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2019 Puddle Jump Signups Next Week

The SoCal-based Herreshoff ketch Rhapsody makes landfall in the Society Islands.
© 2018 Andy

What the heck is the Pacific Puddle Jump? It’s a long-established annual migration of cruising sailors from various ports along the West Coast of the Americas to French Polynesia — an ambitious bluewater crossing of 3,000 to 4,000 miles. Ever since we coined the phrase Pacific Puddle Jump more than 20 years ago, we’ve taken pride in organizing this loosely formed rally, and reporting on the colorful characters who register with the PPJ each year. Typically, more than 200 boats sign up from all over the world.

Although you may not be greeted upon arrival by a boatload of Tahitian dancers, you’ll find that Polynesians are generally super-friendly people.
© 2018 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Andy

As we write this, a new batch of adventurers is preparing to make the ‘jump’ this spring. So we’re currently working to update the official website, www.pacificpuddlejump.com, where PPJ 2019 signups will begin November 1. (Click on “Sign Me Up.”)

We’ll co-host several PPJ Send-off Parties again this year: March 4 at the Vallarta YC in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, plus two events in Panama in February (dates and details TBA). Then in late June, we’ll join these passagemakers in celebrating their successful arrival in the islands at the annual Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendez-vous (June 21-23).

European Puddle Jumpers make a port stop in Tahiti. Every year, sailors from many nations join the westward migration
© 2018 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Andy

Some have referred to doing the Puddle Jump as a must-do adventure for cruising sailors. Perhaps because it tends to combine challenges of self-reliance with glorious offshore sailing. What do you say? Will 2019 be your year to ‘jump the puddle’?

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