Eight tough upwind beats
25 novembre 2025 · 25 min · 972 visualizzazioni · Fakarava Atoll
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A Pacific SEACRAFT 34 named Sea Change completes a trade-wind circumnavigation but faces eight forced upwind beats across three seasons, documented here in chronological order. The first, in the Marquesas in May 2022, ends when a westward current and 125 miles of upwind distance to Fatu Hiva make the attempt impractical; the skipper bears off for a 500-mile beam reach to the Tuamotus instead.▶ 4:07 The second succeeds: a 50-mile beat from Fakarava to Tahanea Atoll, requiring roughly 120-degree tacks and an overnight passage to scrape past Tahanea's northern point by half a mile at dawn.▶ 7:12 The third covers 40 miles to Wai Lagilagi Island in Fiji's Lau group, completed only with engine assistance to achieve 90-degree tacks.▶ 8:20 The fourth is a 16-hour motor-sail to Minerva Reef from Fiji, where a 180-degree tack without the engine proved useless.▶ 11:16 The fifth, the 1,000-mile Fiji-to-New Zealand passage in November 2023, includes six days beating into southeast trades on port tack and ends when a squall tears the jib in half.▶ 15:03 The sixth is a wet beat across Bream Bay into Whangarei, scraped past Busby Head by 100 metres on a lucky wind shift.▶ 19:57 The seventh rounds the southern tip of Tana Island, Vanuatu, only because a 5-degree favourable shift arrives at the critical moment.▶ 22:04 The eighth covers the Windward Islands chain from Grenada to Martinique, with the St. Vincent crossing badly misjudged by not leading foresails inside the shrouds against a strong westward current.▶ 24:25 Throughout, Sea Change's heavy bow weight, bagged-out 30-year-old sails, and high windage consistently degraded upwind performance.
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