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Mid-Pacific Puddle Jump Report

When we meet soon-to-be South Pacific voyagers here on the West Coast, one of their big concerns is always heavy weather. But when we catch up with them several months later in Tahiti they often complain of not having had enough wind.

That’s not to say that heavy wind is an impossibility, but during the 20 years we’ve been reporting on the Pacific Puddle Jump (West Coast of the Americas to French Polynesia) most vessels have rarely reported winds over 30 knots except in some cases when crossing the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), or doldrums, a constantly changing band of often-unsettled weather near the equator. 

The following recent report from three-time Puddle Jumper Paul Moore of the San Francisco-based Ohlson 38 Romany Star is typical. He and first-time passagemaker Bonnie Wagner should be making landfall soon in French Polynesia’s Gambier Archipelago.

Paul and Bonnie met in San Diego and are now breezing west to the remote Gambier Archipelago of French Polynesia.

latitude/Andy
©2014 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

"The Romany Star will cross the equator in the next couple hours. Proper respect will be paid to Neptune, and the new shellback aboard (Bonnie, formerly a ‘pollywog’) will be welcomed to the club of offshore sailors that have ventured across oceans.

"The passage so far has been uneventful. There were a couple light days at the start, and the past three days have been a mix of sailing 2 to 3 knots, and motoring. Other than the light air, the ITCZ was an area of a few small squalls about 50 miles wide. The northern trade-wind sailing was glorious, with 15-20 for days.

As you can see by Romany Star’s track, recorded at www.pangolin.co.nz, she crossed from Hawaii before returning to Mexico last fall. Red circles indicate the location of the Marquesas – where most Puddle Jumpers make landfall  and the Gambiers, farther south.

© 2014 pangolin

"Since we are bound for the Gambiers, we are only about half way. The crew is well rested and happy, the boat is fine. We look forward to days in a tropical anchorage, and time with cruising friends."

If you’re curious about how long Puddle Jump passages typically take, and what sort of conditions are seen, check out the archive of PPJ Recap articles on the rally’s website. Each Recap includes a fascinating table that shows boat type, the number of days it took to cross, highest wind seen, longitude chosen to cross the ITCZ, and what broke.

The bulk of the 243 PPJ boats registered this year have now departed from various ports along the West Coast, and many have made landfall in the Marquesas or Gambiers. We hope to catch up with many of them and hear about their crossings at the annual Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendezvous, July 4-6. Look for our reports here and in the pages of Latitude 38 magazine. 

In addition to celebrating the fleet’s safe arrival, the annual Rendezvous showcases traditional Polynesian music, dance, sport and cuisine.

latitude/Andy
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC

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“Look ma, surfing at 22 knots without a spinnaker!” latitude/Richard
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC The photo above, of a Santa Cruz 70 surfing a wave in 25 knots of wind, looks like a typical finish of a Transpac — except for a couple of things.