2018 – Our Plans for the Year

January 1st, 2018 – Three years ago, Kiwi sailing friends, Lyn and John Martin, told us that they were planning a rally of boats to sail from Auckland, New Zealand to French Polynesia. Would we be interested? Listening to this idea, we realized that the timing would coincide perfectly with our thoughts about returning Avante to the States. We said, “Yes.” “Good,” they said. “We’re on your boat!”

That caught us by surprise. Lyn and John have a boat of their own and have been cruising and running sailing rallies around the South Pacific for many years. We also knew John’s assessment of crew on a boat: “They are like fish. Good for maybe the first three days, and then they stink.” So, why would they offer to crew on our boat? There are several reasons for that. Their boat, though a very seaworthy, blue water vessel, does not sail particularly well into the wind, and sailing to French Polynesia will require a lot of that. Avante, a racer-cruiser, was designed to sail to windward and does so impressively well. Another reason, we learn later, is that a 3-person minimum had been set up for any boat signing up for this rally, and each of those persons had to be a well qualified sailor. In 2010, we sailed across the Pacific with just the two of us. Why now three? It is a safety issue on this rally with its long passages and many days at sea. The first passage from Auckland to the Austral Islands is over 2300 miles and goes through the Roaring Forties, famous for nasty weather and tumultuous seas. On Avante, we estimate as many as 14 days for this first passage, and we are a fast boat. Other boats will take longer. That’s a grueling amount of time for 2 people alone to be standing watches 24/7. A final reason, and probably the driving one, is that John would very much like to challenge these waters on a J/160. He can’t wait to scream across the ocean on Avante! We understand.

So, here we are three years later. The plan is to have ourselves and Avante ready to set sail by April. The months leading up to this departure will be spent tuning up Avante for the trip ahead. We eventually plan to keep the boat in French Polynesia for up to 2 years, and we know from past experience that it is difficult to find qualified people there to take care of fixing anything that breaks down on the boat.  Obtaining replacement parts will also be a huge obstacle. Therefore, Avante must be in the very best shape possible. At 18 years of age, Avante has seen a lot of ocean miles. We alone have traveled over 45,000 miles aboard her. Though maintained to a high degree, every system still must be checked, tuned up or replaced. The Captain’s To-Do list goes on for pages.

Although not the longest ocean passage that we have done, the passage from New Zealand to French Polynesia is a major undertaking.  The further south that you get in this part of the world, the more difficult the weather tends to be.  Some of our roughest passages have been going in and out of New Zealand, crossing the Bass Straight to Tasmania and crossing the Tasman Sea.  Because of prevailing wind directions, we will have to stay south, below the trade winds that blow from east to west.  Our route will not be a straight line. We plan to head east from New Zealand until we get south of French Polynesia.  Then, we will turn north. Our first planned stop will be Raivavae in the Austral Islands. From there, we hope to sail on to other island groups in French Polynesia, such as the Gambier Islands, the Tuamotu Atolls and the Marquesa Islands. At some point, John and Lyn will leave us because of other commitments. After the Marquesas, we will turn around to head west to Papeete where we can leave Avante while we return home for late summer in the mountains of Colorado. That is about as far as our planning for 2018 goes. Will we return to French Polynesia for a month or two of cruising before the Holiday Season? We don’t know and are not even attempting to plan that far ahead. We figure managing Avante’s needs and the voyaging over the first 7 months of 2018 is challenge enough.