SOUTH PACIFIC CROSSING

Written by Tim Sander, SV Always

Greetings from SV Always, a Seawind 1260 catamaran that crossed the South Pacific in 2024.  I’m Tim Sander, a Salty Dawg member since 2022, and I live (mostly) full-time aboard Always since January of 2022.  I’ve enjoyed sailing since I was a kid and dreamt about circumnavigation.  Honestly, I figured it would be as crew aboard someone else’s vessel, but I’m fortunate enough to be underway on that dream with Always.

After purchasing Always in 2021 and sailing her back from the West coast of Mexico to the Chesapeake Bay, I had a good taste for living aboard, but I wanted more open water experience.  I joined the 2022-23 rally to Antigua as a way to build sea miles.  What I got was a fantastic experience of sailors helping sailors in the SD group.  Learned more about weather, off-shore planning, provisioning tips, safety gear, and great stories from everyone I met.  It was a fantastic cruising season and a great way to gain confidence on Always.

After returning from the Caribbean in May, I started thinking about what was next.  Was I ready to start a multi-year voyage?  In short, I decided yes, now was the time for a lot of different reasons.  But where, how, with whom?  Let me walk through some of the decisions I made, in the order I processed them.

Route

First challenge was where, and when.  I’ve had enough of sailing against the Trades over the last few years:  I wanted to follow them.  West it is!  I don’t like cold weather much anymore, so staying in the Tropics was also part of the plan.  I liked the SD rally the year before, so why not join the rally back to Antigua?  From there was the question. I pulled out the pilot charts and looked at what gave the most favorable routes and decided Panama to Galapagos, Marquesas, Tuamotus, Society Islands, on to Nuie, Tonga, Fiji, New Caledonia, and stop in Australia.  Longest leg, 3,200 miles from Galapagos to Marquesas.  Looks good on paper.

Why Australia vs. New Zealand?  I needed to fly back to the US in October, and getting to NZ in September is a bit early in the season. It’s still cold, and fronts are still strong.  It was safer to land in central Australia.  It does make it a bit harder to return to Fiji though, if I decide to do that in the future.  

Rally or No Rally

Do I join World ARC, or go it alone?  That decision didn’t take long after reviewing schedules.  They moved too fast.  I wanted to enjoy the journey, and if I found a place I liked, have the flexibility to spend more time there.  Plus, I wanted the experience of planning end to end, not relying on others.  I don’t qualify for the Oyster rally in a Seawind, but the same concerns would apply if I did.

When

Well, Hampton to Antigua in November ‘23 with the rally for the start, and I needed to be back in the US in October ‘24 for a family event.  With those as bookends, the plan was to enjoy Antigua until the first of the year before heading to Panama, but there was a lot of noise about low water levels and reduced lock openings.  I spoke with an agent there and he advised to arrive by Jan 5^th to be ahead of ARC and Oyster rallies, as they had priority over single vessels.  This also caused me to review the schedules for those rallies to see where they were headed and when, so we could try and avoid much overlap and crowding.  We would start ahead of them, and then let them pass while in French Polynesia where we could be spread out.  Arrive in Brisbane by the end of September.

Crew

I used crew boards including the SD site to solicit crew, both long term and short term hands.  Then used word of mouth with other cruisers when I needed to make a change.  We operated Always with 2-4 people for the trip.  We started with 3 in Antigua until Bora Bora where 1 departed and a hitch-hiking couple joined until Tonga.  Then 2 of us finished the trip from Tonga to Australia.  I liked having 3 on the 19 day passage for sure, but not sure where I would have put 60 more meals for a 4^th…

The Journey

After the SD Rally from Hampton to Antigua in November, it was time to relax for a bit.  With favorable weather forecast, we departed Antigua on the 13^th of December and arrived 1,250nm later in Panama on the 21^st.  Surprisingly, we received a canal date of the 28^th.  The next stop was Galapagos, but weather in January isn’t as favorable as February to sail/motor there, and you need a permit in advance which I had applied for in early December requesting arrival mid-February.  That meant sitting in Panama for a month, waiting to depart.  We were able to move our arrival date up to the 3^rd of February, so when we had favorable weather we departed Panama on January 24^th for the 920nm motor/sail.

Galapagos was a 3 week stop for us.  We felt that was the right amount of time to see most of the key sites we could visit on our own or with a day tour excursion.  The whole time we were watching long term forecasts for the right weather to get south out of the ITZ and into winds to carry us 3,200nm to Marquesas.  We supplemented our own forecasting with Chris Parker for this leg.

Nineteen days at sea and we arrived in Nuka Hiva.  That started our 89 day stay (90 day visa limit) in French Polynesia.  We sailed/motored between the Marquesas islands for about 1 month before heading south to Rangiora in the Tuamotus Archipelago for a couple weeks, then down to Tahiti and the Society Islands for the next 6 weeks with friends and crew coming and going from Papeete and Bora Bora.  

June 15^th we departed for the 1,100nm trip to Niue.  This was the surprise of the trip for me.  It’s an amazing island with spectacular views, and the most challenging dingy dock I’ve ever experienced. We only stayed 10 days, limited by mooring reservations and weather.  The mooring field is in 100’ of water completely exposed to the West.  You don’t want to be there if the winds shift to the NW/W.

Early July had us take the short 240nm passage to Neiafu Tonga, in the northern island group of Tonga.  Another great stop, island hopping, Humpbacks everywhere including newborns, and more friendly people.  Thirty days later we made the hop to Fiji to once again be blown away by the beauty of the island, the friendliness of the people, and the health and clarity of the water and reefs.  

From Fiji the original route had us going to New Caledonia, but the civil unrest outbreak early in the year quickly took that off the list.  The alternative was to make a final stop 550nm west in Vanuatu.  This was purely a staging stop for us to wait for favorable weather to make the final 1,200nm leg to Brisbane, Australia.  We found a window less than 1 week after arriving, so our experiences in Vanuatu were limited to what was immediately around Port Vila.  This area was seriously hit by a cyclone just a couple years ago and worked hard to return, only to be hit by a massive earthquake in early January 2025.  Those people can’t seem to catch a break.

Our final leg to Brisbane in mid-September took us in through the main port and up the Brisbane River to the customs/immigration dock at Rivergate Marina.  Following that, we moved Always to a marina a few miles south for on-the-hard storage through cyclone season where she is now until June.

Challenges along the way

• Panama Canal scheduling could have been an issue but wasn’t.  We used an agent.  Others have chosen not to as it’s not required and you save some money.  Personally, I’d rather delegate that side to someone who knows all the tricks. Canal rates increased after our passage, but was roughly $3,500 including deck hands and fender rentals.
• Galapagos entry requirements are challenging.  Fumigation certificates, hull cleaning requirements, 6 week advance permit, and NO PETS.  Must use an agent, and overall that 3 week stop ran over $5,000 when all costs are factored in, not including diving and other shore excursions.
• French Polynesia will only issue a 90 day visa to US citizens on-site.  If you want a long stay visa, apply well in advance while in the US.  Personally, I have some regrets about not planning to stay 1 year there.  The Tuamotus are fantastic atolls and we only got to stop at 1 of the many navigable islands.  Next time around.  Lots of talk about many more anchor restrictions in the works, for future travelers pay special attention.  The locals can be mean when you anchor where you are no longer allowed.
• Tonga has lots of islands in a cluster where we were, and looks great on paper to cruise, but anchorages are tight and tough.  Getting good holding is not always easy/possible and ending up on a reef can be a real risk.  Still worth the stop though.
• We broke a lower shroud, noticed a few strands loose in Tonga.  That had us mostly motoring between Tonga and Fiji until we could get to Sam the Rigger in Nadi, Fiji and have all the standing rigging replaced (Always has 24,000 NM on her.) He did a fantastic job.
• I got sick in Fiji, likely Salmonella from my own cooking.  That made us take a 6 day detour into a marina while I recovered.
• Finding a marina in Australia was a challenge and took weeks back and forth.  Insurance required the boat to be south of 27°S, which is just north of Brisbane, from Dec 1 – June 1. Marinas get more expensive and more crowded the farther down the Gold Coast you go.  I got lucky with a small yard in Redland City just south of Brisbane.  

Surprises along the way

• Never once did I feel like there was a security threat or issue.  We tried to be smart along the way regardless, but overall, it was a very relaxed and friendly journey.
• Not really a surprise but sailing downwind sure beats beating!  From Antigua to Brisbane we logged 11,200 NM.  Of that, less than 1,000 was spent going to wind.  Our Parasailor was a great asset (until it ripped near Tonga).
• I thought 90 days would be plenty in French Polynesia.  Nope.
• Niue, an island I never heard about before planning the route, is a stunning gem.
• Diving was great along the way, but truly spectacular in Fiji.  I think we will be making a return visit to see more, above and below the water. 
• Getting blue water insurance on a US registered boat is difficult. Don’t delay this part of your research.

Additional Learnings

• I joined Ocean Cruisers Club (OCC – the flying fish burgee) before departing and found a great network of people all along the way.  Local port captains with valuable info, many cruisers on the water willing to share information or help.  Active WhatsApp group for boats in crossing the Pacific.  I’d highly recommend it for anyone over Panama Posse (now Pacific Posse) or the other groups out there.  
• The app NoForeignLand (Andriod or Apple) is a great resource for current information on anchorages, places to see, reviews, as well as finding other boats in your area to connect with. You can choose if you want to share your location or not for others to track your progress.  Offline maps are great on shore to point out chandlery shops and other POI.  
• Most countries have entry requirements to be met.  Make sure you do your research and file appropriate papers before you depart from one place to another.
• If you don’t have AIS transmit on your vessel, add it before you go.  The navies of Fiji and Tonga are actively fighting drug trafficking issues coming from Central America and vessels in their waters without AIS and “advance arrival notices” on file are likely to get boarded. French Poly is talking about requiring it to track anchorages. Galapagos will deny your permit request without it.
• StarLink worked everywhere and was great to have.  We did have a threat of service being discontinued while in Tonga due to licensing issues, but that was temporarily resolved.  Not sure what the current status is.  Nor have I followed the StarLink price/rule changes for open water since my arrival in September when I suspended my service.

Summary

Overall, it was a fantastic journey that I’m glad I have taken.  I would have liked to spend more time in some places, but I’m glad I got to see what I did in the time I had.  The experience I gained through the SD rally to Antigua in 2022-23 was a great boost, not only to myself, but also on my sailing resume to find insurance for the voyage.  If you want to read more about any of these places, you can visit the Always blog at https://sv-always.com.  A limited number of highlight pictures are posted here https://photos.app.goo.gl/4zRzMWqXZA62cyBt7.

Tim Sander
USCG Masters 50T
ASA Instructor