World Voyage 2027

The 2027 season is the homecoming half of the world voyage, five legs covering 10,658 nautical miles from Cape Town to Kiel between January and August 2027. Leg 5 is the South Atlantic crossing from Saldanha Bay via Saint Helena to Fortaleza in Brazil. Leg 6 runs north along South America to Trinidad. Leg 7 island-hops the Windward Islands from Trinidad to Antigua. Leg 8 is the classic spring transatlantic via Bermuda to the Azores. Leg 9 brings the ship home through Guernsey and Helgoland to Kiel.

The Atlantic crossings are the longest, but they aren't the most technically demanding. Leg 5 (44 days, 3,739 nm) and Leg 8 (56 days, 2,876 nm) are downwind trade-wind work for most of the passage, long, remote and weather-sensitive, but well within the ship's design envelope. The Cape of Good Hope leg in 2026 (Leg 4) and the English Channel run in Leg 9 ask more of the watchkeeping skills, with stronger currents, more shipping and less margin. Atlantic crossings are mentally hard because of the time at sea, not because the sailing is technically extreme.

Yes. Leg 5 (Saldanha Bay to Fortaleza, 2 January – 14 March 2027) and Leg 8 (Antigua to Ponta Delgada, 20 May – 15 July 2027) are both bookable as stand-alone berths. Leg 5 is the longer, warmer, more remote southern crossing via Saint Helena. Leg 8 is the classic European homecoming route via Bermuda. Pick the one that fits your calendar and your taste for ocean time, many trainees do one or the other rather than both.

All 2027 legs are priced at €79 per day on a shared-cost basis, the nonprofit recovers food, fuel, harbour fees and maintenance, not profit. The 71-day South Atlantic crossing comes out around €5,600; the 56-day North Atlantic crossing is closer to €4,400; Leg 9 home to Kiel runs about €3,300 for 41 days. The Caribbean island-hop on Leg 7 is the shortest at €2,200 for 28 days. Membership in Foreningen Neptun (75 USD per year) is a separate one-off requirement. Exact totals are in the pricing table on this page.

Leg 7 is 28 days of short trade-wind daysails through the Lesser Antilles, Trinidad, Carriacou, Martinique and Antigua, with anchorages most nights and rarely more than a day's sail between islands. It's the gentlest sailing of the 2027 season: warm water, steady trades, French-Creole markets and rum shops. A natural choice if you want real Caribbean cruising on a tall ship without committing to an ocean crossing.

Leg 9 (15 July – 25 August 2027) covers 1,878 nm from the Azores through Guernsey and Helgoland to a homecoming berth in Kiel on 25 August. The final approach runs up the English Channel through the Dover Traffic Separation Scheme, into the North Sea, past Helgoland's red sandstone cliffs, and through the Kiel Canal to the Baltic. After 482 days and nearly 19,000 nautical miles since Bali, the ship ties up to the dock and the world voyage ends. Friends, family and supporters are welcome at the arrival.

Yes, the North Atlantic in May, June and July is colder than people expect, and sea fog around the Azores is common in the final week of Leg 8. The standard NEPTUN packing list covers it: proper offshore foul-weather gear (jacket and bibs), thermal mid-layers, sea boots, warm hat and gloves, plus a harness-compatible buoyancy aid. The ship has a full safety inventory aboard; personal layers and waterproofs are on you.

It depends on your passport. Most EU and UK trainees enter Brazil, Saint Helena, Trinidad, Antigua, Bermuda, the Azores, Guernsey, Germany and the Channel Islands without an advance visa, though some require an electronic travel authorisation. US, Canadian and Australian passports vary by country. We'll send a port-by-port checklist when you confirm your leg, and recommend you start passport and visa work at least three months before departure.