The counter for my circumnavigation now reads three years and over 26,000 solo nautical miles. A good moment to look back on what this journey demands, what it brings, and what the horizon looks like for the legs ahead.
How it all started
During Covid, life slowed down in a way many of us had never experienced before. It created space to look at life differently—to question what truly matters and what possibilities might still be waiting to be explored.
Around that time, we moved to a house near the IJsselmeer. Being close to the water brought back memories of my childhood, when I loved sailing and the sense of freedom it gave me. Something that had always been part of me quietly awakened again.
It was not a sudden decision, but a calling that grew stronger and stronger. And when my partner and my son said: “Follow your dream. We will follow you,” the answer became clear. It was time to listen to that call.
I realized I wanted to experience a different way of living in this lifetime. Not because my previous life was missing anything. I had a beautiful life with meaningful relationships, passions, and work. But there was another path waiting to be explored — one that would take me beyond the familiar rhythm of everyday life and into a deeper connection with myself, nature, and the world around me.
In the three years that followed, I prepared myself and S/Y Loveworkx for this journey. Not just to sail, but to become fully self-reliant at sea. The boat was transformed, my skills were expanded, and thousands of miles of preparation sailing built the foundation for what lay ahead.
What began with my passion for human connection and my work with couples therapy through Loveworkx gradually transformed into Sailing Loveworkx — a path of self-reliance, resilience, expanding my horizons, and discovering new possibilities, both across the oceans and within myself.
Aboard my 27-foot sailboat Loveworkx (a Danish Grinde), I have been sailing solo, ocean after ocean, ever since.
The Journey, in Numbers
The numbers tell part of the story. Behind every mile, however, are years of preparation, thousands of decisions, challenges overcome, and countless moments of learning.
- 26,000+ NM sailed solo around the world
- 5,000 NM of preparation and offshore qualification sailed before departure
- 3 years of solo ocean sailing
- 3 oceans crossed: Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian
- 30 days — longest non-stop passage at sea
- 4,000 NM — longest single ocean crossing
- OCC Jester Award 2025, in recognition of an outstanding achievement on a small ocean-going yacht
This journey was never about choosing the biggest boat or the fastest way around the world. It was about choosing the right boat for the way I wanted to live.
For me, this boat was the obvious choice. At eighteen, I sailed on the same type of boat and fell in love with her. With her full-bodied, whale-shaped hull, she moves gracefully through the water, inspiring confidence even in challenging conditions. That familiarity gave me complete confidence from the very beginning.
When this Grinde 27 was built in 1977, a 27-foot yacht was considered a perfectly normal cruising boat. Today, most bluewater sailors cross oceans on boats of 40 to 50 feet, often with many more onboard systems, greater comfort, and considerably higher speeds.
I deliberately chose simplicity. There is no shower, no watermaker, no fridge, no windlass, and no roller furler — just a bucket shower, the essentials, and everything I truly need. Returning to the basics has been one of the greatest gifts of this journey. It has taught me to appreciate the simple things in life so much more.
Every offshore passage brings its share of technical challenges. Things break on every boat, whether it’s new or old, large or small. The more systems you have on board, the more there is to maintain, and the more there is that can — and often will — fail.
Sailing solo, I wanted every essential system to remain manageable by hand. If an electric winch fails, or a roller furler jams while approaching a rocky coastline in strong winds, I still need to be able to handle the boat safely on my own. That philosophy influenced almost every decision I made while preparing S/Y Loveworkx for this voyage.
Choosing a smaller boat means accepting that passages take longer and living with less space and fewer comforts. In return, it offers something I value even more: simplicity, self-reliance, and a closer connection with both the boat and the sea.
What I do have are front-row seats to every sunrise and sunset, a sky full of stars with no light pollution to dim them, and a daily rhythm of reading, playing the ukulele, singing, meditating, and simply being.
Living this way has deepened my connection with myself. It has taught me to let go of my ego, embrace simplicity, and experience life more fully with every mile.
What the Ocean Demands: Capabilities & Expedition Qualities
But simplicity does not mean easy. Living this way requires a different kind of strength.
When you are alone on a 27-foot boat, you are simultaneously the captain, the engineer, the navigator, the meteorologist, the chef, and the crew. There is no one to take the helm when the wind builds past 30 knots, no one to consult when a difficult decision needs to be made, and no one to fix a problem when something breaks.
Ocean sailing is not only about sailing skills. It asks for a combination of practical competence, mental strength, preparation, and the ability to stay calm and adaptable when circumstances change. Because they always do.
1. Mental Resilience
Thirty days alone at sea bring you into absolute presence with the here and now. As a Kundalini yoga teacher, Mental Golf Coach at Iron Shirt of Golf, and Vipassana meditation student, one of my intentions for this voyage was to deepen that practice in the most direct way possible.
Out here, mental agility, adaptive decision-making, and trust in yourself are not abstract concepts. They are essential qualities that allow you not only to handle challenges, but also to fully appreciate the beauty and intensity of the ocean.
2. Vessel Mastery & Technical Skill
On a small boat, every detail matters. Being self-sufficient means understanding your systems, knowing how they work, and being able to diagnose and repair problems when they occur — often in difficult conditions and far from assistance.
Vessel mastery is not about knowing everything. It is about being prepared, resourceful, and able to find solutions when the unexpected happens.
3. Ocean Seamanship
Boat handling and offshore experience are what carry you through challenging conditions. There is no substitute for time on the water — the experience, intuition, and confidence that develop from facing different conditions and learning how both boat and skipper respond.
4. Navigation & Routing
Passage planning is a discipline in itself — reading charts, currents, weather patterns, and the realistic limits of the boat, then making the call on when and how to go.
Every ocean crossing starts long before the anchor comes up. It begins with preparation, research, and countless decisions made while still safely in harbour.
5. Risk Management & Weather Insight
The ocean gives constant feedback. Making go/no-go decisions based on reliable weather data and situational awareness keeps you from sailing unnecessarily into dangerous conditions.
Staying calm under pressure and anticipating changing conditions with discipline are at the heart of ocean sailing.
6. Expedition Operations
Planning, logistics, provisioning, and self-sufficiency for weeks or months at a time are all part of a circumnavigation. It is as much an exercise in organisation and resource management as it is in sailing.
Especially on a boat this size, where storage is limited, every spare part, every piece of equipment, and every decision about what to bring matters.
7. Safety & Emergency Management
Man overboard procedures, damage control, and survival systems all have to become second nature — not something you look up when it is already happening.
Preparing for the worst case is what creates the confidence to enjoy the journey. Good preparation gives you the freedom to focus on the beauty of what you are experiencing.
8. Expedition Qualities
Beyond technical skills, a journey like this asks for a specific mindset: self-reliance, awareness, preparation, adaptability, resourcefulness, calm under pressure, and resilience.
But perhaps the most important quality is the willingness to keep learning. The ocean constantly reminds you that you are never fully in control. You prepare as well as you can, make the best decisions you can, and then adapt to what reality presents.
My name is Jacqueline Evers from The Netherlands. Solo sailing around the world in my 27 foot sloop. While my husband and son may have chosen a different path, their unwavering support fuels my solo pursuit of this lifelong dream.
Not confined by age or the constraints of conventional life, in my 50s, I bravely departed from the rat race, trading it for the serenity of the open sea. Through my unscripted videos and blogs, I offer a glimpse into the authentic tapestry of my sailing
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