NZ to Tahiti - Week 1

Monday, August 19
31 50.1S
173 48.6W

Violent wind, rain and lightning blew through Marsden Cove Marina the night before we left. We were heeled over while tied to the pontoon. The morning's forecast, however, looked great. One last 'minor trough' was going to pass through in the afternoon and then it was supposed to be five days of SW 15, perfect for our NE course to Tahiti (sounding too good to be true?). The best time to leave port is usually right after a low pressure system passes through, the idea being that it will be at least a few days before the next low pressure arrives. We've chastised ourselves in the past for not leaving quickly enough after a low passes. This time, we weren't going to fall into that trap. So, after a last minute weather check and a meeting with the Customs/Immigration officer, we left around 11 a.m. and made our way out to sea to be ready at the gate when the minor trough passed over. It seemed kind of rough and there was a brisk wind, but, on we went. At 1630, a weather bulletin was announced on the VHF radio for a strong wind advisory. The forecast had been changed from a minor trough followed by SW 10 at midnight, to 25-35 knots this afternoon, increasing to 30-40 knots (gale force) overnight and not abating before tomorrow afternoon! It was too late to turn around, so, we stuck it out. Our hopes were dashed for a gentle start to this passage.

It did eventually pass, but, not without making us cold, wet and miserable first. It got quieter and the sailing much better. As we approached the International Date Line (longitude 180E/180W) we had a full moon to guide us and we often were making a perfect course with good speed mostly under a second-reefed main and full staysail combination. Doesn't get much better. Our new solar panels worked really well and took care of all our electrical needs when the sun was out.

We only had one minor breakage, a batten car above the third reef came apart. Should be able to fix it as soon as we can lower the main. We ended up with a week's run of 738 miles (631 made good), not a bad start. 1569 miles(of 2200 total) to go. The rhumb line from Whangarei to Papeete is approximately 2200 miles direct. The conventional wisdom for this route is to head south from NZ to around 40S latitude where, it is hoped, prevailing westerly winds would speed you along to around 155W longitude (directly below Tahiti) where a sharp left to the north is taken. This route adds a lot of extra miles and time to the passage. We knew of at least four boats this year that had taken the direct route and they all seemed to make a success of it. So, we've decided to follow them and take the direct route, hope we don't regret it!

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