Australia to Panama best cruising route

[two fast]

Has anyone sailed/cruised eastwards across the Pacific any suggestion on routes, timing on when to leave and destinations on the way.
Or is it way to hard. Thanks in advance.

[Boatguy30]

Something like a Tayana 55 did the passage from the Marquesas direct to Costa Rica several years ago. One tack. You can certainly get to the Marquesas by sailing east from NZ possibly stopping in the Australs. No sure I would do it on a cat.

[skipmac]

Going east in the middle latitudes will be a long hard beat dead against the wind and current. You could go south to catch the westerlies so make good time but it can be a bit breezy going that way and you still have to make time back north to reach Panama.

If you have really long range under power you can make for the ITCZ and motor.

[two fast]

Thanks Boatguy and Skipmac
That's about the options as I see it, I like staying low and picking the westerly but not to much or to cold
I wonder if many boats go the other way though Asia then to Japan and on to the States and then down
To Panama? It's a long way which ever way.

[Andrew Troup]

NZ > Easter Island > Galapagos > Panama is a pretty neat set of intermediate destinations.

Some pretty good sailing on the first leg if you strike it lucky, but it's a bit of a lottery; on my first ocean passage we were on port tack close reaching (beam at best) around 40 deg S for ten days straight, but that was OK.

(I think we left in March; probably wouldn't pay to leave too much later than about now)

[El Pinguino]

NZ-Pto Montt with a limiting latitude of 50S took us 40 days @ 5 knots ( Jan Feb 04), Pto Montt - Anto you will get good S'lys ( quite strong off Coquimbo) inside the SE Pacific High and N of there fairly light conditions...

[Boatguy30]

Yes, a few months sailing the direct ish route. Maybe what 18 months if going via Japan and the North Pacific. Or leave Townsville by August and arrive in panama in April sailing west. Much easier really.