Pitufa.at » Photo Galleries » Rough passage to Rapa

Rapa, the southernmost island of French Polynesia, lies outside of the tropics and the weather's a bit rougher down there. To sail there from Raivavae we picked a window with NW winds in the beginning, then we knew we'd have to sail through a front with SE winds, before arriving with SW winds. The short trip of only 300 nautical miles took 4 days, because we had to tack into strong headwinds.

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1/10: We left Raivavae in a light Northwesterly breeze. We had the big gennaker flying on the first day, 4 knots speed in only 8 knots of wind...
2/10: In between we were only doing 3 knots--perfect conditions to cool off on a hot day!
3/10: Soon the wind shifted to the Southeast and we were bashing into rough seas for the next 2 days, always close-hauled
4/10: The extreme heeling angle and the rough conditions were hard on crew and boat.
5/10: Our Christmas bellpeper turned red on December 24 ;-)
6/10: The only damage we suffered: the old plexi window of the sprayhood got punched in and the garden got some salty splashes before we managed a make-shift repair.
7/10: For two days we were tacking into strong headwinds, making quite some extra miles.
8/10: On the last day the wind finally shifted to th SW and we could sail straight for Rapa.
9/10: The bay of Rapa is wonderfully protected
10/10: Dawn after our first calm night in the anchorage--well rested crew.