#23 Feelings and update while sailing the Pacific again, double-handed!
May 27, 2026 · 19 min · 2K views · South Pacific Ocean
Sailboat Vuelta al Mundo cuts through Pacific seas at sunset.
What this video covers
Paula and Pedro are two days out of Valdivia, Chile, on a 68-foot boat heading north across the Pacific toward Alaska — a passage of more than 9,000 miles — sailing double-handed for the first time on this leg.0:14 They departed a day late by choice, reasoning that leaving rested matters more when only two people share all watches; even so, both are fatigued and still adjusting.0:56 The watch schedule runs seven-hour overnight shifts and five-hour daytime shifts.Watch Current conditions at latitude 37°S, longitude 75°W show gusts to 35 knots forecast, with 4–4.5-meter seas at a 9-second period expected overnight.1:25 They are sailing with two reefs in the main and a poled-out genoa, averaging 8.5–9 knots and covering 80 miles in 12 hours.9:18 Sails were repaired by Pacific Sailing (Ángela and Pablo) in Valdivia; the genoa is heavily patched.2:18 A newly installed hydraulic piston in the autopilot has an air bubble and is steering stiffly; the backup is a more powerful unit called Stryborg.11:08 Departing the Río Valdivia, a GPS failure caused a one-hour grounding in a shallow section; rising tide freed the boat.8:40 The route plan stages through Islas Juan Fernández, the equatorial doldrums, Hawaii, and Alaska, with an estimated arrival in Alaska around July 15.17:24 Hurricane season in May–June near Mexico and developing El Niño conditions are the primary strategic constraints.4:54
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