Pacific Puddle Jump — Boats on the Move

Heading to the South Pacific is always a big adventure. The pandemic closed most island nations to incoming cruisers, and the variety of national responses only made it more challenging and uncertain. All the signals from the South Pacific indicate normalization continues, and the chart below shows that the first few early starters in the 2023 Pacific Puddle Jump are underway.

Shawna and Kevin Walker aboard their Transpac 49 Meraki 2 from Victoria, BC, started heading west from the Galápagos, and on February 26 reported their latitude as 0 as they crossed the equator! They broke their self-imposed no-alcohol rule aboard to toast the moment with champagne. They’re now continuing on their way south and west toward the Marquesas.

Rob and Nancy Novak left their Oyster 485 Shindig buried in a hole at Vuda Point Marina in Fiji for 30 months before they could return in spring 2022. They’re finally sailing again in Fiji, and many more are again moving freely around the South Pacific. You can read their story on page 96 of the March issue being delivered to our magazine distributors today.

March and April are the peak months for Pacific crossings, so these first few starters will have many more cruisers following in their wake.