My recent experience may be useful to other sailors. Sharing it may also help Surprise find the right new owner and allow my family and me to bring this chapter to a responsible close.

I have spent my entire life in the maritime world. I have completed three circumnavigations, two of them solo, crossed the Atlantic 15 times, and logged more than 250,000 nautical miles aboard sailing and motor vessels. Until this voyage, I had always reached my scheduled destination.

This time was different.

On July 4, 2026, I departed Fort Lauderdale aboard the Valiant 42 Surprise, bound for Les Sables-d’Olonne, France. From there, I planned to begin a solo, nonstop westbound circumnavigation, sailing around the Great Capes in the opposite direction to the 2026 Golden Globe Race.

On August 11, after 39 days at sea and close to 5,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic, I made the decision to end the attempt and divert Surprise to Porto, Portugal, rather than continue to Les Sables.

A solo, nonstop westbound circumnavigation via the Great Capes — sailing the “wrong way” around the world — is one of the most demanding challenges in ocean sailing. Only a very small number of sailors have completed it in a monohull.

It requires experience, years of preparation, a substantial budget, and a boat and systems prepared to an exceptionally high standard.

I spent more than three years preparing. Experience was not the missing ingredient. Funding was.

Looking back, I made several decisions that gradually pushed the project beyond what our family could reasonably support.

Initially, I selected a reasonably priced Dutch-built steel yacht designed by the highly respected naval architect Dick Koopmans. Technically, the choice made sense. Metal boats have a strong history in high-latitude and westbound circumnavigation, where the possibility of encountering ice or floating debris is a serious consideration.

But this was intended to be an America 250th Anniversary Challenge, and I became uncomfortable undertaking it in a Dutch-built boat.

That was my first mistake.

I changed direction and purchased Surprise, an American-designed and American-built Valiant 42. The Valiant has an outstanding reputation as an offshore cruising boat, and choosing an American yacht seemed a natural fit for the mission.

But it was also a considerably more expensive path.

My wife and I could not purchase Surprise without mortgaging our home. I believed that having a respected American-built offshore yacht at the center of an America 250 challenge would make the project more attractive to sponsors.

That was my second mistake.

I also overestimated the public and institutional support the Anniversary Challenge would receive.

I am deeply grateful to the marine companies that understood what I was trying to accomplish and supported the refit through donated products or substantial discounts, including Seahawk, Schaefer Marine, Edson, UK Sailmakers, ATN Marine, DATREX, EPIFANES, Bluewater Books & Charts, US Wellness Meats, and others. Derecktor Shipyards generously provided a home for Surprise during the refit, and many friends contributed whatever they could.

Their support mattered enormously.

But fundamentally, the project remained self-funded. Grant applications were rejected. Many sponsorship inquiries went unanswered. Even approaches to major sailing organizations produced little response.

Instead of accepting what that meant, I continued with the refit and kept committing more of our family resources to the project.

That was another mistake.

Still, on July 4, I left Fort Lauderdale as planned, determined to make the America 250 Anniversary Challenge a reality.

In an unexpected way, the North Atlantic crossing did me a favor.

The changing weather, difficult sea states, and nearly 5,000 miles of continuous offshore sailing gave Surprise and her systems a serious real-world test. That test exposed several issues I would need to address before committing myself and the boat to the much harsher environment of the Southern Ocean.

The existing Hydrovane self-steering arrangement did not perform as I needed it to on the heavy-displacement Valiant in the conditions I encountered. The rebuilt watermaker failed. The battery-charging system was not keeping pace with the energy demands of the boat. Seals and caulking around some ports and hatches also showed deterioration after prolonged exposure to Florida heat and sun.

These were not necessarily unsolvable problems, nor do they make Surprise an unsuitable offshore cruising boat. But preparing a yacht for a solo, nonstop westbound passage through the Southern Ocean is a very different standard from preparing one for normal ocean cruising.

Solving everything to the standard I considered necessary would require more money, more time, and more preparation.

And there was still no meaningful financial support on the horizon.

So, after thousands of miles of trying to make the project work, I finally made what I believe was the most responsible decision of the entire campaign:

I stopped for the sake of my family’s financial security, and I stopped because continuing without the resources to prepare the boat exactly as I wanted would have unnecessarily reduced the chances of my own safe return.

There is a point at which determination stops being a strength and becomes stubbornness. Offshore sailing has taught me many lessons over the years. This voyage reminded me that knowing when to stop can be every bit as important as knowing how to continue.

Unfortunately, the financial consequences do not disappear simply because the voyage has ended.

We now need to sell Surprise, minimize further expenses, and recover as much of our investment as possible.

Selling her in Europe presents an additional challenge. Surprise is a U.S.-built, U.S.-registered boat and does not have European CE certification, which limits the pool of potential European buyers.

For that reason, an especially interesting opportunity may exist for an American buyer who wants to spend time cruising Europe and the Mediterranean before eventually sailing the boat back to the United States.

If she does not sell in Europe, my present plan is to remain on this side of the Atlantic until the end of hurricane season and then sail Surprise back to the U.S.

Surprise is a 2005 Valiant 42. Despite the issues that caused me to reconsider this very specialized circumnavigation attempt, she remains a strong and highly capable offshore cruising yacht.

The Valiant 42 has long been respected as a serious bluewater design. Surprise is particularly well suited to shorthanded sailing and, in my opinion, could make an excellent long-distance cruising boat for a couple who wants to explore the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Caribbean, or beyond.

Her recent Atlantic crossing also means that I can speak about her condition from direct and very recent offshore experience. I know what worked, what needs attention, and what I would change. I intend to be completely transparent with any serious prospective buyer.

For the right person, there may also be something special about taking over a boat that has just crossed the Atlantic as part of an ambitious attempt and giving her a new mission.

This particular dream did not end where I had hoped it would.

But I believe there is value in sharing why.

Preparation matters. Funding matters. Equipment matters. Experience matters. But judgment matters too — especially the judgment to recognize when the circumstances have changed enough that the original goal is no longer worth the risk.

Now Surprise needs a new owner and a new adventure.

And if you are not looking for a boat but know someone who might be, I would be grateful if you shared this story with them.