of hurricane risk for the Caribbean.
SLOW BOAT SAILING 