sailing alone from Panama to French Polynesia; did I make a mistake? [ep 162]
June 9, 2025 · 15 min · 2.3M views · Panama
What this video covers
Lauren Landers departs Panama for a solo Pacific crossing to French Polynesia, marking the start of a month-long passage.▶ 5:32 Before leaving, she performs final maintenance, including cleaning the bilge pump filter and securing a safety line over the side for man-overboard recovery.▶ 1:09 During the first 24 hours, she encounters light winds of 8 to 12 knots and navigates around a large thunderstorm system moving off the coast of Colombia.▶ 8:32 She maintains a conservative sail plan, opting to roll in the jib and avoid the spinnaker at night to minimize time on deck during squalls.▶ 11:32 While attempting to deploy the spinnaker in light air, the jib halyard detaches from the head of the sail, forcing her to plan an ascent up the mast to retrieve the gear.▶ 14:19 She relies on the current to maintain speeds of 3 to 5 knots during periods of light wind to conserve diesel.▶ 10:43
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