Go big or go home, my big brother Frank says. So if I’m going to cross an ocean, it had better be big. The Pacific Ocean is the biggest and the deepest; it extends nearly 11,000 nautical miles across and covers 30% of the planet. The passage we’re on now – from Galapagos Islands to Marquesas in French Polynesia – will be my longest both in distance and time at sea (estimated at 3000nm in 20 days). We left on 28 February 2018, are a bit ahead of schedule, and are hoping to arrive by 18 March 2018. We’re over halfway there!
The Pacific is big, but not bad. The name “Pacific” was donned by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 after a nasty rounding of Cape Horn and a pacific crossing of the ocean. It has been true to its name for our first 900nm across it, and the forecast for this passage is for moderate winds on our stern with slight swell. Pretty pacific, in my book.
These are the waters of the great explorers of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the whale ships and warships of the 19th and 20th centuries. Magellan, Darwin, Sir Francis Drake, Captain Cook and George Pollard sailed these waters. There is more lore and legend, more history and mystery, than I can begin to process. It’s humbling and empowering to think I’m out here where they once sailed. Sail ho!
