Adventures · By water between places the road does not reach

Sailing passage

A passage by boat is how you reach islands, deltas, fjords and coasts that have no road: a mokoro through papyrus, a panga to a lava shore, a pirogue up a gorge, a ship across the Drake, a ferry into the Faroe swell.

Water is the road to most of this site’s island and water realm places, and the boat sets the mood of the day. A panga landing on a lava shore in the Galápagos, a mokoro through the papyrus in the Okavango, a pirogue up the Manambolo gorge, a Zodiac in the spray off the Antarctic Peninsula, a ferry into the Faroe swell towards the puffins. The sea state is the variable and the calm season is the plan.

What it asks of the body

A stomach, mostly. The medication handles the crossings for most people if taken before the water gets rough. Layers for the wind on water, which is colder than the same wind on land.

What it asks of the calendar

The calm months. Raja Ampat outside the trade winds, Antarctica in its summer, the Faroes in theirs, the Okavango on the flood. The Monte Carlo run models the cancellations, which are the sailing adventure’s main risk.

What it costs

A pirogue or a mokoro costs almost nothing; a liveaboard or an expedition ship costs what the Budget Simulator says. The ferry to Mykines costs a few euros and is the hardest ticket to get.

Essentials

Seasickness medication, taken before the swell
A dry bag for everything and a strap for the glasses
Layers for wind on water, which is colder than wind on land
Life jackets worn, not stowed, on small boats with guides who insist
A buffer day for the crossing the weather cancels

Risks

▲▲Sea stateFerries, crossings and landings get cancelled by swell; the calm season and the buffer day are the plan.
▲▲Small boatsHippos in the delta, logs in the Amazon, currents off the islands; the guide’s reading of the water is the safety.
▲▲ColdZodiacs in spray at zero degrees; waterproof gloves and a shell.
▲▲IsolationA boat is far from help by definition; the operator’s radio and the ship’s doctor are the system.

Questions people ask

Will I be seasick?

On the Drake, probably, and the medication helps if taken early. On the Faroe ferries and Galápagos passages, sometimes. On a mokoro through papyrus, never.

How do I choose a ship?

Smaller lands more people more often; the Antarctic treaty limits landings to a hundred at a time. The cabin price bands are in the Budget Simulator.

What about the tides?

They decide the landing hours in the Galápagos and the currents in Raja Ampat; the guides carry the tables and you carry the patience.

Places for this adventure

Ice Antarctica · November to March Antarctic Peninsula Two days across the Drake Passage to the only continent that belongs to nobody 11 daysWonder 10/10Effort 4/10

Water Botswana · June to October: the flood peaks in July and August while the land dries Okavango Delta A river that never reaches the sea, flooding a desert every winter and filling it with animals 6 daysWonder 10/10Effort 3/10

Water Indonesia · October to April Raja Ampat The richest reef on earth, seen from a liveaboard among islands like green teeth 10 daysWonder 10/10Effort 4/10

Island Ecuador · Every month Galápagos Islands where the animals never learned to be afraid 8 daysWonder 10/10Effort 3/10

Island Faroe Islands · May to August Faroe Islands Eighteen islands of grass and basalt where the weather changes every twenty minutes 5 daysWonder 8/10Effort 5/10

Canopy Peru · May to October Manu, Amazon From the Andes to the Amazon in a day, then a week where the forest does the talking 7 daysWonder 9/10Effort 5/10

Fire Vanuatu · May to October Mount Yasur, Tanna The most accessible active volcano on earth, erupting every few minutes since Captain Cook saw its glow 3 daysWonder 9/10Effort 3/10

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