Posted by Graham Cox
In the days before satellite technology revolutionised navigation, the Tuamotu Archipelago was rightly feared by mariners, and the reefs of the atolls are littered with shipwrecks. Squalls, poor visibility at the best of times – due to the low-lying nature of the islands – and fierce, unpredictable currents, regularly took their toll. It is still an area to be approached with caution, as the skippers of the 2025 Mini Globe Race can attest.
Renaud Stitelmann, being the current leader of this leg, was the first away from Ua Pou, in the Marquesas Islands, aboard CAPUCINETTE. He initially looked as if he might be planning to leave the northernmost atoll, Rangiroa, to port, but at 0400 UTC on 8 May, he was sailing at 6.1 knots, and his bows were pointing towards Manihi Atoll, just to the west of Rangiroa, on a course to pass through the archipelago. A day or so into the passage, he reported: ‘For the last 24 hours (I) have sleep 3 x 1 hour, and I am nearly steering all (the) time… I got a +1-knot current with me. I am trying to be after Tuamotu for Friday as there is a period of squalls there Friday night.’
At that time, Dan Turner, who also left from Ua Pou, was about 110nm astern of Renaud on IMMORTAL GAME, sailing the same course, and making 6 knots. Further astern, Keri Harris on ORIGAMI was just ahead of Pilar Pasanau on PETER PUNK. The latter two were slow initially, but as the wind filled in, they increased speed to around 5 knots. Dan Turk was next away, departing from Hiva Oa, with LITTLE BEA sailing well in fresh tradewinds at 5 knots, while Christian Sauer on ARGO, and Jakub Ziemkiewicz on BIBI, who cleared out of Ua Pou, were heading SW on the morning of 10 May. Eric March, on SUNBEAR, left directly from Hiva Oa, as did Adam Waugh on LITTLE WREN. Ertan Beskardes, who rendezvoused with Captain Coconut in Ua Pou, set sail from there at the same time as COCONUT, while Jasmine Harrison, on NUMBATOU, set sail from the same port on 11 May. All were sailing well, and apparently planning to pass through the atolls. Once more, most of the fleet were at sea.
That just leaves Josh Kali, on SKOOKUM, and Gary Swindail, aboard QUESTION 2, in Hiva Oa, with John and Mike Blenkinsop, further east, still sailing side by side, on the two DELJAs. Popeye and John are now about halfway between the Galapagos Islands and the Marquesas, sailing at a steady 4-4.5 knots. John announced this week that he will not be able to continue past Australia with DELJA 100 unless he can find a major sponsor.
After passing north of Manihi Atoll, Renaud doglegged down between Rangiroa and Arutua Atolls, then set course directly to Papeete. He did not quite escape the squalls, reporting: ‘Friday morning UTC… Finally made it out of the Tuamotus. Waves in all directions, thunderstorms every hour, variable winds in strength and direction, weird currents but with a beautiful moon. After 4 days since Ua Pou to push, block, and adjust as much as possible, I’m finally going to rest. Grib files are not very fair. Another 200 miles to go … We’ll see from now on until Papeete.’
In a phone made call four hours after he arrived in Papeete, Renaud said this had been a very tough leg, though he was pleased to have succeeded in executing his plan to get clear of the Tuamotus before the predicted heavy squalls hit. To do this, he sailed the boat very hard, hand-steering for 18 hours a day, and sleeping for no more than three hours in any 24-hour period. Although he did not experience a calm, allowing him to keep CAPUCINETTE moving at good speed, he was constantly changing or trimming sail. For once, he did not manage to cook his famous gourmet meals, just eating what he could grab while continuing to hand-steer. At least he had plenty of fresh food aboard, as this is just a short passage.
Because the waves often came from three or four directions, throwing the boat around, it was not possible to use either the Hydrovane or the electric autopilot, forcing him to lower sails when he needed to rest or go to the toilet, etc. There were also torrential downpours of rain, meaning that the boat became very wet inside – every time he came below, he would track the water in with him. One of his tasks in Tahiti will be to dry everything out and thoroughly check his electrical systems and electronic equipment. He says that he has never seen such torrential rain over a continuous 24–48-hour period before.
He used just about every sail on the boat apart from the A7, which he does not find particularly useful on CAPUCINETTE. Besides drying the boat out and checking things, he also has to repair a small hole in the mainsail, after one of his spreaders poked a hole in it during a wild gybe, and has a similar-sized hole in his A3.
Although he got clear of the Tuamotus before the worst of the squalls hit, they still gave him a wild ride down towards Papeete, though perhaps the toughest period was during the last 24 hours, when the wind died off, changing direction and strength every 15 minutes or so, accompanied by torrential rain. He did not sleep that last night, trimming, trimming, and trimming the sails, apart from one hour when he could not keep his eyes open and fell into his bunk for a short rest. He was so tired when he arrived in Papeete that he could not remember what day it was, and had to text the author to ask if he was scheduled to call. He said this was the toughest passage he has made on CAPUCINETTE so far. The boat is now in the marina, and Renaud has booked into a hotel for a few days of well-earned rest.
Dan Turner, on IMMORTAL GAME, was hot on Renaud’s heels, and took a few miles out of CAPUCINETTE’s lead on the way down to the Tuamotus, but was still just over 100nm behind. He seems to have a thing for pirates, or more accurately, they seem to have a thing for him. Perhaps they have heard the rumours that he has a secret stash of Vegemite aboard, the Australian version of spinach (in-joke for long-term MGR followers). He reported: ‘Yesterday I had what looked to be some type of fishing vessel turn around and follow me for an hour or so. Chances are they were just curious, but given they weren’t on AIS and didn’t answer VHF, I wasn’t taking any chances. On a good note, I don’t think I’ve averaged that high a speed for an hour before, so maybe I need a few more to follow me, ha ha.’
Nikki Jade, Dan’s wife and manager, later reported that Dan had passed Manihi Atoll but had then been struck by a sustained squall of around 60 knots as he approached Rangiroa. He had to take all sail down, with IMMORTAL GAME drifting to the north while he sheltered in the cabin. He reported that it was freezing cold, to add to his discomfort. At one stage, he was being blown downwind at 6-7 knots. He slowed the boat to 2-3 knots by putting out his Burke sea-drogue on a long rope, attached to the boat by a bridle made fast to each stern quarter. Luckily, the wind direction was from SSW and blew him away from danger.
Although Dan knew that squalls were predicted, he was not expecting a gale of such intensity, and had not prepared for it, with unsecured items being thrown around inside the cabin. Because he currently does not have a roller-reefing jib, all he could do was lower the hanked-on sail and secure it. The head of the square-topped mainsail, which cannot be furled without removing the upper batten, was all the sail area left exposed. Nonetheless, Dan said that the wind was shaking the mast badly, and he feared a little for the rig. He had no concerns for the integrity of the hull and deck, even though IMMORTAL GAME fell heavily off a couple of waves. Initially, the strength of the wind flattened out the seas, but later the sea state built up and became quite nasty.
There was nothing he could do on deck after deploying his drogue, and the wind-driven rain stung his skin like bees, so he just lay on his bunk and tried, without much success, to get some rest. Through the entire ordeal, he only slept about 20 minutes. Later, another storm cell hit. This one was only about 40 knots or so, but by then the sea state had started building up. There was also heavy lightning, which lasted for around 10 hours. He does not have a system for earthing the rig, such as trailing a cable in the sea attached to a chainplate, but says he will consider setting something up.
At the height of this second storm cell, he saw the lights of a fishing boat nearby. His VHF aerial had broken in the storm, so he could not contact the other vessel, but his AIS showed that it was about half a mile away. It is always hard to predict what direction fishing boats will go in next – just what you don’t need in a gale when you have limited manoeuvrability. He did not have time to set up his storm jib. He tried it later, but IMMORTAL GAME did not respond well. He thinks a partially-reefed working jib might have offered a better alternative.
One aspect of this weather system was that it brought with it sustained, contrary, gale-force winds. This is something the fleet is going to have to contend with more frequently now as they push further west, and is likely to be a feature of their passages until they reach Cape Town. Just last week, there was a 45-knot NW gale, with 6-metre seas, on the rhumb line between Tahiti and Tonga.
Once Dan got underway again, and passed through the passage between Rangiroa and Arutua Atolls, the wind fell away, and he found himself becalmed for a while. IMMORTAL GAME was soaking wet below, so he has been trying to dry things out as much as possible and catch up on sleep. At 00.00 UTC on 12 May, which was late afternoon local time, he was about 110nm from Papeete and sailing at 3.5 knots. As this article went to press, he was about 20nm from Papeete. His parents, who he has not seen for six months, are waiting for him there, carrying lots of gear for the boat, including a new anchor, which is fortunate, as he lost his at Ua Pou, after it fouled on an old mooring block. Understandably, he is keen to arrive, and plans to crash on the couch in his parent’s holiday accommodation for a while.
Back in the Marquesas, Jasmine Harrison left Hiva Oa enroute to Ua Pou aboard NUMBATOU. She found the anchorage in Hiva Oa trying, but loved Tahuata Island, just to the south. Her Mum wrote: ‘She was joined by a number of MGR sailors, Dan Turk, Christian Sauer, Adam Waugh and Jakub Ziemkiewicz, who all swam and explored the beach and jungle. Jasmine swam with manta rays, and – amazingly – two sharks. The first was a 3-4 feet long black tip, the second was 6 feet long, and as she turned, it was only 2m away from her. As she switched on her go-pro (famous last photo?) and moved to grab her knife, it turned away. A beautiful encounter but not one Jasmine wants to repeat too often.’
Jasmine had a great time at Ua-Pou. Like Atuona Bay at Hiva Oa, the anchorage was not that comfortable, but the people were fantastic, and she had great fun with other members of the cruising community, who wined, dined and entertained her royally. One of the cruisers, a woman who had been anchored at Ua Pou for the previous year, charged up Jasmine’s outboard motor battery, something she would otherwise have been unable to do.
On her last day, she attended a soccer match, after which she was able to buy several cakes at bargain prices, so has been happily munching her way through them ever since. When she gets sick of cake, she has crisps, biscuits, and other snacks available, so life is good, even though she has not cooked a proper meal, or even made a hot drink, since leaving. Jasmine eats as much good food as she can between passages – it seems to work for her. Camel cuisine!
NUMBATOU was caught in the windshadow of Ua-Pou for several hours after departure, and she has been sailing in variable conditions ever since, with wind and swell all over the place, under a heavily-overcast sky. This has once again made charging her batteries difficult. As a result, she has not been able to use Starlink much. Before her call at around 1730 local time, she had hand-steered all day in cold and wet conditions. The sea had been quite rough, and on the beam, with crests regularly sweeping the deck. It had calmed down a little at the time of her call, so she had engaged the Hydrovane and gone below to warm up.
The only sail she has been able to carry has been the A7. So far, it has coped with the squalls, as they are not too strong or scary, although it has been raining constantly. To add to her discomfort, she has a number of deck leaks through various fittings, meaning that the interior is wet, and she admitted that she was feeling a bit miserable. As she had hardly slept since leaving, and previously had a sleepless night sailing in squally conditions between Hiva Oa and Ua-Pou, she was very tired, and planned to sleep that night regardless of whether NUMBATOU ran off-course to the north.
Like Ertan Beskardes, Jasmine is not one for looking too far ahead, but admitted that she was hoping to secure a marina berth in Papeete so she could get off the boat for a while. It seems like a very long time since she she left the comfort of Shelter Bay Marina in Panama.
Jakub Ziemkiewicz left Tahuata Island in Marquesas last Friday, right after sunset, and had some good sailing through the night. He was expecting rain and squalls, but noted that the following day was not as bad as forecast. He said, “I expected lots of rain for the first two days, but luckily I’m kind of dodging all the big rainy clouds, probably because my girlfriend is a witch and she’s burning white sage to get the demon out of my way.” He did have a bit of rain initially, but it had been dry for the previous 18 hours or so.
Nonetheless, the sky was overcast – he had not seen the sun all day – and there were some very dark clouds to his north. There were constant squalls, though they were not too strong. The biggest challenge was that the wind and seas were on the beam. The seas tended to throw BIBI around, and cause the vessel to round up, making to difficult to maintain his course. The Windpilot was unable to cope with these conditions, so he had been doing a lot of hand steering during the day.
Despite BIBI constantly wanting to round up, there was a NW curent in the area that was setting BIBI to the north. To counteract it required hardening up the sheets, bringing the wind more onto the beam. At night, he reefed down to just the jib, and streamed a 25mm diameter, 30m long, warp off the windward stern quarter, which had a noticable effect in steadying the boat, allowing the Windpilot to steer while he slept.
Luckily, the wind eventually started to develop more of an easterly slant, and BIBI was sailing well, if not comfortably, at about 100° off the wind. Jakub’s plan is to stick as much as possible to the rhumb line, even though that required a lot of hand-steering to hold a steady course.
BIBI averaged around 4.3 knots VMG under jib alone, trailing the warp, which is quite impressive, While Jakub was hand-steering, he managed to average 5-6 knots, flying what he called his gennaker, which I assume is the A5. He has nothing to measure windstrength with, but estimated that the average wind was probably 16-17 knots, although the gusts, which lasted for more than an hour, and were very frequent, were more like 25 knots, sometimes probably more than that.
He has managed to keep the inside of the boat dry so far. Knowing what he was going to face, he prepared the boat carefully. Even his logbook was wrapped in plastic. All the hatches were dogged down, and he prepared the sails, making some hold-downs for the hanked-on jib. He can pull the jib down, quickly secure it on deck, and hoist the gennaker if the weather improves. The storm warp is also coiled and stopped with light line next to him in the cockpit, ready for instant deployment. He reckons he can set it in about two minutes. He says he is finally starting feeling a bit relaxed now.
His one regret is that he does not have the most effective spray dodger. A good friend, Chris, made on for him before he left Portugal, for which he is very grateful, but the canvas material is not waterproof, forcing him to close the main hatch more often than he’d like, and the heat and humidity has taken its toll. He has heat rashes on his skin, though on this passage he has avoided serious issues with his derrière, by varying the position in which he sits. He also tries to stand up as much as he can.
He has plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables on board, which make a nice change from the longer passages. He has about 20L of local tap water from Hiva Oa aboard, though he only uses this for cooking. He bought some 5L containers of water for drinking, and still had about 17L of that in reserve.
He is approaching the Tuamotus warily, having heard of Dan’s experience there, and also on account of a knockdown BIBI suffered when sailing from Hiva Oa to Ua-Pou. He was sailing with three reefs in the mainsail and jib when a large gust laid BIBI down more than 45°, causing the boat to broach. For a while, all Jakub could do was hang on, with the boat totally out of control and the sails flapping, then he clambered up on deck and dragged the mainsail down. The boat then slowly fell off and resumed sailing. He subsequently streamed his warp, finding it very effective in helping the boat to resist broaching. Now he has the warp ready to deploy in the cockpit all the time.
Jakub is always happy, as long as it is not raining, or a bad squall is chasing him (not to mention disgruntled fishermen), but he is looking forward to getting to Tahiti and having a decent rest. He did not mind the uncomfortable anchorages too much in the Marquesas, saying he always sleeps well even if the boat is rolling, but the endless rain, and getting to and from the boat was tiresome. Plus, the rolling made it hard to work on the boat. He’d like some dry weather, and a quiet spot to check all his gear and stores for the next long leg to Tonga and Fiji, though notes that there is no major work to do aboard BIBI. His biggest setback was that he dropped his video camera while swimming at Tahuatu Island, losing all his video footage of the Pacific passage so far. But our wild Irish rover is still smiling.
Josh Kali and SKOOKUM finally made it to Hiva Oa after 41 days. He reported: ‘The little boat did great and is a lot of fun to sail! I was becalmed for four days in the doldrums which cost me some distance to the fleet, and I had predominantly light winds of 10kts or less for most of the passage, but I made the most of it and had a great time.’
He had 6L of water left when he arrived, though did stop rationing towards the end, and even had a shower or two. His plan was to take on the local water in Hiva Oa and treat it, as he used to do when drinking from mountain streams in his climbing days. Food was not an issue, as he carried plenty of supplies, and enjoyed a varied and tasty diet all the way. He takes care to prepare good meals every night. Spaghetti Bolognaise is his favourite – he says he could eat it every day – but has a wide variety of meal choices and enjoys cooking.
He called the author at 0300 UTC on 13 May, shortly after SKOOKUM had left Hiva Oa and was passing north of Tahuata Island, bound for Papeete. Looking back on his long passage, he said, “Every day I had my routine. I would get up, make coffee, have breakfast, choose my sails for the day, put on some music, and then I’d hand steer mostly for 10 to 12 hours. At dusk, I would set the boat up for the night, which meant reefing the sails so that the windvane could cope, and then I would make dinner, and just listen to an audiobook or something. I would sleep for 40 minutes and I would get up and make sure we were still on course, and still going well, and then go back down for another 40 minutes.” He maintained that routine until dawn.
He always reefed down one notch at night. If the wind was right astern, he might have twin headsails up, the A7 opposite the A5 for instance, then would switch down to the A7 and the jib, or if he had the mainsail up, he’d tuck in a reef or furl it (he often had three reefs in the mainsail to start with). He continued to have the same problem with holding course while self-steering that he’d reported earlier – SKOOKUM would steer a perfectly straight line if sailing between 270-280°, or between 220-230°, but he could not get it to steer 250°, his desired course. He eventually came to the conclusion it was because of the swell coming up and hitting SKOOKUM under the chine on the quarter. He also noted that the swell would push the servo-pendulum blade to one side.
His answer was to let the boat sail at 270-280° during the night, then beam-reach back to the rhumb line during the day. Beam reaching was faster, so compensated somewhat for the zig-zag course. It also meant he was able to eat a good dinner, enjoy a relaxing evening, followed by a decent sleep, then eat breakfast before resuming tiller duty.
There are no technical problems aboard SKOOKUM, though Josh is hoping that the weather might cclear up a bit so that he can enjoy his stopover in Tahiti more than he did in Hiva Oa, where it rained every day, which stymied his plans to do some walking in the mountains. He tried to sail to Tahuata Island on his last day on Hiva Oa but there was no wind, so he returned to port.
Life aboard SKOOKUM on passage sounds like a pleasant routine, and it is interesting to note that reefing down at night and enjoying a relaxed evening was exactly the way that John Guzzwell sailed TREKKA during his circumnavigation. Josh is in the groove. He may not be winning the MGR, but he might win the lifestyle award (or the Guzzwell award?) for the entrant who enjoyed his circumnavigation the most. Also, as he points out, there is a long way to go, and his ‘tortoise and the hare’ stragegy might yet pay dividends, especially since – so far – the MGR fleet has been sailing the easy yards, and the most challenging passages lie ahead.
Gary Swindail arrived in Hiva Oa a few days after Josh, following a late start and slow passage, partially because of his decision to sail north of the Galapagos Islands, where he encountered extensive calms and adverse currents, and partially because of growth on the bottom of QUESTION 2, due to lack of time to antifoul the boat since launching in Antigua. Josh saw the boat out of the water in Hiva Oa before he left, however, and said that it was nowhere near as foul as expected, with some growth near the bows, and also around the stern and skegs, but elsewhere the hull was surprisingly clean.
Gary mentioned that he had been doing a lot of hand-steering to keep QUESTION 2 on track, as the lumpy seas on the quarter made it difficult for his Hydrovane self-steering unit to hold an efficient course. The vane unit would always bring the boat back eventually, but Q 2 was wandering about 45° from side to side of the rhumb line.
Soon, most of the fleet will arrive in Tahiti, where, after their mandatory 7-day stopover, they will embark on the last stage of this leg, 1944 miles to Vuda Point, Fiji, via Tonga. This passage can serve up some seriously-heavy weather, so they will need to be well-prepared before they depart. The adventure continues.
