Roland High of Apex, NC, asks:

Do you foresee any possible dangers from countries whose waters you are navigating or those near ports you will visit? Are there "pirates" in waters of the world that have to be concerned? Are you armed? Thanks and best of luck .I envy you on such an excursion. I will be following your trip; it is great that you are allowing us to be a part of your adventure.

Jim Leishman responds:

We do have concerns over security during our circumnavigation. We will be entering the Philippines shortly and we will route through the northern part where we feel the piracy risk is reduced. We'll be concerned entering the Straits of Singapore and then again in the Malacca Straits northwest of Singapore. Entering the Red Sea will be stressful - with Somalia to port and Yemen to starboard, we'll pass through some troubled waters.

Despite our concerns - based upon the information we can gather - we don't feel the risk is too high. We are carrying a normal yacht insurance policy with full coverage at very reasonable rates so this is a good indication that the actuarial risk is low. We're not hearing of any increased hostility towards yachts in the region and if fact expect a greater concentration of U.S. warships on the Red Sea which may increase security. We do not have any weapons aboard.

We'll continue to watch the situation and would appreciate any information that anyone can contribute.

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