Cruising (maritime)

Blue Water Sailing is a form of mobile life on sailing boats, in which long trips on deep sea far from coasts, harbors or marinas ( marinas ) with periods of free on- anchor - recumbent alternate mostly in bays or on reefs without access to modern infrastructure.

The term derives from the deep blue color of the sea onto the open ocean. Blue Water Sailing is therefore in contrast to sailing in coastal waters, where the color of the water by suspended particles usually goes conditionally into gray.

Depending on the route, crew and boat, the spectrum ranges from camping on the water to travel in the area of ​​high performance sport. The team often consists of married couples who meet with this type of sailing a lifelong dream, or one-handed sailors. As life often takes place far away from modern resources, the boat must be specially equipped and allow its crew one for weeks and months self-sufficient life.

Sailing across longer distances on the oceans is still determined by the global weather systems. A classic route for many sailors is the circumnavigation on the trade route near the equator. This cruise follows the trade wind belt, which is located between the two tropics, and is fed by the large high pressure areas on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The course in this case runs from east to west, with European sailors usually start from the Canary Islands and then sail across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean to Panama. In Panama, the journey through the Panama Canal to the Galapagos Islands, and thence to the Pacific goes. From the Pacific from the route continues through the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea. An alternative route through the Indian Ocean follows the coast of South Africa around the Cape of Good Hope. From there it goes on to Brazil, the Caribbean and the East Coast of the U.S., and then return with the westerly winds in the northeastern United States via Bermuda to Europe.

Blue water trips of married couples were popular in the English-speaking world in the 1950s and 1960s. Well-known pioneer in England were Eric and Susan Hiscock. The first German couple who sailed around the world, were Elga and Ernst -Jürgen Koch, who were from 1964 to 1967 with the SY KAIROS I go. Significant German blue water sailors are Wilfried Erdmann, Rollo Gebhard, Eric and Heather Wilt and Bobby Schenk.

• Sailing