I reckon the reason
many a few get into strife is they go to far south, either that or they stay to far north.
The latter get hammered by easterlies and frustrated by calms, the former just get hammered....
40/45 isn't 'high latitude' sailing... its just a bloody long way is all.
You can find far worse
weather between
Tonga and NZ.. at least I did..
TtBoMK two boats arrived in
Chile from NZ this year, one into Valdivia one into Montt... neither had any major dramas.
However....
When we were about 1000 miles west of the continent we heard that a
single hander on a non stop
round the world attempt had been rolled about 700 miles south of us, ie about 55*S, had been rolled and had given up their attempt. No idea who it was, just know was female, US flag and she had altered course for
Panama and home.
At the time we had slight sea and low swell......
Chathams? Went there in March?2003...Wellington/Chathams/Tauranga...... motored almost the whole way there in a glassy calm, bonzer beam reach the whole way back to Tauranga under sunny skies.