SailingAlonevideo
The Roaring Forties at my back. Sailing solo from Australia to New Zealand.
November 28, 2025 · 19 min · 94K views · Pacific Ocean
What this video covers
A solo sailor aboard Raikja, a 20-tonne vessel, completes a 1,200-mile passage from Launceston, Tasmania to Nelson, New Zealand — a crossing that takes three weeks instead of the expected two.Watch Sailing at 40°S through the Roaring Forties, four storm fronts pass through, each separated by windless calms; gusts reach 40–50 knots, with one front producing lightning at 500 joules CAPE.9:59 The skipper heaves to in the worst conditions by dropping all headsails, heavily reefing the mainsail, and locking the helm to leeward, letting Raikja lie beam-on and drift.5:11 The satellite phone fails mid-passage, cutting off both weather forecasts and contact with family — his 95-year-old mother dies while he is at sea.11:09 The main engine quits twice; a corroded diesel fuel line proves the culprit, and he ultimately enters Nelson harbor under a 5-hp outboard.16:56 New Zealand biosecurity requires hull-cleaning proof within 30 days; a pre-arrival underwater video satisfies the officer, who had already seen the skipper's earlier YouTube footage from Launceston.18:33 A spinnaker deployed in the calms recovers three knots from six knots of wind.15:10 Heaving-to under reefed main alone is the most effective storm tactic for a heavy, single-handed passage-maker in the Southern Ocean.
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