sailing the pacific the wrong way

[cosmoscat]

G'day Crusiers,

We have been enjoying this site and the forums for a while now but after the purchase of our lagoon 380 now things have become real. (and imminent) so this is our first post.

We are wanting to hear first hand experience and advice from any sailors that have sailed west to east across any parts of the pacific. Our time frame is not strict and we plan to sail from Australia to USA over the next 2 years.. Leaving Queensland September 2015.

We have ordered Jimmys Cornell book but would like to hear some first hand accounts on passages, time, cyclone hideouts and anything else that you feel we should learn from the community which is the cruisers forum.

Cheers,

Cosmos

[Neptune's Gear]

going to where in the USA?

[cosmoscat]

Plan is to go Hawaii, then most efficient route to the contenent and into the canal to end up over the east coast. I heard that there is no cyclone or hurricane activity 6degrees of the equator, but I'm unsure how safe it would be to head into the doldrums everytime things look nasty but I guess sitting in no wind would be better then being flogged. If you were to be mainly travelling north to south island hoping would it be better/less choppy than just heading across??

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[savoir]

You should go the Northern way.

Lots of places to pick from - Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, China, Japan, Micronesia, Marshalls, Guam, Hawaii, Canada, USA


That would easily take a year.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Cosmos.

[cosmoscat]

Thanks for the info, I was just a bit unsure whether that stretch from Marshalls to Hawaii would leave us with nowhere to shelter from storms outside of our 4 day forecast.

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[cosmoscat]

Thanks Gordmay hopefully I'll be able to post some sound advice on here after a few years of pacific life...

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[savoir]

Originally Posted by cosmoscat

Thanks for the info, I was just a bit unsure whether that stretch from Marshalls to Hawaii would leave us with nowhere to shelter from storms outside of our 4 day forecast.

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There is nowhere to shelter. Allow 3 weeks in wind that should be incredibly steady from the NE. The NE breeze starts around March. The popular time to visit the Marshalls is December - April.

[Sam90]

Have a look at this blog, you might find it useful:

Caprice

A couple from the USA bought a Seawind 1160 in Australia and sailed it to US West Coast via Tonga and Hawaii.

[mikereed100]

Have you considered heading a bit east before heading for NA? From Australia you could make your way through Indonesia/Borneo or Micronesia to the Philippines. From there you could make your way north to Taiwan, Okinawa and Japan, then form Japan to NA. We did this route a couple of years ago and had a great time. In the Philippines and Japan you are never far from good shelter and, while you will be exposed to typhoons once you leave Japan, if you time it right you can minimize the risk. Have a look at our blog for an idea of what you can expect on this route.

[Roy M]

Some friends went from Palau, Micronesia to Hawaii, straight across the equator, using the equatorial counter current. There were some tricky moments, but otherwise very efficient. Today, with access to satellite data, it would probably be easier to track the currents and the winds. They were using a multihull, so their speeds would have been a bit faster than some.

[cosmoscat]

Thanks for all the comments, we have been reading up on The Pacific Crossing Guide and now have thought more about the idea of heading to Vanuatu August
Solomon Islands October
Caroline Islands/Micronesia/Philippines November - March
Taiwan/Japan April - May and continue North to Alaska and down the west coast of Canada during June/July to arrive USA by August 2016.

Does this sound like a plausible cruising route and times for newbies?

Cheers,

Cosmos

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Sam90.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by cosmoscat

Thanks for all the comments, we have been reading up on The Pacific Crossing Guide and now have thought more about the idea of heading to Vanuatu August
Solomon Islands October
Caroline Islands/Micronesia/Philippines November - March
Taiwan/Japan April - May and continue North to Alaska and down the west coast of Canada during June/July to arrive USA by August 2016.

Does this sound like a plausible cruising route and times for newbies?

Cheers,

Cosmos

that would be the correct route and time to do this passage,though not for the feint hearted the north pac leg can be bumpy even during mid summer!

[leftbrainstuff]

Originally Posted by cosmoscat

Thanks for the info, I was just a bit unsure whether that stretch from Marshalls to Hawaii would leave us with nowhere to shelter from storms outside of our 4 day forecast.

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svIntrepid completed this route. We spoke to them about this journey while we were hauled out together in San Francisco.

They sailed from the US to Australia and back. The skipper solo'd the Marshalls to Hawaii.

They have a blog at www.svintrepid.com

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