In the name of taking it slow — Voyage of the Zephyr

Rookie mistakes. Everyone makes them.

Originally when we left from San Francisco in 2018, we had wild ambitions to sail all the way up to Alaska in the spring and see “Alaska”. Prince William Sound, Kodiak Island, SE Alaska etc. Maybe even the Aleutian Islands. Never-mind that Kodiak island was nearly 2000 miles upwind and up-current. Rounding errors.

Obviously Morgan and I got no where close to seeing all of those locations. In our time in Alaska we only spent time in SE Alaska (Sitka, Ketchikan, Juneau). Even in that one tiny little sliver of Alaska, we could have spent two seasons cruising there and barely started to scratch the surface. Meanwhile, in the one season we were there, we covered 3-4k miles, most of it motoring, to stick to a “schedule”. We put to sea sometimes when conditions were less than optimal.

Things broke.

Lesson learned? Think again

We had a strong desire to see as much of the Sea of Cortez as possible when we arrived in Mexico in November of 2018. Subsequently we forged north around December with plans to make it all the way into the northern part of the Sea of Cortez. Never mind that the winter northerlies were starting up in full force. In addition with being quite strong, they often create some pretty extreme seas in the shallow and tidal Sea of Cortez. Not to mention they bring chilly air down from the states.

We did indeed make it to the northern sea of cortez…..but once again……

Things broke.

Many things happen when you try to sail too fast.

1 - You start sailing on a schedule

2 - Because you’re sailing on a schedule, you put to sea in less than ideal conditions

3 - You will break more things. Both because of the conditions you sail in and because of the amount of miles you are covering.

4 - You will spend much more time and money fixing things that broke

5 - You will deal with more bureaucracy if more countries are on your itinerary.

6 - You form fewer lasting friendships and relationships with the people you meet on the way

All of these aren’t great. They add to the “not fun” parts of sailing around the world. What is important to consider is how we can maximize our “having fun” to “not having fun” ratio.

Let’s call this the fun ratio.

So, what is the opposite experience of the ones listed above?

Between French Polynesia and Tonga lies a little island called Maupihaa (or Maupalia). It’s an atoll 5km in diameter with about 20 folks living on it. There is a single narrow pass that nearly always has a strong outflowing current. 8kts of current is not impossible. 4kts is typical. Many cruising boats who consider visiting this tiny island choose not to due to fear of the pass.

We stopped there after leaving French Polynesia after a strong recommendation from a friend in Raiataea. We had a plan to stay for roughly three days before shoving off again to get to Tonga. We were sailing on a schedule after all.

Three days turned into a week.

One week turned into more than three weeks.

The Raioho family took us in and invited us to breakfast or dinner nearly every day. After a few days we starting making breakfast or dinner sometimes doing crepes, sushi, and even Mexican night. Our friendship deepened and they showed Roxy, Morgan and myself many different aspects of island living such as different foraging tactics in the idilic lagoon, “sampling” coconut crab which is a true delicacy, and harvesting massive “hearts of palm” from a felled coconut tree. Using some tips from Marcelo the father, I even managed to spear a few dogtooth tuna which I had been on the lookout for the entire time I spent in FP. Floored by their generosity, I did what I could and rewired their 20ft speedboat/“supply panga” with fully waterproof electrical connectors.

A drop in the bucket compared to the ocean of generosity that they showed us. Not to mention the generosity they show all of the other cruisers who visit Maupihaa as well.

You might not believe me, but without a doubt the best donuts in the world are made on an island in the middle of the pacific. The recipe includes freshly squeezed coconut milk and lots of love. Paired with dark honey made from coconut flowers from a bee colony in the Raioho family’s backyard and you have the best treat anyone could wish for in all of the seven seas.

In the three weeks we stayed there, we watched two dozen cruising boats come and go. Most staying for three days or less per our original plan. Schedules.

When it finally came time to leave, it was hard to say goodbye. As a gift they’d made each of us a woven bracelet with a pearl. Additionally they’d made a necklace for me with a black pearl and purple sea urchin spines alternated with shark vertebrate. It was one of the most treasured gifts I’d ever received. Some day I’ll do my best to repay it.

Tiki sporting the pearl, sea urchins, shark vertebrae necklace

So many of the experiences that we’d desired to have in French Polynesia we’d had in Maupihaa - the very last island we visited and only planned to spend a few days at. Why hadn’t we had them before? Maybe we just didn’t meet the right people but also it is difficult to make connections when you are moving so fast.

So relaxed and content we were with our experience in Maupihaa, we lazily sat back and sailed on just the genoa almost all the way to Tonga. Nevermind that we were making an average of 5kts on some days. I probably slept better than I’ve ever slept ever. Life was good. Our laziness was ultimately rewarded because we arrived in Tonga without a single thing breaking in a more than 1000 mile passage.

The fun ratio was very high. Very high indeed.

So, at this point I can say that the lesson might be sinking in. I will of course make the same mistake again at some point trying to do too much in too short of a time but hopefully I’ll make that mistake less often. Rather than trying to see “all of Alaska” or “the entire Sea of Cortez” perhaps it pays to spend a greater amount of time in a smaller area. No doubt, with a little bit of research this can help ensure that one keeps the fun ratio as high as it can possibly be while sailing around the world.

Sometimes it pays to take it slow.