New Zealand over Hawaii to Canada?

[Dsanduril]

Carsten,

we've done this voyage in two parts; the NZ to Australs leg last year in March, the Tahiti to Hawaii to Alaska/Canada on another Pacific voyage.

We left Christchurch in March with the intention of getting to the Australs and thence up to Tahiti later than April. It all worked well. We skirted along the edge of the 40s for most of the trip. We watched the gribs carefully and made two or three excursions (more to the north) from the direct route to avoid pressure systems coming through. All in all it wasn't a bad passage, but a bit long. We spent a little time close reaching, and the last day hard on the wind, but otherwise 90-120 wind angle.

From the Australs it's pretty easy to get up to Tahiti, the Tuamotus, or even the Marquesas if you like. From any of those you reach up toward the equator, going NE when the wind is SE, and going more N when the wind is E, basically getting E when you can. That way when you get to the N hemisphere and the winds go NE you can fall off and still be on a beam reach toward Hawaii. Same basic sailing, heading N when wind is E and heading NW when wind is NE. I've done that passage three times in May/June and had a good passage every time. If you happen to be close, stop by Caroline Island, even fewer people stop there.

From Hawaii in the summertime Alaska or BC are relatively easy, as noted above N until clear of the high, then E. Take note that hurricane season in Hawaii starts June/July. Lots of people sail there at that time of year (for instance the Transpac), but nice to get out before it is too far into the N hemisphere summer. That also makes for better timing in the PNW. The summer isn't long up there, so getting there by July is nice, you can then spend the season July-September enjoying the best time of year. You may find it so nice that you decide you need more than one season.

[agb512]

Originally Posted by stormalong

The sailing directions for Hawaii to Canada are to sail due north until you are north of the north pacific high, then turn east. When we sailed this leg the center of the north pacific high was due north of us and tracked north as we did, we could never get around it.

We were in very calm conditions for a long time. We ran the engine at 1400 rpm for days on end. At 1400 rpm the engine is very stingy on fuel. Left Hawaii with 100 gallons, Arrived in Ucluelet with 10 gallons left.

That's incredible!

[chris14679]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Thank you for suggesting this route, which looks very interesting. Did you run into many pressure fronts on the NZ to Rapa Iti run? The wind maps we have say that in June we can expect 15020 knot winds on a broad reach. But in this part of the ocean there are frequent pressure systems that push through.

how much did you experience? was the passage a rough one?

thanks

Hi Carsten, we didn't encounter any nasty fronts or really bad seas but it was a bit confused and lumpy for about three days around a week out due to some swells coming up from a far-distant southern ocean storm. I think there were one or two minor fronts but nothing remotely memorable. 15-20 knots most of the time like you say.

You can depart any time and you'll get there but if you and your crew are patient enough to wait for a good setup before leaving then you have a very high chance of a comfortable and quick passage.

As you will be moving in the same direction as the weather systems you can position yourself to ride the fair winds for a long way before the system overtakes you or you may even keep pace with it if you are lucky. Aim to sail along the 37 degrees line from Tauranga or Napier until you are directly south west of Rapa Iti, then head straight for it. You might need to go a bit further south at times if the weather patterns dictate that but we were actually able to edge north and cut the corner a bit.

We used Bob McDavitt to assist with departure planning and weather routing and I strongly recommend him, he charges very little and really knows his stuff. He's great at spotting things you'd never think of, like when the forecast looks perfect but will be spoilt by a train of huge waves from a far away storm. He predicted every detail of our passage and his forecast and route plan made at departure was still spot on after 10 days, not just of the weather and sea state but also of our position! Weather info and radio net from Gulf Harbour radio (yit.co.nz) was also very useful.

For the last 6 days or so you should be in the trade winds on a reach but we had a day of flat calm and motoring amongst playing whales as we approached Rapa - the trade winds are not very reliable in that area.

Departure timing is important as you leave Gambier too, both for conditions to stop briefly at Pitcairn or Henderson (the anchorage is very exposed) and for favourable winds thereafter. The plan is similar but with a much larger proportion of easy trade wind sailing- head due east for a few days in the variables until you are positioned well for a long reach up through steady trade winds. If you do get headed it's no big deal as a stop at Easter island doesn't add much distance and breaks the passage but again the anchorages are very exposed. We were lucky with the weather (or perhaps all the planning paid off) and we managed to cut the corner. Steady winds broad reaching all the way to Galapagos for the final 2 weeks.

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by billknny

Having done this route, I am very confused... the route from Hawai'i to Canada does not go through the pacific high at all, unless you are foolish enough to try to sail the rhumb line course but even the most elementary weather analysis would steer you away from that.

The first time, 2000, the high stretched from Japan to Oregon.

We are usually on a schedule to get the boats back after the Vic-Maui race. We just power through the high as needed.

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by billknny

Having done this route, I am very confused... the route from Hawai'i to Canada does not go through the pacific high at all, unless you are foolish enough to try to sail the rhumb line course but even the most elementary weather analysis would steer you away from that.

Here's what the Pacific High looked like four days after we left Kaneohe Bay, Oaho, bound for San Francisco (we were at the red "X").



The first half of the route is the same whether you are aiming for San Francisco or for Canada. We motored for less than a day and then an incoming cold front gave us a nice path to sail the rest of the way: