WEsail · video

What this video covers

Entering the Tuamotus archipelago requires precise timing to navigate narrow, current-swept passes during slack tide.10:27 The crew of a 36-ft sailboat approaches the Rau-Rira atoll after a 400-mile passage from the Marquesas.12:58 To calculate the optimal 30-minute entry window, they utilize a custom spreadsheet known as the "guesstimator," developed by a naval architect and hosted on the Sailing Vessel Soggy Paws website.11:21 This tool integrates tide data, moon cycles, and local conditions to predict slack water.12:13 While the crew initially expects to miss the tide, a time zone change grants them an extra hour, allowing them to arrive at the pass as the current eases.19:43 They wait 45 minutes outside the entrance to confirm the flow has subsided before motoring through the channel, using chart plotter waypoints to avoid shallow areas and coral heads.26:39 Successful navigation of these atoll passes depends on accurate tidal estimation and favorable weather windows.

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