Hawaii to Alaska

[carstenb]

We're on hawaii (in the rain in Hilo) and will make the run to Sitka next june. How is it? Looking at the wind charts, it seems that goign northwest to get around the high center, the wind should generally be a beam reach (meaning not close-hauled). when you make the turn- then a broad reach

I make the distance to be around 2500nm - yet several people have told me that it will take 3-4 weeks.

We had a nasty run up here from the marquesas and prefer not ot repeat it.

Who has made this run - what was it like, advice, etc etc. please

carsten

[Macblaze]

No advice, but I do want to do the loop from PNW->Hawaii-> Alaska so I will listen in on any advice.

PS I just read your blog post about Nua Hiva to Hawaii... a great read!

[Paul L]

Carsten
If you are interested I can put you in touch with friends who are doing the same passage, same time this year.

[oregonian]

Hello Carstenb, my wife and I did a very similar trip just a few years ago. It was actually from Oahu to Kodiak City, Kodiak Is. I read over my log and there is nothing there unusual to report. Basically we sailed straight north for 2300 miles. Mostly reaching and a bit of running with miniature wings in the northern portion. It took 19 days 7hrs in our Westsail 32. The North Pacific high was East enough for us to just go right past it. We never were becalmed. The passage was late August/early September. Good luck with your passage.

[JPA Cate]

Hello Carsten,

Jim's and my experiences do not extend to Sitka.

However, I think you and Vinni will have to do some long days hard on the wind. The reason is that that is what you have to do to get around the north Pacific High. When you look at the prevailing winds, it is mainly NW. For us, from Kauai to SF, it was 3 days HARD on the wind, before we could crack off a bit. You've a fair bit farther north to work your way, and falling off beforehand is probably not the best strategy. Suggest you stay fairly hard on the wind, till you can reach off with a fairly good certainty of reaching your desired harbor.

Will it be less arduous than your beat to HI? I don't know, but stay as high of your course as long as you reasonably can, before turning down, because that northing can be really hard to get back, if you lose it; and, the easting is easy, but you don't want to have to go west....

Ann

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Carsten
If you are interested I can put you in touch with friends who are doing the same passage, same time this year.

yes please,

we would like to have a buddy boat

thank you

[Dsanduril]

Carsten,

we departed Kaneohe on June 21 last year(2019) and arrived Sitka on July 7. We waited in Kaneohe for a few days until the forecast showed some solid E/ESE trades rather than NE. We then rode those straight north for 3/4 days. We got very fortunate in that the Pacific High never really developed, so we were able to steer the rhumb line from there to Sitka.

We had pleasant beam reach easterlies until about mid-passage. Two days of mixed, hard on the nose N/NW'ly in the mid-20s as we transitioned around 40N. Then we had pretty nice WNW in the teens until about 300-400 miles from Sitka when we lost all wind and spend three days drifting very slowly toward the destination.

All-in-all it was a pretty nice sail with a couple of days in the middle that were fair - nothing too bad but also not the best.