Built in the Netherlands by the highly skilled team at Gebroeders van Enkhuizen Yachtbuilders in Makkum at the gateway to the North Sea, Distant Shores IV is constructed with strong lightweight aluminum designed for the riggers of high latitude sailing in ice and snow to champagne sailing in the tropics.

Distant Shores IV is outfitted with the latest navigation and safety equipment and has a hybrid electric power system. A Sail Away Week aboard Distant Shores IV is a great opportunity to try out this new technology!

Most sail handling can be done from the safety of the cockpit due to electric furling and electric winches and the boat has crisp brand-new high-tech sails.

Although the boat is built for performance offshore sailing, comfort is key. The pilot house allows for indoor helming and navigation in foul weather. In the tropics it is an air conditioned haven.

The large lithium battery bank plus solar power and electric re-gen also permits many household comforts such as a watermaker, electric cooking, microwave oven and many other galley appliances as well as an onboard entertainment centre.

To add to the fun, there is fishing tackle, snorkeling gear and water toys aboard for your use.

And let's not forget offshore communications! Distant Shores IV is outfitted with a Starlink marine system for high-bandwidth offshore internet connectivity so you can be in touch with the world from the ocean as easily as from your home or office.

Want to come along for the sailing adventure of a lifetime?

Passages 2024

Portugal to the Canary Islands

Mon 4 Nov 2024 - Wed 13 Nov 2024

10 Days & 700 nm | Advanced Passagemaking

$8,500pp Forward Cabin (double occupancy) WAITLIST
$8,500pp Single | 2 of 2 Berths Available

Join us for an offshore passage from Portugal to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. Depending on the weather we can make the offshore passage from mainland Europe offshore to the Canary Islands directly - 600 nm and perhaps 4-5 days at sea. Alternatively we might hop south down to Portugal's Algarve coast and visit lovely Lagos before setting sail offshore.

This passage will likely give us following breezes with good opportunity to practice our downwind sailing. Air temperatures will get warmer before making landfall at the dramatic island of Lanzarote.

Building Skills and Additional Activities

We will help anyone wanting to build their skills sailing, anchoring, cruise planning, navigation, weather forecasting and more. On this trip we will also be offering training in the use of a sextant for those interested.

Transatlantic Canary Islands to the Caribbean

Tue 19 Nov 2024 - Sat 14 Dec 2024

26 Days & 3,000 nm | Advanced Passagemaking

$16,500pp Single - FULLY BOOKED - WAITLIST

This is the big one! Crossing the Atlantic Ocean from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean. We have done this crossing 6 times now and believe this route is the best.

We start in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands at Rubicon Marina. After provisioning we do an overnight passage to the nearby island of Gran Canaria. Then it's offshore for the first leg south 5-6 days to the Cabo Verde Islands at Mindelo. This passage likely starts out cool with variable winds as we get away from the Canary Islands for the 850 miles to Mindelo off the coast of Africa. We have really enjoyed this stop in the past! This is a nice warmup before we make the long run across to Antigua.

On this route we're likely to have following winds all the way in tropical conditions. That means many days of downwind helming experience, the occasional tropical squalls to contend with, and lots of beautiful starry skies. Altogether we will cover more than 3000 nautical miles before the dramatic profile of Antigua finally comes over the horizon - one of our favourite Caribbean landfalls.

Passages 2025

2025 Antigua to Guadeloupe and the Saintes

Sat 4 Jan 2025 - Mon 13 Jan 2025

10 Days & 175 nm | Intermediate Passagemaking

$9,250pp Forward Cabin/separate heads (double occupancy)
$7,750pp Pilot Single Cabin/shared heads (single occupancy)

Join us for a cruise through the Leeward Caribbean Islands starting from Antigua. Warm Caribbean breezes from the east make for great sailing in the winter, usually blowing at 15-20 knots this time of year. Join the boat in Antigua's historic Falmouth Harbour. After a stop at lovely Green Island we sail the 28 miles across to Barbuda with a good chance of some nice snorkelling. Then it's 60 miles offshore to Montserrat. We'll do this as an overnight passage - with wind aft of the beam and a dramatic landfall at dawn. After exploring the volcanic island we continue to Guadeloupe and the beautiful port at Deshaies where the Murder Mystery TV series Death in Paradise is filmed. From here we sail to our favourite destination in this corner of the Caribbean - the Saintes.

Building Skills and Additional Activities

Note we will make an overnight passage on this trip so we call this an intermediate leg. As usual, we encourage our guests to participate as much or as little as they'd like with the operation and sailing of the boat.

We will help anyone wanting to build their skills sailing, anchoring, cruise planning, navigation, weather forecasting picking up a mooring and docking during the voyage. On this trip we will also be offering training in the use of a sextant for those interested.

2025 Guadeloupe Dominica to Martinique

Fri 17 Jan 2025 - Sun 26 Jan 2025

10 Days & 125 nm | Intermediate Passagemaking

$9,250pp Forward Cabin/separate heads (double occupancy)
$7,750pp Pilot Single Cabin (single occupancy)

Join us for a cruise through the Leeward Caribbean starting from Guadeloupe. Warm breezes from the west make for great sailing in the winter, often blowing at 15-20 knots this time of year. First it's a short hop to our favourite destination in this corner of the Caribbean - the Saintes. From the Saintes we can sail to the lush island of Dominica then on to very French Martinique and one of the finest anchorages at the charming village of Sainte Anne. This passage offers the opportunity to make an overnight passage and experience a Caribbean landfall at dawn as we approach Sainte Anne.

Building Skills and Additional Activities

Note we will make an overnight passage on this trip so we call this an intermediate leg. As usual, we encourage our guests to participate as much or as little as they'd like with the operation and sailing of the boat.

We will help anyone wanting to build their skills sailing, anchoring, cruise planning, navigation, weather forecasting picking up a mooring and docking during the voyage. On this trip we will also be offering training in the use of a sextant.

2025 Martinique to Saint Martin

Thu 30 Jan 2025 - Sat Feb 8 2025

10 Days & 300 nm | Intermediate Passagemaking

$9,250pp Forward Cabin/separate heads (double occupancy)
$7,750pp Pilot Single Cabin/shared heads (single occupancy)

We have lots of options for this passage. We might hop across to check out St Lucia. We have numerous islands to pull in at as we wind our way to Saint Martin. Warm breezes from the west make for great sailing in the winter, often blowing at 15-20 knots this time of year. We will definitely do at least one overnight passage, or we might do a couple of them. We should also be able to make a few sextant sights and practice our navigation.

Building Skills and Additional Activities

Note we will make at least one overnight passage on this trip so we call this an intermediate leg. As usual, we encourage our guests to participate as much or as little as they'd like with the operation and sailing of the boat.

We will help anyone wanting to build their skills sailing, anchoring, cruise planning, navigation, weather forecasting picking up a mooring and docking during the voyage.

2025 Saint Martin to the British Virgin Islands

Wed 12 Feb 2025 - Wed 19 Feb 2025

8 Days & 125 nm | Intermediate Passagemaking

$7,500pp Forward Cabin/separate heads (double occupancy)
$6,500pp Pilot Single Cabin/shared heads (single occupancy)

We have many great options for this passage. Starting from cosmopolitan Saint Martin we can make a warmup trip across to nearby Anguilla, or if the winds favour Saba we can visit that anchorage - a magical stop to visit this enchanted Dutch islands. Warm breezes from the west make for great sailing in the winter, often blowing at 15-20 knots this time of year. Then from Saba we will make an overnight passage to arrive at dawn to the British Virgin Islands. We should also be able to make a few sextant sights and practice our navigation. Then we can visit a few of the excellent anchorages in the lovely BVI. This is a great mix of the Leeward islands of the Caribbean plus the highlights of the British Virgin Islands.

Building Skills and Additional Activities
As usual, we encourage our guests to participate as much or as little as they'd like with the operation and sailing of the boat. Note we will make at least one overnight passage on this trip so we call this an intermediate leg.

We will help anyone wanting to build their skills sailing, anchoring, cruise planning, navigation, weather forecasting picking up a mooring and docking during the voyage. On this trip we will also be offering training in the use of a sextant for those interested.

2025 British Virgin Islands - 1

Sun 23 Feb 2025 - Sun 2 Mar 2025

8 Days & 75 nm

$6,500pp Forward Cabin/separate heads (double occupancy)
$5,500pp Pilot Single Cabin/shared heads (single occupancy)

The British Virgin Islands are one of our favourite cruising grounds anywhere in the world! This is where Sheryl and I fell in love with the cruising lifestyle way back in 1985. Sailing in the protected Sir Francis Drake Channel passages are easy and a string of lovely islands are always a short few hours sail from each other. We can show you all our favourite anchorages and features! In February the winds are a reliable 12-18 knots from the east. For a longer passage we will also make the trip across to low-lying Anegada for a lobster dinner on the beach. We also visit our favourite snorkelling spots, and anchor in the protected harbour of North Sound.

Building Skills and Additional Activities

As usual, we encourage our guests to participate as much or as little as they'd like with the operation and sailing of the boat.

We will help anyone wanting to build their skills sailing, anchoring, cruise planning, navigation, weather forecasting picking up a mooring and docking during the voyage.

2025 British Virgin Islands - 2

Tue 4 Mar 2025 - Tue 11 Mar 2025

8 Days & 75 nm

$6,500pp Forward Cabin/separate heads (double occupancy)
$5,500pp Pilot Single Cabin/shared heads (single occupancy)

The British Virgin Islands are one of our favourite cruising ground any where in the world! This is where Sheryl and I fell in love with cruising lifestyle way back in 1985. Sailing in the protected Francis Drake Channel passages are easy and a string of lovely islands are always a short few hours sail from each other. We can show you all our favourite anchorages and features! In February the winds are a reliable 12-18 knots from the east. For a longer passage we will also make the trip across to low-lying Anegada for a lobster dinner on the beach. We also visit our favourite snorkelling spots, and anchor in the protected harbour of North Sound.

Building Skills and Additional Activities

As usual, we encourage our guests to participate as much or as little as they'd like with the operation and sailing of the boat.

We will help anyone wanting to build their skills sailing, anchoring, cruise planning, navigation, weather forecasting picking up a mooring and docking during the voyage.

2025 British Virgin Islands to Turks & Caicos

Thu 13 Mar 2025 - Sat 22 Mar 2025

10 Days & 500 nm | Offshore Passagemaking

$8,000pp Forward Cabin (double occupancy)
$7,250pp Pilot Single Cabin/shared heads (single occupancy) - WAITLIST

The British Virgin Islands are one of our favourite cruising ground any where in the world! We start this passage in the BVI as we prepare for the offshore passage to the Turks and Caicos. This is a direct 3-4 day offshore passage in open ocean. Winds are usually from the east meaning following wind and seas but we can expect to keep an eye out for squalls.

Landfall in the Turks will be at South Caicos where we check in, have a well deserved celebratory dinner and a good nights sleep. Then it's 40 miles cross the shallow Caicos Bank to Providenciales. Its like being in the Bahamas with no land in sight except for the shallow sand just a couple of meters under the keel.

Building Skills and Additional Activities

Note this is a true offshore passage and we will be out of sight of land sailing non-stop for 3-4 days. We will help anyone wanting to build their skills sailing, anchoring, cruise planning, navigation, shallow water piloting, weather forecasting picking up a mooring and docking during the voyage.

On this trip we will also be offering training in the use of a sextant for those interested.

2025 Turks & Caicos & Remote Bahamas to Georgetown

Tue 25 Mar 2025 - Sun 6 Apr 2025

13 Days & 300 nm | Bahamas Remote Island Cruising

$11,500pp Forward Cabin/separate heads (double occupancy)
$9,500pp Pilot Single Cabin/shared heads (single occupancy)

This is a very rare chance to experience the best of the remote Bahamas all in one cruise. If you have enjoyed our Bahamas videos over the years, much of the footage was shot in these remote islands and the Exumas.

We clear customs in Turks and Caicos at Provo and then anchor off in the shallow crystal water. Then we can depart early for the offshore run to the Bahamas - 50 miles to the remote island of Mayaguana to check in. Now we have a few amazing and seldom visited remote Bahamas outposts to choose from as we work our way North West.

2025 Abaco Bahamas to Bermuda

Thu 1 May 2025 - Sun 11 May 2025

11 Days & 800 nm | Advanced Passagemaking

$8,000pp 2 of 4 berths available

Here is an interesting offshore passage heading north from the Bahamas to Bermuda. We will start from the Abaco Island group at Marsh Harbour where we can provision for the 750nm passage.

In the spring we will very likely have winds from the East as we depart the Bahamas shifting to the South East and East Force 4 with occasional squalls as we get further north. It will take 5-7 days sailing to reach Bermuda.

Building Skills and Additional Activities

Note this is a true offshore passage and we will be out of sight of land sailing non-stop for 5-6 days. We will help anyone wanting to build their skills sailing, anchoring, cruise planning, navigation, shallow water piloting, weather forecasting picking up a mooring and docking during the voyage.

On this trip we will also be offering training in the use of a sextant for those interested.

2025 Bermuda to the Azores

Sat 17 May 2025 - Thu 5 Jun 2025

20 Days & 2000 nm | Advanced Passagemaking

$13,500pp | 2 of 4 Berths Available

This is a classic ocean passage and we will likely have a variety of winds. This was our first ocean crossing way back in 1990 on board our homebuilt 37 footer. This will be a much more comfortable ride aboard Distant Shores IV!