Just when you thought the earth had been circled in every way imaginable, 57-year-old Canadian Glenn Wakefield set off on Sunday from his home port in Victoria, British Columbia, bound and determined to become the first North American to circumnavigate the globe — backwards. Whereas most circumnavigation attempts are undertaken from west to east, with prevailing winds, the intrepid Wakefield will follow a westerly route, against the wind — "west-about," in sailing parlance. From British Columbia, he'll head south to New Zealand and then around the southern tips of Australia, Africa, and South America before heading north again to home. Wakefield spend four years refitting his 38-year-old sailboat, the 40-foot KimChow (Sword Through Water, hence the spinnaker graphic, pictured left), in preparation for the ten-month voyage, adding wind and solar generators, updated communication and navigation equipment, and a diesel engine.
Source: The Canadian Press.
Follow Glenn's journey here.
Glenn Wakefield's proposed route.
