Puddle Jumpers Share Strategies
With the ideal weather window for crossing from Mexico to French Polynesia just a few months away, there’s lots of chatter — both on the docks and via email — between those who will soon join the ranks of Pacific Puddle Jumpers, as we like to call them.
One of the hot topics lately has been harbor options for the Pacific cyclone season, rather than simply sprinting all the way to New Zealand in one season.
Veteran South Pacific cruiser Chuck Houlihan of Jacaranda writes, "After spending six months cruising Fiji, we headed north to Wallis for a week, then up through the Tuvalu Group. Permission to check out and stop at the northern islands was permitted by customs in Funafuti. Kiribati was similar with permission to stop at the northern islands given by the Minister of Tourism. Our final destination was the Marshalls (a U.S. territory). The next season, we sailed south via Kiribati and stopped at many of the southern islands before going on to the Solomon’s (Tikopia) and Vanuatu."
Professional delivery skipper and New Zealand resident Chris Bone suggests, "The north coast of Papua New Guinea is very interesting. Kimbe Bay has some of the best diving in the world. Many yachts get to Tonga and love it so much that they stay there till the end of the season, then head for NZ. The next year they go to Fiji then on Westward. Leaving the boat in the islands is an option, although you would need to check your insurance policy! There are hurricane moorings in Vava’u and Fiji with an ‘in ground’ system at Vuda point. New Caledonia has good quality concrete hardstands with dead eyes to chain down to."
Larry and Trinda Littlefield of Katie Lee note, "We also choose the untraveled route ourselves this year. We left Bora Bora for Penrhyn, Christmas Island, Fanning and then on to Hawaii. We stayed a month on each island, met neat people and had great visits. Lots of unique foods too. After the cyclone season, we plan to return to Fanning in March, then as far east as possible, leaving in May or June. The Marshalls are on the top of the list for next cyclone season. We decided that we have four to six years to get to western Australia."