There are two ways to circumnavigate the globe by boat: In the temperature latitudes, via the Mediterranean, Suez Canal, and pirate-infested Red Sea; or through the stormy Southern Ocean, where there’s an unbroken stretch of water girdling the earth, but also big waves, freezing temperatures, and the menace of icebergs.
Since the 1940s, the southern track has been the preferred route of adventurers and round-the-world racers. Three classic books about sailing the Southern Ocean are Miles Smeeton’s Once is Enough, William Albert Robinson’s To the Great Southern Sea, and Robin Knox-Johnston’s A World of My Own. Knox-Johnston was the first person to sail around the world non-stop and unassisted; he accomplished the feat in 1968.
And yes, Virginia, there are still wild, untamed places.
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