Fourteen roughest nights, part 1 of 2
November 23, 2025 · 25 min · 620 views · South Pacific Ocean
What this video covers
A Pacific Seacraft 34 named Sea Change encounters seven rough nights during a solo circumnavigation across the South Pacific, Coral Sea, and Queensland coast in seasons one through three. The first two incidents occur on a single passage from Maupiha toward Beveridge Reef, where the skipper sails into a Maramu — a squash-zone gale between a southern low and the southeast trades — forcing him to drop the mainsail completely, bear off to near-downwind, and endure green water forcing through the closed companionway.▶ 1:48 A second storm on the same passage, an unforecast rapidly developing low, rolls the boat hard enough to break the refrigerator strap and slam it across the cabin.▶ 5:20 Passage three, Fiji to Tonga, produces the first of two bouts of seasickness, treated with 25mg Stugeron.▶ 7:01 Passage four, Tonga to Fiji, delivers a partial knockdown in the dark that floods the cockpit a foot deep and scatters gear into the stove.▶ 12:04 Passage five, Fiji to New Zealand, again requires a third-reef main and full jib furl, with the skipper bearing off at midnight to stop the boat leaping off waves.▶ 13:27 Passage six, New Zealand to New Caledonia, ends in the first-ever heave-to on Sea Change after a failed nighttime jibe in squalls, with the staysail alone proving too large.▶ 16:39 Passage seven covers a rough day sail north of Pancake Creek along the Queensland coast, where the skipper substitutes the jib for the staysail to allow easier reefing in strong conditions.▶ 20:25
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