keeldraggervídeo
Sailing to French Polynesia - Plotting My Course (Feb 2026)
24 de febrero de 2026 · 13 min · 911 visitas
Sailboat glides toward Socorro Island under full sail
Qué cubre este vídeo
A solo sailor on a Valiant Yachts 40-2 completed a 3,000-nautical-mile passage from Banderas Bay, Mexico, to the Marquesas in French Polynesia.0:09 To avoid stalling in light coastal winds, the route initially heads west toward Isla Socorro and Isla Clarion rather than directly south.3:54 These islands serve as a final shakedown point and a potential bailout location near Mexican Navy outposts.5:07 The passage strategy relies on timing departures to the taper of the El Norte wind cycle, which typically repeats every 7–10 days.2:11 For the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the sailor utilized a paid weather router to identify a narrow crossing window between 3 and 10 degrees north, specifically avoiding crossing the equator west of 128 degrees to prevent a close-hauled final leg.8:29 During the crossing, the sailor used BNG radar in weather mode to track squalls, noting that they often cause a "push-suck" effect where wind speeds spike before dropping to near-calm.10:26 Starlink provided reliable communication for weather updates during the transit.10:49
Barcos en este vídeo
Más de keeldragger
De keeldragger — mira el barco del canal, la tripulación y cada vídeo analizado.
The Sailing Directory Newsletter
Un correo electrónico con los mejores hallazgos de la flota: los momentos, barcos e historias que merecen tu tiempo de visionado. Introduce tu dirección para recibir tu propia copia.