November 9 – 18, 2013
For months prior to the passage to New Zealand, numerous cruisers fret over what could possibly be their toughest passage to date. With New Zealand lying between the Tasman Sea and the Southern Pacific Ocean, there are many strong low pressure systems that move across the region. One must also be alert to the fact that the beginning of cyclone season could come early, bringing a tropical system from the north.
Even though we had accumulated a wealth of weather knowledge over our months spent between French Polynesia and Tonga, we also talked to many experienced Kiwi and Aussie sailors, and read anything we could about how to pick a weather window to New Zealand. There is a very popular and quite helpful Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) article written by John and Lyn Martin that does an excellent job explaining how to get yourself from the tropics to New Zealand.
Passage Planning: SW Pacific to New Zealand ~ July 2011
theoretical route to take from Tonga to New Zealand, with a stop in Minerva Reef (#4) ~ that was the plan!
Using the knowledge we had gained, we plotted the 1200-mile route we would take, and when the high pressure system came for us, we were ready for the 10-day ride.
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