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Sailing east from New Zealand

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Methods of reaching points east from New Zealand

By: Scott Fratcher - Marine Engineer/Captain

Dozens of yachts will depart New Zealand each year with easterly destinations in mind. The persistent question will be how to make miles against the relentless south-east trade winds.

Sailing into the sunrise-

Tahiti - This simple name conjures images of Captain Cook, green tropical paradise, and lazy islands in the sun. Often the dream fades when faced with the reality of a long upwind passage or a cold, storm ridden, southern latitude crossing.

In this article were going to discuss alternative routes to reach Tahiti from New Zealand.

The tricks presented in this article will help for all eastern destinations such as the Cooks, a return to the USA, or a local boat that wants to start at the top of the “ski slope”.

Eastward Routes

This winter I was given command of a 58ft luxury Catamaran to sail around the Pacific as long as I could guarantee a reasonably quick, upwind delivery to Tahiti from New Zealand. Facing our passage options, I researched five possible routes to the Society Islands.

The five routes to Tahiti-

1. Depart New Zealand, drop to 40 degrees south and ride the westerlies.
2. Depart New Zealand and rhumline for Tahiti riding the north side of a low on departure followed by the south east trades.
3. Sail to Tonga and wait for a large low to effect and reverse the trades as far north as 20 south. Use the westerly winds to sail for the southern Cooks. Wait in the Cooks to repeat the procedure.
4. Sail to Samoa and wait for a calm to motor east through the windless slot left over between the north-east trades and the south-east trades.
5. Sail the south-east trades through Tonga, Suvorov, and onward to Penrhyn Island. Wait for the wind to change to easterly. Depart for Tahiti.

Let’s discuss these routes in detail.

Standard route- Apx 2900 miles

Depart New Zealand, drop to 40 degrees south and ride the westerlies till you can comfortably tack for Tahiti sailing the south east trades. This is the standard line given by pundits considering getting a boat to Tahiti. Let’s consider this route.

Disadvantage

* Storms- You can expect at least one deep low to pass the yacht, while many yachts suffer five or six batterings. Since this is a lonely section of ocean all repairs will have to be made onboard.

* Cold-The southern latitudes are cold. Cold is more than just an uncomfortable feeling, it affects the ability of the crew to respond to emergencies. As one boatie told me, “We sailed as far south as 42 degrees trying to find the westerlies, but my fingers became so cold and stiff I could no longer work the lines and had to turn north.”

* Westerlies?- The southern route expects the westerlies to fill in, but after talking to many boaties in Tahiti it seemed few actually found the downhill ride they were looking for. Every year is different, but many crews have reported persistent headwinds that made for a long slow passage.

* Cyclone Season- In order to reduce the chance of a southern ocean storm yachts are faced with a summer departure meaning a Tahiti arrival during cyclone season.

Advantage-

* The number one reason to use the southerly route is the ability to sail most of the route. For boats with small engines, (or simply don’t want to burn fuel) this is the route of choice.
* The possibility of a fast passage. Auckland to Tahiti is about 2400 miles. For a yacht making 130 miles a day on a downwind run this can mean, in as little as 18 days the yacht can make a Tahiti landfall.
* The yacht is at sea for the complete trip so landfall hazards are minimized. Crew can’t jump ship, the credit card can’t be used, and another boat load of expensive provisions can’t be purchased.
* Possible stop in the remote Australes Islands

Auckland to Tahiti by the rhumline Apx 2200 miles

This route is similar to the southern route, but involves a motor-sail to the east directly from New Zealand. The idea is to use the south east winds to make a course of 60 true, sailing a tight reach directly to Tahiti.

Advantages

* For boats that can make tight upwind progress this route offers the shortest distance to Tahiti and can take advantage of the existing south east winds.
* The yacht slowly proceeds north reducing the changes of encountering a deep low.
* This more northern route has the chance of an emergency stop in the Cooks.
* Every day the temperatures will rise a bit as the yacht progresses north.

Disadvantages

* Few yachts can hold this course hard on the wind.
* The engine will almost assuredly have to be used meaning fuel costs and engine hours.
* It’s possible (some say probable) to find yourself a thousand miles out of Tahiti with steady headwinds.

Tonga, Cooks, Tahiti- Aprox 2600 miles

This is often considered the most difficult of the possible Tahiti routes. The idea is to sail to Tonga and wait for a large low to pass south of the islands that effects, or reverses the trades. Statistically this happens about three times a year, but the odds can be increased if the yacht is willing to sail south to 25 degrees to ride the north side of a passing low.

Alternatively it may be possible to catch the approach of a high that causes the winds to shift south, south-east allowing the yacht to point directly at Tahiti on departure. When the winds fill in from the southeast it may be possible for the yacht to bare off for Bora,Bora.

Advantages

* The least miles sailed
* A good long stop in Tonga
* Possible stops in the Cooks
* The possibility of westerlies

Disadvantages-

* A long wait in Tonga
* The possibility of departing Tonga and not finding the westerly winds.
* The high chance of encountering strong headwinds.

This route is generally considered the least desirable of the five passage options due to the high chance of encountering strong head winds in the lower trade wind latitudes. The saving grace is that the winds will often be from the south-east allowing a slant on the wind.

Tonga, Samoa, Suvorov, Tahiti- Aprox 2700 miles

Between Samoa and Tahiti often lies a slot of the lightest winds in the Pacific. This band is located the greatest distance from the north pacific high and the south pacific high often just out of reach of the effects of either. Frequently weeks go by with light and variable wind conditions meaning easy easterly progress by use of the motor.

Samoa

Samoa is one of the best re-provisioning stops in the Pacific and the 1200 mile upwind leg to Bora Bora can be broken up with a stop at Suvorov (450 miles) and the possibility of an emergency anchorage at Mopelia (575 miles) or direct to Bora Bora (700 miles).

The weather plan is to use the “light” months (Jan-June) to make fast easterly progress on leaving Samoa. Depart Samoa when either “light and variable” or west winds are forecast. This wind condition occurs most often when a small low passes below Samoa. A gentle southerly wind left by the small low followed by light and variable winds is about perfect to make for an easy Suvorov landfall. Repeat the plan when sailing from Suvorov east.

Advantages-

* Fast upwind passages possible by use of a strong motor.
* Very low chance of storm encounters.
* A stop at the legendary island of Suvorov

Disadvantages-

* The heat. This is a hot, sultry area of the ocean. Lack of trade winds means long hot days cooking under intense sun. Sunshade is a must.
* The chance that a big easterly wind will fill in. Remember you are cutting a corner of the trade wind route by taking this “shortcut”. It’s always possible the winds will fill in stalling your progress just a few hundred miles short of your destination. If this unfortunate, morale breaking, situation were to occur the options are - bash through, turn for the Cooks, turn for Penrhyn.
* Fuel-The only dependable way to progress eastward through this 1200 miles of ocean is by the use of diesel fuel. Luckily fuel can be purchased at the Samoa fuel dock for some of the best prices in the Pacific.

Tip-Diesel at the Samoa fuel docks is sold duty free. This equates to a one third discount from the land pump prices. The yacht must be brought to the fuel dock, normally used for ships. (Regulations prevent the filling of jury cans from a skiff) The fuel dock is protected by large black bumpers that leave black smears on a yachts gelcoat. At low tide the dock bumpers can be located over the rails of most yachts, so fill up at high tide with protection over the hull. Rags and thinners can help to remove the black marks.

Tip-Fuel up, and fill up. Don’t under estimate the amount of fuel a yacht can burn motoring upwind. If the trades fill in, or worse “re-enforced” trades (15-25 knots) fill in the ability to make the upwind landfall may come down to available fuel on board. Fill the tanks, and consider extra jury cans. Samoa is a consumers port and spare jury cans are available. Small barrels, restaurant cooking oil containers and commercial fuel jugs have all been used to temporarily hold extra fuel.

Tonga, Suvorov, Penrhyn, Tahiti (or Hawaii) Aprox 3300 miles

This is a classic route chosen by yachts with upwind sail ability attempting to return to the States from New Zealand. With a lucky south east wind much of this route can be sailed saving the fuel costs.

The Northern Route

Sail for Tonga in the usual way. From Tonga sail upwind directly for Suvorov Island. This easily entered pass is a welcome break from the trades and provides the crew a comfortable station to wait for the next weather window. The trick is to wait for a south east slant on the wind.

Warning-Waiting for the trades to change direction can be frustrating, especially if the crew is in a hurry. The factors that change the trades are often determined by the position of the high passing to the south. This cycle can last a week or two at a time. Consider the wait carefully. A small amount of southerly wind in the trades can make a large difference in the yachts ability to make Penryhn island. The farther north a yacht sails the greater the chance of the winds turning dead east, thus easterly progress needs to be made early on this leg of the voyage.

Equatorial Counter Current

The equatorial counter current can be of use to boats destined for Hawaii or points farther east. Amazingly every year a few intrepid sailors reach destinations as far east as Panama from points as far west as New Caledonia by use of the Equatorial counter-current.

The Equatorial counter-current is a narrow band of current that travels eastward at speeds up to a knot and have been recorded by satellite at speeds over two knots. Considering the yacht is no longer pushing into a half knot of current this can mean a total perceived bonus of forty miles a day.

The Equatorial counter-current varies somewhere between 8 north and 5 south, but is predicted to lie about 5 north. Sailors find the counter-current by making the best course to an eastern destination while watching the Velocity Made Good (VMG) on the GPS. It’s important to continually monitor the VMG for a sudden positive jump. This tells the crew they have entered the narrow band of reverse current. From that point on the crew monitors the VMG and tacks through the counter current keeping careful note of the boundary, so if the current is lost the crew can make a prediction if a north or south course will re-locate the bonus miles.

Tip- Consider the boat’s propeller. Most yachts choose a propeller based on drag while sailing compared to thrust while motoring. The routes presented here are motor-sailing routes so purchasing a large, fixed blade, “power prop” designed to push you through the headwinds is called for. Keep the old prop and change back soon as your ready to sail again.

Tip- Pay careful attention to boat trim. Motor-sailing effectively through chop is much different than sailing through chop. Sufficient weight must be located forward to keep the bow down and force the yacht to “cut” through the wave. If the nose rises and presents the crafts underbelly to the oncoming sea she will surely be pushed a few meters backward on each wave no matter how much horsepower is applied to the prop.

Consider your boat’s propulsion-

The northern routes are designed to take advantage of short weather windows. A beamy yacht with a small diesel will be severely limited in taking advantage of the options listed in this article. A yacht should be able to motor steady at six knots and seven is better. Remember there will be a half knot of current against you so a six knot boat is really only motoring east at a 120 mile a day. For low power boats consider motoring east from Samoa using a five day predicted calm to make as much easterly as possible. Use the calm to position the yacht for the predicted wind change.

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