Pacific Puddle Jump 2009 A special thank you to all the past & present sailors who helped compile the almost 500 pages of this book! Additional thanks to: • Rafael and Marina Riviera Nayarit for hosting our meetings and other events and providing the Puddle Jump fleet special rates and accommodations at their beautiful new marina in La Cruz. In their first year of operation Marina Riviera Nayarit has emerged as Puddle Jump headquarters in Mexico and future Puddle Jumpers will undoubtedly continue to use this as their jumping off place in Banderas Bay. • Contributors to the 2009 Puddle Jump meetings for donating their time and energy for our well-being: Steve (Kavenga), Don (Fresco), Kyle (Carnes del Mundo), Dr Efren Calderon, Annie (Sunseeker), Mike at PV Sailing, Teapot Tony, Philo (Philo’s Bar), Andy Turpin (Latitude 38), Radio Rob & Bob Bechler making his 4th (maybe last) Puddle Jump this year. 2009 PACIFIC PUDDLE JUMP TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Introduction 1 Chapter 1 – Preliminaries: Leaving Mexico 2 • Boat Roster – 2009 Puddle Jump • Roster of Boats Going Elsewhere • Officialdom – Clearing Mexico • Sample Zarpe letters Chapter 2 - Route Planning 8 • Don on Summer Passage - Mexican Ports to Marquesas • Pre-Hurricane Season Tropical Disturbances Along The ITCZ in The Northeast Pacific • Hurricane Holes • Notes from Jimmy Cornell • Coconut Milk-Run notes on weather and routes • El Nino & La Nina • ITCZ Explanation Puddle Jump • A Suggested Route for the Marquesas from Steve on Kavenga • Pacific Light List 2006; Pub 111 (on CD only) • Puddle Jump Crossing Times 2005 & 2006 • Routing to New Zealand from Tonga • Sailing-By-Color: Reading Tropical Waters by Their Color • Tropical Anchoring • Atoll Anchoring by Jimmy Cornell Chapter 3 - Weather 56 • Don Anderson on Mexican Ports to The Marquesas & Transiting the Intertropical Convergence Zone 2/07 • Pilot Charts South Pacific (on CD only) • List of Worldwide HF Weatherfax Stations (on CD only) 5/06 • NOAA Weather Info Links • Weather info • Weather Web Sites • Weather Books • New Zealand Weather & Routing 2/07 • Reading Weatherfax Charts • Weatherfax Schedules 5/06 o Honolulu & Pt Reyes o New Zealand & Australia • Weather symbols Chapter 4 – Radio Communications 99 • Radio Seminar with Radio Rob – February 2009 • Pacific Seafarer’s Net 14.300 USB • Net Control Guide... Puddle Jump 2009 • Radio Check in Report form • SSB/Ham Radio Net Info • Russell Radio – Bay of Islands info • Quick list of radio nets • Don Anderson’s Radio Schedule • Ham and Marine HF frequencies and Nets • World Nets Schedule • Nets in Mexico • Voice of America & BBC schedules • Email across the Pacific: Winlink & Sailmail • Daylight Savings Time • Medical stations to call for help • FM radio for FP & Samoa Chapter 5 – Visas & Country Profiles 125 A. VISAS: • Foreign Entry Requirements • Blank Application for a short stay (Schengen) visa • Long Term Stay Visa for French Polynesia • (Long stay visa available http://www.info-france-usa.org/visitingfrance/usvisas.asp) • Sample sailing itinerary letter • Sample letter from the Coconut Milk Run doc. for extending your visa • Email letter from Past Cruisers • PYS - Polynesia Yacht Services & Rates for 2009 B. COUNTRY PROFILES: 142 • Receiving Noonsite Text Docs Via Email • South Pacific Logistics 2/07 from Noonsite • Country Profiles from Noonsite o Tahiti Nui (French Polynesia) o Cook Islands o American & Western Samoa o Tonga o Fiji o New Zealand o Australia • Gifts & Trading Ideas from the Coconut Milk Run doc. • First Timers Guide to New Zealand from the Coconut Milk Run doc. • Tahiti Ocean- A service agency for large vessels • Royal Cruising Club Foreign Port Information 2002 Chapter 6 – Provisioning 212 • Passage Planning: Water - from Blue Water Sailing, November 2006 • Passage Planning: Meal Time - from Blue Water Sailing, December 2006 • Provisioning Highlights and Recipes from Renee Prentice, Scarlett O’Hara – February 2009 • Pacific Pearl’s Market Translator • Provisioning Hints and Ideas – • Provisioning notes from an article in a Cruising Magazine • Coconut Run Provisioning Hints – • A few hints from book and New Dawn • A few recipes Chapter 7 – Medical 247 • CDC info on the South Pacific: Travelers’ Health Health Notice – Dengue What You Need to Know about Mosquito Repellent • Health Precautions from Noonsite • Medications & Kits- • Noonsite Medical Chest Offshore Medical Kit • First Aid at Sea- Seminar from Betsy Plotkin, MD • Info on: Ciguatera Dengue Fever Encephalitis, Japanese Filariasis, Lymphatic Malaria & Notes from cruisers Insect Repellant Oral Rehydration & Traveler’s Diarrhea Drinking Water Stugeron (sea sickness medication) • Medical Help at Sea • Article from Cruising World and Beth Leonard about Health at Sea • How to Article on Laceration Repair • How to Survive a Heart Attack Alone from 2005 book • Remote medical report form • Hazardous Marine Life & Other poisonous bites • Article on Jelly fish • Sample Medical Kit Carried by s/v Sunrisa • A Valliant 40 who traveled through The South Pacific for 3 years Chapter 8 - Flags 328 • Flag Etiquette – from Noonsite • Flags of the South Pacific • Anne on Sunseeker- maker of flags in PV • Text from Chapmans- Flag Etiquette Chapter 9 - Pet Information 335 • Cook Islands • Tonga • New Zealand • Hawaii Chapter 10 – South Pacific Diving 353 • Hazards and Warnings • Dive Destination Highlights o Fiji o Hawaii o Tahiti o Tonga o Cook Islands o Samoa • Dive Destinations o Fiji o Hawaii o Tahiti o Tonga o Cook Islands o Samoa • Other Dive Destinations o The Solomon Islands o Vanuatu o New Caledonia o Tuvalu o Niue • SSCA Article: Panama to Bora Bora, by s/v Ventana o Isla Cocos o Galapagos o Marquesas o Tuamotus o Tahiti & Society Islands Chapter 11 - Seminar Notes 371 • Provisioning – Renee Prentice, s/v Scarlett O’Hara (See Provisioning) • Radio – Radio Rob (See Radio) • Rigging – Mike from North Sails • Teapot Tony o Top Ten Tips o Top 20 “Must Have” Spares List o FIRE!! • Antenna Information – Joe Lacey, s/v Dos Amantes • Refrigeration-Don from Fresco Marine Refrigeration • Winlink-Bill from Raptor Dance • Weather/Provisioning/Various other topics-Bob & Caryl s/v Sisiutl APPENDICES: 379 I. Ten Minute Rule II. South Pacific Charts III. Abandon Ship Bag IV. Recommended Books & Websites V. Units of measurement VI. T-Shirt Design VII. Miscellaneous VIII. List of Information on CD o South Pacific Sailing Directions 2006: Publications 120 and 126 o Pilot Charts of the South Pacific o Pacific List of Lights: Pub 111 o Worldwide Radiofax Schedule o Bowditch: The Practical American Navigator INTRODUCTION Welcome to the newly updated and reorganized Pacific Puddle Jump manual for 2009. This guide is a resource by and for sailors crossing from the Americas to points in the Pacific, with a focus on the South Pacific. The Pacific Puddle Jump Passage Guide is a continuous work in progress. The 2009 Pacific Puddle Jumpers based in Marina Riviera Nayarit, La Cruz have updated and reorganized it to hopefully be more user friendly. It is specifically formatted for online usage (or downloading), with many resources identified through links. As such, the paper version will only list the links for additional information. The 2009 version of this manual is also available on the Pacific Puddle Jump Yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pacificpuddlejump/ - an online resource for Puddle Jumpers. If you are interested in being added to this group, just click the “Join the Group” link and provide your information. Remember - this book is a guide. Enjoy the information; update as you go. And, if you can, send updates back to next year’s group! 8 Chapter 2- Route Planning CHAPTER OVERVIEW: • Don on Summer Passage- Mexican Ports to Marquesas • Pre-Hurricane Season Tropical Disturbances Along The ITCZ in The Northeast Pacific • Hurricane Holes • Notes from Jimmy Cornell • Coconut Milk-Run notes on weather and routes • El Nino & La Nina • ITCZ Explanation Puddle Jump • A Suggested Route for the Marquesas from Steve on Kavenga • Pacific Light List 2006; Pub 111 • Puddle Jump Crossing Times 2005 & 2006 • Routing to New Zealand from Tonga • Sailing-By-Color: Reading Tropical Waters by Their Color 2 Mexican Ports to Marquesas Optimum Track and Timing Notes by Donald J. Anderson; Valiant 47 “SUMMER PASSAGE “ Oxnard/Ventura, California; Updated February 2009 Best Time The best time to take passage Mexico to the Marquesas is March 15 through April. The reasons are: 1. One arrives in French Polynesia after cyclone season. 2. One departs long before the Northeast Pacific hurricane season that begins May 15. 3. During the spring the northwest winds along the outside of the Baja peninsular are more reliable and extend as far south as Socorro Island. They blend smoothly into the northeast trades at about 125W. At other times it can be 600 miles of light and variable winds from Central Mexico to the NE trades. Optimum Track Most vessels take their departure from Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta or Zihuatanejo. Their first landfall is usually Atuona on the Island of Hiva Oa because it is the shortest distance. My preference is Taiohae Bay on Nuku Hiva because the bay is large and beautiful and is never crowded unless a rally from Europe takes it over. The great circle distances to Atuona are: Cabo San Lucas 2603 Puerto Vallarta 2704 Zihuatanejo 2765 While the great circle or rhumb line route is the shortest distance, taking this route rarely makes the fastest passages under sail. The reason is that the passage passes through four significantly different weather systems. They are: 1. The Northeast Pacific High. 2. The Northeast Trades. 3. The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), often the doldrums. 4. The Southeast Trades. The fastest and most comfortable passages therefore depend largely on how one plays these weather systems. The most important consideration in developing one’s strategy is to minimize one’s exposure to the ITCZ where winds are fickle, squally and fraught with scattered moderate to strong thunderstorm cells.