The Voyages: To the South Pacific, the Marquesas
We left our dear friends at Ventura West Marina and sailed South to San Diego. Except for the day sail from Mission Bay to San Diego, the passage was 147 miles of almost windless sailing in moderate swell. We rolled a lot. It tested how well we had stowed our gear and provisions (some things well, some not so well). We stayed in San Diego long enough to buy charts, cruising guides, flags and cloth to sew flags. We also did our final provisioning and cleared out with Customs. On March First, we set a course for Polynesia and left.
We were helped by so many good friends in San Diego with transportation and other assistance. Getting the job done without them would have been very tough. Our thanks forever.
The passage was a long one, 35 days, because we left early (March) before the Trades had fully established. Also, we didn’t use the engine, so the Doldrums were brutal. It took us 10 days to escape them. There was a north setting current in them that we fought the entire time. One day we made 24 miles before we were becalmed all night long. When we checked our position in the morning, we had lost the entire 24 miles and were still going backwards!
Once we got below the Equator the SE Trades slowly built and we were eventually doing 150 mile days. Much better. We finally arrived at Atuona on Hiva Oa on April 5th. We cleared in, spent five days sightseeing, then sailed for Hana Moe Noe on Tahuata. There, we rested up, did some maintenance on the boat (changed zincs, etc.) and did a lot of snorkeling. The water was beautifully clear and warm. We sailed over night to Nuku Hiva where we provisioned, visited select anchorages and did a lot of hiking. We also met up again with our good friends, Horst on Pacific Star and the Leibs on 59th Street Bridge.
The Voyage of the Swan
