Sailing Songbirdvideo
No Sleep for These Poor Ocean Sailors | Ep. 13
8 October 2025 · 14 min · 32K views · Pacific Ocean
What this video covers
Luke and his crew member Daniel navigate the sailboat Songbird toward the Rangiroa atoll in French Polynesia, covering the final stretch of a five-day passage. During the transit, the crew encounters unstable weather and frequent squalls, which cause the boat to round up when hit by sudden gusts.▶ 3:27 To maintain a broad reach, the crew manually steers to compensate for the wind pressure on the sails.▶ 3:48 The vessel maintains a consistent speed of six to seven knots while surfing down two-meter waves.▶ 7:43 As they approach the atoll, the crew prepares for an engine-less entry into the pass, planning to time their arrival for one hour before high tide.▶ 5:49 The strategy involves stationing a lookout on the bow to identify coral heads and provide steering commands to avoid grounding.▶ 6:22 The crew relies on visual navigation in the clear water and uses Starlink to reconnect with the internet as they near the destination.▶ 10:50
Boats in this video
More from Sailing Songbird
From Sailing Songbird — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analysed video.
The Sailing Directory Newsletter
One email with the fleet's best finds — the moments, boats, and stories worth your watch time. Enter your own address to get your own copy.