A South Pacific Loop

There’s more than one way to enjoy a Pacific sailing adventure. That is, you don’t necessarily have to follow the so-called Cruiser Milkrun all the way to New Zealand and Australia. Instead, some adventure-hungry sailors simply do a Pacific circuit: out to French Polynesia, then north to Hawaii, and home again.

That’s precisely what Bruce and Pascale Powell did this year aboard their Tiburon-based Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 47 Calou, with their sons, Francois, 16, and Antoine, 12, along as crew. After cruising Mexico as a family, they shared the incredible experience of crossing the Pacific together, and making landfall in the remote Marquesas Islands before touring the Tuamotus and Tahitian (Society) Islands. 

"We crossed the Equator northbound this morning under bright blue skies and 15-knot winds — perfect sailing weather!" Bruce emailed while at sea. "To celebrate, we passed out chocolates and offered a beer to the Sea Gods. . . We are nearly exactly at the halfway point between Tahiti and Hawaii, which means we should have another seven or eight days to go. On a map, our position is about a thousand miles to the nearest land in any direction, which makes this spot one of the loneliest places on earth. Since we left Moorea eight days and 1,135 nautical miles back, we have not seen a single boat, ship or airplane."

Regular readers of Latitude 38 magazine may recall a similar shot taken on the southbound leg — oddly enough, also while on starboard tack. That was 3 1/2 months ago, on April 11. Their adventures since then could fill a book.

For more on this year’s westbound migration, look for our annual Pacific Puddle Jump Recap article in the September edition of the magazine or online at our website.