Cape Town → Rio de Janeiro
Twenty days of blue water, and the oldest way across an ocean — under sail, as crew. Not a passage you watch. One you stand watch on.
Reserve a berth- Dates
- 1 – 20 Dec 2026
- Route
- Cape Town → Rio
- Distance
- ~3,300 NM
- Yacht
- Warrior · 60 ft
- Berths
- Six
- From
- €6,900
Most people fly over this ocean in eleven hours. You will take twenty days.
South of the Cape the wind settles into the south-east trades and the boat finds her rhythm. Time changes its unit out here: not days, but watches — hour by hour, watch by watch. Somewhere out in the blue you pass the point of no return, closer to Rio than to home. Then the long swell carries you up to Rio, and you make landfall at dawn having earned every mile. Bernard Moitessier called his book The Long Way: offered the easy route home, he chose the great Capes instead. So do we. We seek the greatest route, not the easiest — and we sail it as crew, not cargo.
The route
Cape Town, down into the trades, and up the long swell to Rio.
The crossing
- 01Departure & shakedown off the Cape — we leave when the weather says so.
- 02Into the south-east trades — hour by hour, watch by watch.
- 03Past the point of no return — strangers at the dock, a watch by now.
- 04The long swell, the night watches, the Southern stars.
- 05Landfall — Rio at first light.
A rough shape, not a timetable. The ocean keeps the calendar.
Crew, not cargo
You don't board this boat to be looked after. You board to be part of her.
What's asked of you
- Stand your watches, day and night
- Take the helm
- Hand, reef and steer
- Share the cooking and the cold
- Be willing — no offshore miles required
What you'll learn
- To read the sky and the sea
- To trust a boat in a seaway
- To live small and well for three weeks
- That you are more capable than you came aboard believing
She's kept to offshore standard, with a liferaft and a proper watch system. You'll be taught everything you need long before you need it.
‘The real question is: 'Can I endure this for four more hours, until I am off watch again' — to which the answer is invariably yes. Then it's just a matter of time — hour by hour, watch by watch — until gradually the wind loses its ferocity and the waves their height.’
Willem — from the log, mid-Atlantic, March 2026
The yacht
Warrior · Simonis Voogd 60 · fresh from refit
A genuine offshore racing legend, with victories in the Cape to Rio Race and the Mauritius to Durban Race to her name. Below deck she is basic but comfortable; on deck she is pure business — built from an era when offshore capability came before luxuries. Through 2026 she has been rebuilt end to end: new rigging, new sails, every system gone through. This crossing is her first ocean back. For twenty days she is your home, your shelter and your responsibility, and you'll come to know every line aboard her.
Warrior — sail plan, history, refit→Your skipper
I started The Long Way to sail the routes I'd want to be invited on — the elemental ones, the ones that change you. I'll be at the helm for this crossing, and I read every message that comes in myself. If you're thinking about it, write to me. Tell me why this ocean. I choose the crew personally, because for three weeks at sea, who's aboard is everything.
What's aboard
Included
- Your berth aboard Warrior
- All meals and drinks at sea
- Professional crew, and instruction watch by watch
- Harbour and marina fees, and fuel
- Lifejacket and safety gear
- €0.10 per nautical mile to conservation — ±€330 on this crossing
- Crew t-shirt, and the miles
Not included
- Flights to Cape Town and home from Rio
- Travel insurance (required)
- Passport, visa or medical documentation
- Foul-weather kit, boots, bedding and towels — rental may be available
- Anything ashore in Rio
Our pledge
By going the long way,
you contribute to conservation.
Every mile we sail gives back to the ocean — it's built into the price, and into the point.
€1 per kilometre walked · €0.10 per nautical mile sailed
Before you sail
- Do I need sailing experience?
- No. Willingness, not miles. We teach you aboard.
- Will I be seasick?
- Probably — Willem's own log from his last crossing reads 'very little sleeping and a lot of vomiting', himself included. It passes within days, and the watch rhythm carries you through the worst of it.
- Where do I sleep?
- Your own assigned berth, with limited storage — pack soft and small.
- How fit do I need to be?
- Fit enough for broken sleep, cold and physical work on a moving deck.
- How do I get there?
- You make your own way to Cape Town; we meet at the boat.
- What if weather delays departure?
- We leave when it's right to leave. The ocean keeps the calendar.
- Insurance?
- Travel insurance covering offshore sailing is required.
- Will I be reachable?
- No internet on board — Starlink and the satellite phone are for weather and emergencies only. That's the point.
When discovery triumphs over destination, then you know you took the long way.
Reserve a berth