15 lessons in circumnavigation

Koopmans learned the hard way to pick crew with great care. “You learn to work with crew and their wits. Generally we had a great crew apart from one criminal chef who made transfers to her own account and disappeared.”

"Go with the current and the winds, then you will stay in the bandwidth of good weather,” advises Koopmans.  Zeepaard’s circumnavigation started in Malta in 2009. The superyacht cruised the Mediterranean before setting off west across the Atlantic – the best way, according to Koopmans.

The owners of Twizzle have gone round the world twice: east to west and west to east. The best, they say, is westabout. “The most practical direction (taking into account weather and seasonal winds) is to go counter-clockwise. Head for the Panama Canal, then through to the Galápagos and across the Pacific, then on to the Far East, Indian Ocean and Suez. Going clockwise is much more complex to programme,” they counsel.

During Koopmans' three-year circumnavigation aboard Zeepaard, he and everyone on board were held hostage for three days while anchored off a town near Alexandria. “That was the end of our tour in Egypt,” he says matter-of-factly. “I decided there and then never to return.”

Perkins also remembers his time spent in Egypt with some negativity: “I have transited the Suez Canal only once and will never do so again.”

Cape Horn should be rounded in December, according to Perkins, but even then it can be calm or horrific.

“We had only a perfect 20-knot breeze on the beam, so we sailed around the island and then on across the Drake Passage to Antarctica. The following year at the same time a friend with a similar yacht encountered 120 knots of wind and was unable to round,” he remembers.

The homeward journey across the Indian Ocean took Zeepaard into pirate territory, something Koopmans was well prepared for.

“We made extensive modifications, including wrapping her up in chicken fence, barbed wire and electric fencing,” he recalls. “We also stuck a military number – ZP01 – on the bow, fitted shooting bunkers on deck and modified the engine room into a citadel from where we could operate all controls.”

For extra security, four Dutch Navy Seals joined the yacht for the journey.

Another headache on Koopamans’ trip was caused by red tape, most notably in Cuba. “Watch out in Cuba,” he warns. “Eleven government officials came to inspect, fill in and sign the same papers.”

“As it never gets very dark at night in those high southern latitudes, we sailed at night,” Perkins recalls.

“This was very foolish, we discovered, as radar doesn’t always show even huge icebergs if they are in the process of capsizing – the echo gets reflected into outer space and not back to the yacht. One scary incident (picture the Titanic) ended our night adventures.”

Beware the charts, Perkins warns. “The charts in Alaska aren’t terribly accurate. We ran aground with Andromeda and the nine metre tide left us totally out of the water on a bank of shale. We rigged kedge anchors far outboard leading to the mast top, to prevent tipping over (it worked) and all aboard went ashore for safety for eight hours before the tide started to return,” he recalls.

Taking their children out of school was a big decision for the Ryans, but one that paid off, with their three daughters learning a huge amount.

“We took tutors, opting for a married couple on the recommendation of an agency, as we got more bang for our buck. Plus they were able to be a unit unto themselves, which meant they didn’t need to always be with us or the crew,” they say.

But the girls’ best lessons were thanks to the decision to promote the first mate to captain: “She was our first female captain – and the first-ever female skipper of a superyacht – and a fabulous role model for our three girls.”