47,000 Miles Around the World Aboard Discovery 67, SAPPHIRE II OF LONDON

Crossing oceans was only half the adventure.
The real story was everything in between.

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There is a point in almost every sailor’s life when the charts come out and the imaginary round the world trip begins.

For Simon Phillips, it became real.

For more than a decade, Simon and his family sailed their Discovery 67, SAPPHIRE II OF LONDON, some 47,000 nautical miles. The journey took them from northern Europe to the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific, before continuing through Australia, Indonesia and the Indian Ocean to South Africa.

^ Fiji

In the latest episode of the Berthon Podcast, Simon joins Tim to tell the story of those miles, the yacht that carried them and why sailing around the world is about far more than simply getting around it.

Finding the Right Yacht

SAPPHIRE II wasn’t Simon’s first Discovery.

His journey towards serious bluewater cruising began with smaller yachts before progressing to a Discovery 55. That yacht took him across the Atlantic with the ARC, through Biscay, into the Mediterranean and north to Norway. But Simon’s ambition was growing.

He wanted to sail around the world.

When SAPPHIRE II became available, the opportunity was difficult to ignore. Built in 2011, the Discovery 67 had been specified extensively from new, with her original owner choosing upgrades throughout the yacht. Simon purchased her through Berthon in 2016 and spent the following years getting to know every system aboard before setting off.

^ Norway

That preparation included something of a rehearsal in the opposite direction, taking SAPPHIRE II north to the Arctic Circle and the Lofoten Islands.

By June 2019, they were ready.

Into the World ARC

The journey began from Chatham, heading south through Spain and Portugal before Madeira and the Canaries. From there came Cape Verde, an Atlantic crossing to St Vincent, Christmas in Antigua and finally St Lucia, where SAPPHIRE II joined the World ARC.

Colombia brought challenging conditions, including winds of around 38 knots, before SAPPHIRE II continued through the San Blas Islands towards Panama.

Then came one of those moments that transforms a line on a chart into something tangible: passing through the Panama Canal and emerging into the Pacific.

^ Panama Canal

The Galápagos followed, then the enormous passage towards the Marquesas, around 3,000 miles completed in approximately 15 days.

Simon remembers much of it as “Parasailor armchair sailing”, with SAPPHIRE II covering the miles quickly and comfortably.

Then the world changed.

Sailors of the Lost ARC

As SAPPHIRE II crossed the Pacific in early 2020, Covid was spreading rapidly.

By the time they reached the Marquesas, borders were closing and the World ARC could no longer continue as planned. Simon and some of the other crews jokingly renamed themselves the “Sailors of the Lost ARC.”

^ French Polynesian Sunset

What could have ended the adventure instead changed its character.

Eventually, SAPPHIRE II continued through French Polynesia before receiving special permission to sail to New Zealand. On that roughly 3,000-mile passage, Simon recalls seeing no other yacht, ship or aircraft before being escorted into the Bay of Islands by the New Zealand Coast Guard.

^ Fiji

From there came a refit, followed by more exploration: Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Australia.
And somewhere along the way, Simon realised that taking longer wasn’t a problem at all.

^ New Zealand – Dolphin Encounters

Don’t Sail Past the Adventure

The World ARC provides a route and timetable around the planet. But with that structure removed, Simon discovered the freedom to stop.

Instead of simply ticking off destinations, SAPPHIRE II could spend weeks exploring them.

There were quiet anchorages in Fiji, months around Australia’s Whitsundays and, later, the Great Barrier Reef. In Indonesia, SAPPHIRE II anchored off deserted beaches in Komodo National Park while wild Komodo dragons wandered along the shore.

Simon describes it simply:
“You’re never going to do this again.”

^ Australia – Great Barrier Reef

His advice is to take the time and enjoy it rather than allowing somebody else’s timetable to dictate the journey.

It’s an appealing philosophy for cruising. A circumnavigation doesn’t have to be a race to complete a circle. Sometimes the detours are the point.

Across the Indian Ocean

From Indonesia, SAPPHIRE II turned west.

^ Indonesia

Christmas Island led to Cocos Keeling and then a long Indian Ocean passage to Mauritius, regularly covering more than 200 nautical miles a day. From Mauritius came Réunion and then one of the most technically challenging passages of Simon’s journey, towards Durban, navigating a complicated combination of wind and powerful currents.

^ Mauritius

Finally, SAPPHIRE II headed south towards Cape Town. Table Mountain appeared ahead. Another ocean was behind them.

^ Cape Town

And a journey that had been interrupted, extended and repeatedly rewritten had brought SAPPHIRE II to South Africa.

47,000 Miles Later

Simon describes SAPPHIRE II as being “still warm” from her voyage.

After approximately 47,000 nautical miles together, she is now back at Berthon in Lymington, where this chapter of her story comes to an end and another can begin.

But perhaps the most interesting thing about Simon’s circumnavigation isn’t the distance. It’s that, given the opportunity to travel quickly, he learned to slow down.

^ French Polynesia

The Panama Canal, Galápagos, Marquesas, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, the Whitsundays, Komodo,
Mauritius and Cape Town weren’t simply points connecting one ocean passage to another.

They were the reason for making the passages in the first place.

As Simon puts it:
“We’re not going to miss somewhere beautiful just because we’ve got a time and a place to be as dictated by a third party.”

Now for sale through Berthon, SAPPHIRE II’s full particulars can be found here:
https://www.berthoninternational.com/yacht-sales-brokerage/yachts-for-sale/discovery-67-sapphire-ii-of-london/

Sales Videos

For more photographs and insights from Simon, see the attached voyage journal.
SAPPHIRE OF LONDON – Voyage Journal
https://www.berthoninternational.com/yacht-for-sale-specs/sapphire-of-london-voyage-journal.pdf

For further information contact tim.carbury@berthoninternational.com.

About Tim Carbury | Meet the Berthon Sales Group