Out at Sea
When my family and I decided to sail around the world there was one big question we had to answer. Namely, could technology help us, while at the same time not ruin the experience for us. This would be the first trip around for my kids, and second loop for my wife and I. We have a much better idea of what to expect this time, but the difference these days is the ability to stay in touch and carry on our "normal" life no matter where we find ourselves.
We sailed out of Puerto Vallarta on April 11 and headed off across the Pacific. The sail took twenty-one days in our 40' catamaran. Seems like a long time, but for the most part we were comfortable and content along the way, and the time passed quickly. The weather was pretty good, we had everything a person could need as far as food and drink, and we even had internet on demand via Starlink.
Land Ho!
We made landfall in the Marquesas after three weeks. We cleared into the country with the Gendarmerie, and were given ninety-days to do as we please in the idyllic South Pacific islands.
Trading
The Marquesas time zone is, strangely, five and one-half hours behind New York, which means the opening bell rings at four a.m. That's one of the things you simply can't control when traveling around the world, trading and investing. Personally, I find this time zone actually makes for a nice compromise, though. Wake up very early, work, and be done for the day around breakfast. Then spend the rest of the day exploring islands, snorkeling, and walking the beaches. All in all, it's a fulfilling day, even if it does mean you are ready for bed by eight.
Moving Around
Big ocean passages only happen a few times as we sail around the world. The majority of the time is spent at anchor somewhere, or moving a short distance to the next spot. The Starlink Mobile-Global plan allows us unlimited "land" use, which works when we are at anchor near land, and gives us separate coverage while out at sea with a $2/gb option. Most passages are only a couple of days maximum between major landfalls, so this plan works out just fine.
What's It Really Like?
Trading while at sea presents some challenges, which is why I tend to focus on a longer-term outlook for trades during those periods and completely avoid trading things such as options, which are time sensitive. At sea things can go from serene to mayhem in a moment and the last thing I want to be doing in a storm is to be worrying about a trading position. I set stop orders on everything, avoid short-term trades, and monitor when conditions are right. Fortunately, on passages like the Pacific Ocean from Mexico to the Marquesas, conditions tend to be good most of the time. Once settled in a bay, trading from the South Pacific, Asia, or the Meditteranean is really no different than if I were sitting in an office on land in the US.
The big question is always, "Can it really be done?" The answer to that is a resounding, "Yes!"
Keep Up With the Wanderer Crew No Matter Where We Are
Living, trading, and running a business from a boat is pretty amazing. Just ten years ago the idea of doing all of this would have seemed impossible. While technically it may have been doable, it would have been a near constant headache, mostly due to internet connectivity.
These days, almost nothing stands in the way of a mobile lifestyle, whether retired, or working, or some mixture of both. In just the past year or so I've gone from Bonaire to Aruba on our boat, to across the US via motorhome, and am now on our new boat in the Marquesas after sailing from Mexico. Life is different in every location, but work and trading remain the same. The world is wide open to us vagabonds.
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