24 Days Across the Pacific
From the Galápagos to the Marquesas is 3,321 nautical miles, and it took us 24 days. Here’s how it went, more or less.
Days 1-2. Off we go! The Galápagos faded astern with the big green gennaker up. By day two, all was well on Scout.
Days 3-5. We headed south to 8°S, looking for the trade winds. There was sunshine, but also lines of very wet squalls to sail through before we could pop out into the trades.
Days 6-8. The trades arrived. We settled in along 9°S and made 6 or 7 knots, day after day, without touching the sails. 2,400 miles to go.
On day 8 we tried a new three-sail configuration for the downwind run. With the main and solent to starboard, and the wind 150° apparent on the port quarter, the solent was flogging in the shadow of the main. The fix was to pole out the staysail to port, funnelling air into the solent. It worked!
Day 10. A third of the way there, and it doesn’t get old.
Day 11. Friday night is pizza night, even in the middle of the Pacific, and Jayne proofed and kneaded fresh dough. Our other vice was season two of Severance, at some cost to the Starlink allowance. TV dinners at sea are the best!
Day 13. Halfway! 1,800 miles behind us, and 1,600 ahead. We saw a green flash at sunset. In the lighter winds, we’d been flying the colourful spinnaker day and night.
Days 14-16. We poled out again to head further downwind. By day 16 we had three sails up, surfable waves, solid trades, and long sunny days.
Day 18. Everything on a boat is a consumable. After a few days of poling out the solent in big seas, the sheet chafed through at the pole jaws. We cut the end off, remounted it with some anti-chafe, and carried on. Another reminder to move all marine purchases from the ‘capex’ column to ‘opex’.
Day 19. Letting the miles roll by.
Day 20. Sushi was on the menu! A yellowfin tuna came aboard, after a team effort. Nigiri and sashimi for the week.
Day 23. Our last full day at sea, and time for a pre-landfall hull inspection. It was goose barnacle city down there. How they get on at six knots is one of life’s great mysteries.
Day 24. Landfall! After 24 days and 3,321 miles, we arrived at Hiva Oa under a double rainbow.
We cleared in, and then went straight to the shops, since the fridge was in a sorry state. Baguettes! Cheese!
Now time to explore… France!
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