Pacific Crossing #2 Recap
I was really excited to complete my second pacific crossing arriving in the Marquesas on the 27th of April from Panama. It brought back a lot of memories of my first pacific crossing in 2011 when I left from La Cruz Mexico taking 23 days on my 20 yr old Beneteau First 38s5 “Sudden Stops Necessary” to get to the Marquesas. They ended up being very different trips in terms of boat, equipment, mileage etc, see below.
| Pacific Crossing 2011 | Pacific Crossing 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Boat | 38ft Monohull 1992 Beneteau First 38s5 | 45ft Catamaran 2022 Nautitech 46 Open |
| Departure & Arrival place | La Cruz, Mexico to Nuku Hiva, Marquesas | Las Perlas, Panama to Nuku Hiva, Marquesas |
| Days taken | 23 (Mar 23 to Apr 15) | 30 (Mar 28 to Apr 27) |
| Distance sailed | 3000 nm | 4300 nm |
| Crew | 3 Total | 3 Total |
| Best 24hr mileage | 170 nm | 205 nm |
| Diesel Used | 163 of out 227 liters | 345 out of 680 liters |
| Water | No watermaker. Used 250 of 450 liters carried | 105 liter/hour watermaker + emergency watermaker + 400 liters reserve. |
| Energy | 170W of Solar + Wind generator. 450Ah lead acid house battery | 2080W Solar + top up with engines. 800Ah Lithium house battery |
| Downwind Sails | North G2 Asymmetric for 2 days | Oxley Parasailor for 5 days North Code 65 for 7 days |
| Self Steering | Monitor Windvane | B&G NAC-3 Autopilot with backup drive on standby |
| Communications | ICOM SSB with Pactor Modem and Iridium Satphone for backup | Starlink Roam and Iridium Go for backup |
| Fish Caught | 10 (bonitos and mahi mahi) | 13 (mahi mahi, wahoo, bonito, tuna) |
| Breakages | Leak in the fresh water pump | Small rip in Oxley Parasailor |
We left with a good weather window of strong trade winds which gave us 20-25 knots for the first few days until it petered out about 200 miles from the Galapagos. We then whipped out our trusty Oxley Parasailor which allowed us to sail in winds as low as 5 knots while also taking advantage of a 1.5 knot current.
This time we crossed the equator very early in the passage and since Iggy and Oded were Pollywogs, they had to be initiated. Since I had crossed before, I had the tough job of being Neptune. We all dressed up, Iggy as Davy Jones and Oded as a Pirate and they didn’t get off lightly! I followed the navy rituals including cracking eggs on their heads, cutting their hair, dunking with buckets of seawater. They were happy to get a certificate from Nepture proving their newfound Shellback status!
Soon after that we had some pilot whales come right up to the stern of the boat, eerily similar to the whale experience we had on Pacific Crossing 2011.
Unfortunately for us, the ITCZ widened more than expected and we had to sail and motor to around 7S before the trades filled in. After a couple of days we were in 20-25 knots and had some up of our best 24 runs topping out at 205 miles a day. We were not able to clean the bottom of the hulls before we left because we got stung by jellyfish in Las Perlas, so were happy to be finally going fast!
After a few days the trades winds started dying and we had to whip out the oxley again!
Three times the trade winds died and we had to motor. It could be because we are shifting into an El Nino regime. On our Atlantic crossing the trades were also not consistent so it might be that climate change is influencing the reliability of the trade winds. We also saw a lot more sailboats doing the crossing than 2011 and the anchorages were crowded. One big difference with 2011 was that we had internet the whole way with Starlink Roam. It allowed us to download high resolution GRIBs and have video calls with family and friends. Compared to pacific crossing 2011, it was a mixed blessing because it somewhat took away from the solitude of the ocean crossing experience 🙂
What’s next?
Jessy is back on the boat in the Marquesas after visiting family in the Netherlands and we are hoping to spend the next four and half months in the Tuamotus and Society Islands before heading west to Cook Islands and Tonga and then making the jump to New Zealand in November.
Amazing recap! Thanks for the detailed notes and sharing your experience. What were the notes on Starlink for the crossing?? And what happened to the Oxley with the small rip in it? What was the trick for landing the drone while under sail? I dumped one in the water in Greece a couple years ago doing the same.
Excellent Chet!
Thank you
Amazing Chat – lots more solar this time and a lithium battery. Great you can make your own water too! 🙂
Thanks for sharing the experience. Moré and more people in the World wanted to enjoy their lifes so they decided to quit their land lifes and sail away…in the next 5 years the Number will be incresible and the ancorajes imposible