GOODBYE FIJI! A new adventure begins: 800 miles in the Ocean - | Ep. 27 2025
24 November 2025 · 38 min · 4K views · Nouméa
What this video covers
After nearly three years in Fiji, Max and Ale depart on an 800-mile passage from Fiji to New Caledonia aboard their Beneteau Oceanis 50, Y2K.▶ 0:08 Clearance out of Fiji is completed at Danarao before departure.▶ 5:09 Motoring to the pass, they encounter standing waves at the exit and stronger-than-forecast conditions immediately offshore — estimated 20–22 knots with confused seas — while the wind instrument fails after taking heavy hits through the pass, eliminating autopilot-wind-vane mode for the entire passage.▶ 11:51 Unable to use the windvane autopilot without wind data, Max cannot rig the whisker pole and instead secures the boom with a mainsail preventer rigged to a cleat and the mainsheet.▶ 16:15 Conditions deteriorate overnight Thursday: seas build past two meters toward 2.4 meters, a squall forces Max to furl the genoa and head up nearly to a stop under minimal mainsail, making two to three knots until it passes.▶ 25:37 Ale suffers seasickness through the rough stretch.▶ 21:24 The boat averages six to seven knots under full genoa and one reef, reaching nearly eight knots in the heavier air.▶ 16:35 Australia biosecurity costs for two ants found aboard a fellow sailor's boat — 800 dollars for three hours — prompt a pre-arrival cleanliness reminder.▶ 20:19 Y2K arrives in New Caledonia Saturday morning in sunshine under sail and motor.▶ 29:09 A failed wind instrument can disable autopilot wind-vane steering for an entire offshore passage, making a spare instrument and a plan to climb the mast in port essential preparation.
Boats in this video
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