The Call of the South Pacific

It’s one thing to dream about dropping anchor in a faraway tropical bay, and another to actually plan a voyage that will take multiple years. There are hundreds of details to consider: the boat, provisioning, weather patterns, suitable and interesting anchorages, passage times between stops, visa and immigration rules, etc. The list feels endless.

Luckily I’m not the first person to do this, and there is a lot of information available on line and in cursing guides. For my first attempt a planning this journey I starting with “World Voyage Planner” by Jimmy and Ivan Cornell.

Sailing is dictated by the weather and seasons. Passages are planned to take advantage of fair winds and seas, and destinations are planned to maximize good weather and to avoid hurricane and cyclone seasons. Planning a multi-year trip is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle of places, sailing distances and weather patterns.

The first step was to decide on where I wanted to start and end the trip: my plan is to start in Southern California and end in New Zealand, ultimately heading back around the South Pacific, Hawaii and to Southern California in years 3 and 4. So like all good producers, I started with a spreadsheet and Google.

Using Google Earth I created routes between each major destination, and entered each into a spreadsheet along with the time of year, the mileage between stops, along with the estimated time of each passage.

It was interesting to see the time spent at anchor (83%) verses the time spent sailing (17%). The vast majority of passages are less than two days, with a few a bit longer, and the major passage is the three to four weeks it will take to go from Mexico to French Polynesia. Of course this is still a very rough plan, but all plans have to start somewhere, and I find this kind of planning inspiring and motivating!

Learning the Ropes

It’s been many years since I’ve sailed a blue-water boat. My WestSail 28, while small and slow by today’s standards, could go pretty much anywhere assuming you could cram enough food, water, and fuel aboard for the trip. Boat technology has changed a lot since those days. A certain number of technical skills are needed to take a boat across oceans to remote anchorages. When you might be hundreds, or thousands, of miles away from land you need to be self-sufficient and capable of dealing with whatever emergency might come up. It could be something as simple as repairing a broken line (rope) to dealing with a major crisis such as a hole in the boat or physical injury. Boats have all the systems that a small house has, and more, and the forces of nature are working hard to break everything all the time.

Some people don’t mind jumping in and learning as they go, but I’m more of a planner, especially when my life might be at stake. I prefer to be as prepared as possible. I decided to compile a list of skills that I would like to tackle, from small to complex.

Here’s what I came up with:

SAILING SKILLS

·      BASIC SAIL TRIM / POINTS OF SAIL

·      SAFETY AT SEA

·      NIGHT SAILING / WATCH KEEPING

·      REEFING / HEAVY WEATHER TACTICS

·      SAIL CHANGES

·      SPINNAKER USE

·      HEAVING TO FROM PORT & STARBOARD TACKS

·      MAN-OVERBOARD DRILLS FROM VARIOUS POINTS OF SAIL

·      ANCHORING

·      MOORING

·      MANEUVERING UNDER POWER – DOCKING

·      DINGHY USE (LAUNCH, RECOVER, BEACH LANDINGS, DOCK LANDINGS)

·      EMERGENCIES – BOAT DAMAGE REPAIR, ABANDON SHIP PROCEDURES

·      FIRST AID, MEDICAL EMERGENCIES, GENERAL HEALTH & FITNESS

·      PERSONAL GEAR – CLOTHING REQUIRED

NAVIGATION

·      COASTAL NAVIGATION CLASS – NAUTIC ED

·      NAVIGATION – LEARN HOW TO USE CHART SOFTWARE, AID, RADAR

·      ROUTE PLANNING – COASTAL & OPEN WATER OCEAN PASSAGES

·      PREDICTWIND/LUCKGRIB WEATHER FORECASTING/PASSAGE PLANNING

·      ANCHOR ALARMS

·      KEEPING A SHIP’S LOG

BOAT & SYSTEMS MAINTENANCE

·      DIESEL ENGINE MAINTENANCE & REPAIRS

·      SMALL GAS ENGINE (2-STROKE & 4-STROKE ENGINES)

·      ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (DC: 12V/24V AC: 120V/220V) WIRING

·      BATTERIES (LITHIUM & STANDARD)

·      PLUMBING (SINKS, HEAD, BILGE, OTHER)

·      TANKAGE (WATER, FUEL, HOLDING)

·      STEERING MECHANICS

·      AUTO-PILOT / WINDVANE SELF-STEERING

·      REFRIGERATION & HEATING

·      WATER MAKER SERVICE & REPAIR

·      ELECTRONICS (WIND, SPEED, DEPTH, CHART PLOTTERS, VHS, AIS, RADAR, SENSORS)

·      SOLAR & OTHER POWER GENERATION

·      SAFETY EQUIPMENT USAGE (FIRE EXTINGUISHERS, FLARES, PFDs, EPIRB, LIFE RAFT)

·      THRU-HULL FITTINGS, MAINTENANCE & REPAIR

·      TEAK/WOOD REPAIR & MAINTENANCE

·      FIBERGLASS – REPAIR, CLEANING & POLISHING

·      HULL/KEEL – CLEANING & PAINTING/ANTI-FOULING

·      CANVAS REPAIR & SEWING

RIGGING & SAILS

·      STANDING RIGGING / TUNING / CHAIN PLATES / CONNECTION POINTS

·      RUNNING RIGGING / LINE WORK / KNOTS / SPLICING

·      TACKLE

·      SAIL MAINTENANCE & REPAIR

·      ESSENTIAL SPARES

VOYAGE PLANNING & PROVISIONING

·      VOYAGE PLANNING & SEASONAL TIMING

·      MEAL PLANNING, FOOD PROVISIONING, CANNING/PRESERVING FOODS

·      DRY GOODS & MISC OTHER PERSONAL SUPPLIES

·      CUSTOMS, VISAS & OTHER INTERNATIONAL PAPERWORK

·      BOAT INSURANCE

·      HEALTH INSURANCE

·      FINANCES – BUDGETING & RECORD KEEPING

·      BOOKS, CHARTS, WEB RESOURCES & OTHER REFERENCE

OTHER SKILLS

·      FISHING

·      LANGUAGE ESSENTIALS (SPANISH, FRENCH, TAHITIAN, AND MORE)

·      SCUBA (RENEW MY PADI CERTIFICATION) / SNORKELING

·      PERSONAL FITNESS (EXERCISE ON A BOAT IS A CHALLENGE!)

·      WRITING, FILMING, EDITING (TO SHARE THE EXPERIENCE ON YOUTUBE)

Obviously, learning all these things would take years. If I waited until I was an expert at everything, I’d never leave the dock. And that does happen. People get overwhelmed by the process; their boat is never prepared enough, they never have enough money saved, it’s never a good time to stop working, etc. The dream of cruising can easily die on the dock.

My rule for success is simple: set a date to leave and keep moving forward. I fully recognize that many of the skills I will need will have to be learned along the way. The good news is that there are tremendously helpful books, websites, cruising blogs, and YouTube videos on nearly every subject imaginable. There are also on-line classes, both free and paid, that offer more in-depth education, so it’s possible to take a deep dive into some of the more critical areas, like marine electronics, diesel engine maintenance, fiberglass repair, sail repair, navigation, etc.

So it’s back to school for me, and honestly I’m really enjoying it. There’s something exciting and rewarding about learning a new skill, or in this case, dozens of new skills. I hope that whatever your passion is, it brings you a lifetime of learning and joy.

Making Plans

After nearly disappearing, Tiki bars have made a big comeback. What is it about tiki that people find so enthralling? For some it’s the cocktails, and while I certainly enjoy a nice cocktail, I’m an infrequent drinker, so that’s never been my primary attraction to tiki culture. Others love the retro/vintage aesthetic of mid-century modern design from the 1950s and 60s, which many consider the golden age of tiki bars. And a third camp, and probably the one I identify the most with, love all things Polynesian, and have a taste for adventure. We imagine what it must have been like to visit the islands of Tahiti, Hawaii, and Fiji before the influence of Western culture. And when that romantic longing for the past overlaps with an inclination towards the arts and a DIY mindset (or a healthy disregard for money), tiki offers the chance to create a tropical oasis in the comfort of your own home.

Stolen Idol Home Tiki Bar - Glendale, CA

I once described the Stolen Idol (my home tiki bar) as a movie set that is never finished. As a professional filmmaker working in visual effects, I’ve always been drawn to escapism and flights of imagination. I grew up in Los Angeles where I was fed a steady diet of theme parks, B-movie matinees, and Saturday morning cartoons. The Enchanted Tiki Room stands out in my memory as my favorite place in Disneyland. I was a bit of a cowardly kid, and much preferred the campy humor and relative safety of the Tiki Room and Jungle Cruise rides to the terror of the Matterhorn.

The Jungle Cruise - Disneyland, CA

After high school, with Hollywood in my sights, it seemed a natural progression to go to art and film school. It wasn’t long into my career when the film industry gradually abandoned California for the lucrative tax credits of other states and countries. In the 1990s and after I found myself working in a variety of distant locations, including Canada, London, China, Japan, New Orleans, Atlanta, Budapest, and New York. And when I got married and started a family, we began travelling abroad as soon as our daughter could walk, taking her and then our son, for trips to Italy, Hawaii, France, London, Spain, and Bali. I even took an extended sabbatical in 2014 and dragged my family to Provence for four years.

The Wallace Family in Provence, France

All this is to say that I have the travel bug. When I’m at home in Los Angeles I’m usually dreaming of where the next job or vacation might take me. Tiki feeds that wanderlust--an exotic tropical fantasyland with its own immersive history is just sixty seconds away from my living room.

But at some point, fantasy, while entertaining, isn’t really living any more than watching “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is going on an adventure. We can’t all be Indiana Jones (only Harrison Ford can do that!), but for the past few months I’ve been asking myself how I can live in a way that answers the call to adventure that constantly echoes in my mind. I’m no longer young, but I’m at an age where many things are still possible, yet that door is slowly closing. My greatest fear is allowing it to slide shut before I have a chance to see what is on the other side.

Like many teens in the 1970s I was inspired by the book “Dove” by Robin Lee Graham. If you’re not familiar with it, Dove recounts the story of a young man who sails a small boat solo around the world. In my 30s I also loved sailing and I dreamed of one day voyaging to distant islands. I bought a 28-foot ocean going boat and sailed it around the Santa Monica Bay, occasionally going across to Catalina Island with my fiancé and friends. But I was also building a career and a relationship, so the boat and my dreams of sailing the world were put on hold.

“Iskra” Our WestSail 28 at Catalina Island, CA

Cut to 30 years later, and that dream has been rekindled. My career has provided a good (though certainly not extravagant) livelihood so there is a little money in the bank, my kids are grown and (mostly) independent, and my wife enjoys travel (although sailing is not her passion). So I asked myself, what is stopping me? Instead of recreating French Polynesia in my tiki bar, why not arrive on its shores from sea, drop anchor in a remote cove, and experience the real thing?

A cursory search of “Sailboat Cruising in French Polynesia” turns up a surprising number of people doing exactly that. You’ll find YouTube channels and blogs from individuals, couples and whole families traveling the world by sailboat, some who have been doing it for 5-10 years. And doing it at every budget range you can imagine, from small boats and spending $1500/month, to large luxury yachts with unlimited budgets. For those on more earthly budgets, a boat of about 40-45 feet costing around $150k and a monthly budget of about $4,000 is realistic. Cruising, as it’s called, is the act of traveling the world by boat, but is more often described as repairing your sailboat in exotic locations around the world. The highs and lows can be extreme, but vastly rewarding.

Arriving in Ensenada, Mexico on “Keeldragger” a Valiant 40 Sailboat

I believe that momentum leads to action, and the only way to accomplish something is to just start, no matter how small that first step might be. I hadn’t been out on a boat in years, so my first step was to see what was available. Luckily, I’m in Southern California and just a short drive to the coast and thousands of boats, many with owners looking for people to sail with them.

TV talk show hosts say when you put your dreams out into the world, the universe answers your call. I believe the concept is “manifestation.” Truthfully, I’m not mystical at all. This notion of manifestation is, in my mind, is simply the act of making your goals public as a means to connect with like-minded people. People love to share the things they are passionate about, and it turns out that the cruising community is no different.

We also have the world’s most powerful tool at our disposal: the internet. With Google and YouTube it is incredibly easy to find and connect with people all around the globe. It turns out that some of the most interesting and friendly people are just a click and email away.

It wasn’t long before I had found a handful of passionate sailors in the area who also have dreams of long-distance cruising. These fun and interesting adventurers have been generous with their knowledge and time. It’s easier to make a dream come true when you have the support and encouragement of people who share your passion.

Boating with Friends in San Pedro, CA

Dreams without a plan are just fantasies, and so I have charted a simple path:

1.        Get out on the water and sail on other people’s boats as much as possible.

2.        Read and learn everything I can get my hands on about cruising—the subject is vast but so are the resources.

3.        Buy a boat capable of going anywhere in the world and learn everything I can about sailing and maintaining it.

4.        Cast off for Baja and mainland Mexico, ideally in late 2025, but no later than January 2026.

5.        Cruise Mexico as long as it takes to feel confident, then cross the Pacific to French Polynesia (summer 2026 - summer 2027).

6.        From that point, follow the wind and seasons around the south Pacific and ultimately wind up in New Zealand.

7.        Be open to change, enjoy the adventure, and live life to the fullest.

So, this is my goal: take my love of tropical adventure from the armchair to the ocean. There’s a small window of opportunity, and I am at an inflection point. While I am certainly a dreamer, I also like to think that I am someone who turns my dreams into reality. I look forward to sharing the journey, and I hope you’ll enjoy following along. Wish me Fair Winds!