From Tahiti to Quebec - 15,000 nm sailing against the current (Full Movie)
December 17, 2023 · 1h 44m · 68K views · Papeete, Tahiti
What this video covers
Axel, a Swiss-born sailing instructor based in Canada since 2015, sails the vintage Swan Venus from Tahiti to Quebec in 2021 — roughly 9,000 nautical miles against prevailing winds and currents — to qualify the boat for the 2023 Ocean Globe Race, a no-GPS, no-electronics circumnavigation.2:16 The route runs in five legs: Tahiti to the Marquesas (1,000 nm, 11 days, beating into headwinds), Marquesas to Panama (34 days across the Pacific, crossing the equator), the Panama Canal transit, Panama to the Lesser Antilles, and finally the Caribbean to Halifax direct passage of approximately 1,600 nm. A boom failure mid-passage — galvanic corrosion between the aluminum boom and a stainless steel fitting — forces a return to Tahiti for repair: a 50 cm sleeve weld restores it.5:50 The Pacific departure loses 150 liters of fresh water immediately when a shower head detaches and drains the tanks into the bilge, forcing water rationing until the watermaker can run.27:36 North of the Caribbean, the autopilot "Joe" is conserved by hand-steering 24 hours a day after a mechanical failure, and a storm shreds the genoa before Halifax.1:20:13 A tight three-month schedule proves unworkable on an unfamiliar boat; the crew repeatedly revises timelines.9:12 Rigid passage schedules on an unknown vessel create compounding pressure that weather and gear failures will always defeat.
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