I don't remember the manufacturer of the boat, but back in 1988 I had just completed the passage from the Galapagos Islands to Hiva Oa, Marquesas on a 38' Island Trader ketch.
About a day or two after we arrived, a small 24' or 26' boat pulled in with a couple on board. They had sailed from Seattle to Hiva Oa. While the boat itself looked bulletproof, the woman on board was seasick the entire trip, the man said he was never able to stand up in the cabin. The trip was so long and so slow, they were apparently constantly fighting. The story they told was of being under experienced and unprepared for what they actually undertook.
It was amazing that they made it, given the lack of sufficient water storage and food storage, but they DID make it. However, all they wanted to do was get to a place where they could get rid of their boat and return home.
I myself have dreams of a circumnavigation, but even the 38' was very small for the task. I wouldn't go out on a trip like that again on anything less than a sturdy, off-shore-capable 42'.
Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E32-2 Hull #134