In Celebration of the Big Jump

Although the 3,000-mile passage from the West Coast of the Americas to French Polynesia can be a long, lonely trip, the trill of arriving beneath the towering peaks of the Marquesas Islands is a reward worth savoring.

"What a beautiful island!" write Carla and Doug Scott of the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Tayana 42 Moondance. They recently made landfall at the northernmost port of entry, the Baie de Taiohae, on the island of Nuku Hiva. "There are several boats anchored here with us, so we decided to get together and celebrate our crossing, plus meet some of the other cruisers. For some of the Puddle Jumpers, this is their first landfall. Others arrived in Hiva Oa (to the south) and have been doing some island hopping."

It seems pretty obvious by the photo above that the Puddle Jump kids were glad to make landfall, too. Naturally, both kids and adults all have "some amazing stories to tell," the best of which we hope to share with you in our upcoming Pacific Puddle Jump Recap article. After cruising the Marquesas and Tuamotus, many members of this year’s fleet will come together in Papeete in late June for the three-day Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendezvous (June 24-26). Stay tuned here for additional reports and check out the website for further Puddle Jump info.