A Less-Travelled South Pacific

There are few oceans as beautiful as the Pacific and few cruising routes as wonderful as those across the South Pacific. That’s why Earl Hinz called his classic cruising guide to the South Pacific, Landfalls of Paradise.

At this time of year, in marinas on the eastern seaboard of the Pacific, cruisers are busy making preparations for the long crossing through the Doldrums and across the Equator to paradise.

European and North American east coast boats are making their way through the Panama Canal; west coast boats are congregating in Southern California harbours, particularly San Diego and Mexican ports like Cabo San Lucas, La Paz and Puerto Vallarta. Although there is much work to be done, this is one of the most exciting moments of many cruisers’ voyages.

But just as it is beautiful, so the Pacific is vast. And although there are popular, well-established routes westwards across it, there are other corners and routes that offer perhaps even greater rewards to those who want to avoid the crowds and take on different challenges. In this article, we explore options in the South Pacific. Next month, we’ll look at the North Pacific circuit.

The Coconut Milk Run

Most of the boats preparing to jump off will follow the well-known Coconut Milk Run route.   This flows through French Polynesia, fans out across the island nations further west, often finishing – at least for a while – in Australia or New Zealand to avoid the cyclone season in the southwest Pacific, which is November through April – and for good reason.

This route encompasses many of the greatest places in the Pacific.  The marvellous variety of the island groups in French Polynesia, from the mountainous Marquesas where one first makes landfall, through the atolls of the Tuamotus to the Goldilocks combinations in the Society Islands, where spectacular mountain islands are surrounded by coral reefs and turquoise lagoons.

Then, on to the diverse geographies and cultures of the Cook Islands, Niue, the Samoas, Tonga, with its sparsely populated Ha’apai Islands and Fiji, which also has its own remote Lau Group of islands; and further west, particularly for those headed for Australia, Vanuatu and a second French experience, the bookend, the crossing to New Caledonia. The names alone are enough to set one dreaming. And I haven’t even mentioned Bora Bora.

There are other reasons to sail this route as well. Its popularity means that there is plenty of companionship for cruisers along the way. Rallies like World ARC and the looser Pacific Puddle Jump follow it in whole or in part. Information networks on Facebook, WhatsApp, HF and, locally, VHF radio and elsewhere provide support and backup for cruisers.

Crew changes are relatively easy to arrange since air connections are good. At certain points, for example Tahiti and Raiatea in French Polynesia and in Fiji, there are well-developed marine services and in some cases the possibility of leaving boats unattended, even through the cyclone season.

Across the island groups there are tremendous cultural festivals during the peak cruising months, particularly the Heiva Festival in Tahiti in June-July.

On the passage to the Marquesas, one begins to realize how vast the Pacific Ocean is. The route to the Marquesas is 2,800nm direct from San Diego, about 2,700nm from Mexico, depending on your port of departure, 3,000nm from the Galapagos Islands or around 3,800nm direct from Panama. Boats coming from North America typically sail non-stop (there is no other option, though those starting from Cabo San Lucas could pause at the Revillagigedo Islands, a couple of days out from Cabo).

Boats starting from Panama have the extraordinary opportunity of stopping in the Galapagos, but this is not without its complications.  Although the navigation between Panama and the Galapagos is relatively straightforward, the route tends to be windless over a good deal of its length and there can be headwinds to contend with as well as the Intertropical Convergence Zone (the ITCZ).

Visiting the Galapagos is relatively expensive and takes a good deal of planning (which we will cover in a future article). But what a reward – one of the most unique environments in the world.

Whatever your path down the Coconut Milk Run, however, it’s not too late to go this year! For boats heading out towards the Marquesas from the west coast of North or Central America, the best time to leave is any time from mid-February until as late as early June.

Most people depart in March to early April. Although boats do leave earlier and later than this, the Trade winds tend not to be so strong in the early months and, particularly in an El Niño year, there is some small risk of cyclones as you approach the Marquesas; and leaving it until June means that you have a more hurried schedule through the islands before the cyclone season sets in at the other end.

But wait! There are other ways to go…

An Alternative French Polynesia

The popular route through the Marquesas, the Tuamotus and the Society Islands is heaven, plus French food with Polynesian flavours. But precisely because it is popular it has some drawbacks too. Papeete, the principal harbour in Tahiti, is a natural stopping point for provisioning, repairs, crew change, etc. But it can get crowded, especially if a rally is rolling through and anchoring options have been narrowed at a number of places in the Societies. And besides, some people just prefer to take a less-travelled route through the South Pacific.

For these cruisers, the Gambier Islands, about 900nm south and slightly east of the Marquesas, are an attractive entry point to French Polynesia. This adds mileage from California or Mexico, for sure, but from the Galapagos the distances are very similar.

Not unlike the Societies, the main Gambiers are a cluster of high volcanic islands within a fringing reef, though culturally they are closest to the Marquesas. For sailors, the archipelago offers crystal clear waters, untouched reefs and numerous good anchorages.

Being further south than the classic Milk Run islands – at the limit of the tropics, in fact – the weather is accordingly colder and more exposed to fronts, especially during the winter months of July, August and September. Sailors who don’t like the winter cold – relatively speaking – tend to leave for the Tuamotus or the Marquesas. On the other hand, some boats spend cyclone season in the Gambiers, when temperatures are warmer and the weather is better.

The Gambiers are something of a crossroads in the South Pacific. From here, it is still possible to cruise through the Tuamotus to Tahiti and resume the traditional route. Or, for those who want to stay on routes less travelled, from the Gambiers one can sail west through the less-visited Australs and then on to the Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga and beyond. Finally, the Gambiers give you the option of turning east as the fleet continues west and visiting the gems of the Southeast Pacific.

The Southeast Pacific

The principal goal and arguably greatest gem of the Southeast Pacific is the Patagonian coast of Chile. Chile is one of the great cruising destinations of the world. Although there are also other interesting places further north in Chile, the Patagonian channels, which run for a thousand miles or so between Puerto Montt in the north and Tierra del Fuego, the Beagle Channel and the Wollaston Islands in the south, are the jewel in Chile’s crown.

After a gentle introduction at their northern end, the channels offer mostly wilderness sailing with stunning scenery, intricate navigation, glaciers – and a lot of rain. Although the conditions can be tough, almost all of the cruising is among islands which provide protection from the ocean; one only needs to go out into the Pacific for one short passage between Puerto Montt and the Beagle Channel (where, as David Grann describes in his excellent book The Wager, HMS Wager came to grief in 1741 – but don’t let that put you off). In the Beagle Channel, at 55°S, the scenery is wilder and the glaciers are more numerous. Here is the snug harbour of Puerto Williams, renowned for its welcome and as the jumping-off point for Antarctica. Then, at the very bottom, Cape Horn.

Coming to southern Chile, of course, is a very different Pacific from the paradise further north. It is true that the far south has a reputation for heavy weather. Sailors with experience of higher latitude sailing in Europe, North America or New Zealand won’t be altogether surprised, although there is a certain intensity about Southern Ocean storms and squalls that makes them worthy of respect. But with experience, ample time and a well-found boat, these waters are a joy to cruise.

If preparing for the Coconut Milk Run includes snorkels, sunscreen and that sort of thing, southern Chile takes a different sort of preparation. Although there are many snug anchorages, even the better ones can suffer from rachas (williwaws). In addition to substantial ground tackle, most boats carry four floating lines of around 100m each, with chain or heavy straps on the end, to take ashore and make fast around rocks or trees; often the lines are kept on reels on deck, though bags also work well if the lines are stowed in figures-of-eight to reduce kinking and tangling. A cabin heater is another essential. In the far south, expect snow in winter; in summer, expect the possibility of snow. If the standard food trophy in the South Pacific is a large bunch of bananas hanging from the backstay, in Chile meat-eating crews often purchase half a lamb which is similarly hung from the backstay and sliced for cooking as required.

At the risk of discouragement – because it involves another shipwreck – Hal Roth’s Two Against Cape Horn is a marvellous window into cruising in Patagonia. For more reassuring accounts, there is a beautiful photo story of the Patagonian channels by Peter Smith, the designer of the Rocna and Vulcan anchors, which well-illustrates the change of scenery from north to south, as well as the changing seasons.

And going in the other direction, there are excellent photos, stories and articles in s/v Mollymawk’s blog.

And there is more

But besides Chile, the Southeast Pacific has even more to offer, particularly Pitcairn and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Each of these tiny islands in the middle of nowhere is intriguing or mysterious in its own way: Pitcairn for the mutiny on the Bounty story, Rapa Nui for its extraordinary moai, the stone statues who turn their backs implacably on the ocean and stare blankly into the island.

A direct route from Tahiti to Chile typically heads south until westerlies are picked up in higher latitudes. But Pitcairn can be reached from the Gambiers or, if one is fortunate (particularly in an El Niño year), from Tahiti. Rapa Nui can be reached from Pitcairn or the Galapagos, by-passing French Polynesia altogether. The passages to Rapa Nui are long and conditions at the island can be challenging. But standing in front of the great row of moai at Ahu Tongariki at the east end of the island or Hanga Anakena on the north coast and looking past the enigmatic statues to the empty ocean beyond, knowing that your own little boat has brought you to this remote and moving place, is one of cruising’s great moments.

Sailing north or south from, say, Panama to Chile along the coast of South America is possible too, though less frequently done and such is the flexibility of routes in the Southeast Pacific that many of them, with a little adjustment, can be done in either direction.

An infinite number of ways to explore

The moral of the story is that, wonderful though it is, the traditional route to and through the South Pacific is not the only option for this vast half-ocean. As more and more people have the privilege of sailing across it, perhaps more will venture to the less common but equally rewarding destinations. One of the joys of cruising in the Pacific, in fact, is that there is an almost infinite number of ways you can do it. You could go round and round in big circles or describe enormous figures of eight over many years without getting bored of places revisited one time too many; and many sailors do. You only have to look at cruisers’ logs and blogs to see that many great cruises – and especially the most interesting ones – follow completely idiosyncratic paths and bear no relation to what routeing guides recommend. And hurray for that.

Further reading

All good cruises begin with good planning. Jimmy Cornell’s World Cruising Routes has long been the go-to guide for route planning. For the Pacific specifically, the Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation’s Pacific Crossing Guide, recently republished in a 4th Edition by Adlard Coles and from which some of this article is adapted, provides a comprehensive look at preparing a vessel and yourself for a Pacific crossing and contains detailed chapters on the topics in this article and all the major destinations across the Pacific.

For cruisers’ recent experiences, the area-by-area Compendiums available through www.svsoggypaws.com/files are a valuable resource. Noonsite typically has the most up-to-date information on the constantly-changing formalities and entry procedures for each country, plus a plethora of cruiser reports (see links below). The Pacific Crossing Guide also has extensive links to further sources for weather, communications, navigation and specific destinations.

Francis Hawkings
Author
The Pacific Crossing Guide 4th Edition

………………………

About the Author

Francis Hawkings was born in the UK and raised sailing dinghies from a young age, mostly on the West Coast of Scotland. His first cruising boat was a Contessa 26. He has owned his Tradewind 35, Plainsong, since 1992.

Plainsong has been based in the Pacific since 1993 and has cruised extensively in the South and North Pacific, the South Atlantic and the Caribbean. She is now heading generally west to complete a slow circumnavigation and is currently in the Philippines.

Francis is the author of The Pacific Crossing Guide, 4th Edition. which is available from:

• UK website
• US website

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.

……………………..

Related Cruiser Reports on Noonsite:

• French Polynesia:  Six Months Cruising the Tuamotus
• French Polynesia:  Making Sense of Anchoring Restrictions
• French Polynesia, Society Islands:  The Beauty and Disappointment
• French Polynesia, Tuamotus:  Coral Bombies, Snorkelling and Sharks
• French Polynesia – A Warm Welcome to the Gambiers
• Pitcairn Island – Well Worth the Journey
• Rapa Nui (Easter Island) – Nothing Short of Amazing
• Chile: Cruising the Channels in Patagonia

………………………

Find out all news, reports, links and comments posted on Noonsite, plus cruising information from around the world, by subscribing to our FREE monthly newsletter. Go to https://www.noonsite.com/newsletter/.