SailingAlone · video

What this video covers

A solo sailor and a last-minute crew member, René, depart Nelson, New Zealand, bound for Australia on a 1,200-mile Tasman Sea crossing aboard a ketch.▶ 0:00 An ex-cyclone with Force 12 winds and 8-meter waves forces a 10-day delay before departure; the wait is spent transiting Cook Strait, exploring the Marlborough Sounds, and navigating French Pass, a narrow tidal strait with extreme current.▶ 0:15 René's return flight from Australia leaves a 26-day window once the cyclone clears.▶ 2:45 The crossing runs upwind the entire way — 30 knots on the bow, constant swell, squalls, and lightning fronts — making it slow, rough, and seasickness-prone.▶ 3:47 Mid-passage, the Iridium satellite phone loses its data connection to PredictWind; weather forecasts arrive instead via text message relayed through a friend in New Zealand.▶ 4:57 A second cyclone veers toward New Zealand rather than the crossing track.▶ 5:23 Sydney is abandoned as a destination due to headwinds; Brisbane is next, then Coffs Harbour, chosen simply as the nearest port.▶ 4:48 A wind-generator rivet fails twice; a mid-passage calm allows a mast climb to fix it.▶ 6:32 The crossing takes exactly 17 days, matching the skipper's pre-departure estimate, with no gales encountered.▶ 3:18

More from SailingAlone

Sailing gale. How? Technical and navigational issuesJun 2026Storm sailing. How? Technique and navigationJun 2026Headwind nonstop: Why this crossing is so feared. From New Zealand to AustraliaMay 2026

From SailingAlone — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analysed video.