Sunday, September 29, 2013

Global Circumnavigation Complete



Our short passage from Tobago to Trinidad on September 2, 2013 completed our circumnavigation of earth.  We were last here in 2009. 

We estimate that 42,000 miles have slipped below the keel of our home since our departure in 2008.  We have burned 15,616 gallons of diesel fuel to move our mighty ship.  The average price of fuel for the entire voyage was $3.74/gallon with a total spent of $58,476.  Highest price we paid for fuel was $7.21/ gallon in Saint Helena Island and the cheapest fuel was $0.03/gallon in Venezuela.

What is hard to measure is the richness added to each of our lives by this adventure.  The smile on Emily’s face as she swam with dolphins in the Bahamas and sea lions in Galapagos will be with us forever in our memories.  Her feeling of pride when she got her SCUBA certification in Fiji and the entire crews’ sense of accomplishment as we landed in Fatu Hiva after 21 days at sea would have been hard to duplicate on land.

We were blessed by people around the globe who opened their hearts and homes to us.  People like Tiara, the 13 year old girl in Fiji that invited Emily into her home and into her school for a day.  Or the family in Tonga who adopted us and invited us to their church on Sunday and a pig roast feast in honor of Fine's 65th birthday. 

 

And we tried to give back some when we were able; like the house we built in Niuatoputapu or the floating trash that we are constantly retrieving from the sea.

 

While we still have a few more miles before we see the shores of the United States, we feel that we are almost home. Our clocks now read the same time as on the US east coast, so we can’t be too far.  Stay with us as we wind our last few thousand miles through the Caribbean.

 

Tom

11 comments:

Frank Taylor said...

Congratulations the the whole crew of Emily Grace! An amazing achievement that you will remember for the rest of your lives. We hope that Tahina will be doing the same in a couple of years or so.

Unknown said...

Bravo sir

Hudson River Boater said...

I would love to read all the Stats about your journey-- IE: Fuel Consumption/Engine Hours and what ever else you have logged...
The log for Emily Grace must be pretty big after a circumnavigation of the earth!!

Not many folks can say they have done what you folks have on a beautiful vessel...

I won't say congratulations till you made it back to your home port...

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Kim, Tom and Emily! We have followed you all the way and you have enlightened us as well as yourselves. We've vicariously enjoyed every minute of it! Wishing you safe travels the rest of the way and a wonderful life in your new home on land. Emily will have many experiences to share when she enters school and we know her grandmother and the rest of the family will be thrilled to see her- you too of course, but grandchildren are special:-)!
Phyllis and Dick Gruskin

Istaboa said...

Wow!
Yes you did!
We've followed you guys from the beginning.
Emily, you have wonderful parents,
Tom and Kim, you've given your daughter a gift so very few have ever received and we're sure those gifts are mutual.
The rewards will follow for you all.
Congratulations.
Wow!

Behan - s/v Totem said...

Congratulations guys! Tremendous achievement. Hopefully we'll share an anchorage with you again someday. We were reminded recently that the world is round and paths cross and recross when we hung out with sv Pickles in Malaysia... yoru raft-up buddies from the Panama canal!

"...What we found was that the world is indeed an amazing place filled with beautiful and interesting people." -Alex Rust, right? Or did that originate from someone else?

Tom, Kim and Emily said...
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Tom, Kim and Emily said...
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ssbsings@ said...

Welcome to the time zone. It seems like only yesterday you learned to dock at Gwenmore. I have loved following your voyage and look forward to seeing you when you get back home. What an amazing education you have given Emily.
Susie/SV Evensong

Mary said...

I met you around the Panama Canal and have been following you since then. Your posts have been so interesting; you have a remarkable gift for description and you pick such interesting things to tell about. I'm sure you will be glad to get home, but I will miss you when this is all over. Thank you so much!

Worrall Travel Rs said...

Congratulations on your wonderful achievement. Your lives will be filled with great stories.

One of our favorite cruising stories is the day we spent with you while we were in the Maskelyne Islands of Vanuatu on Children's day. Emily demonstrated oragami and we involved the village in a huge game of blackout BINGO! What fun! What is your next adventure?

Roz and Russ from S/V Worrall Wind, now land lubbers in California.