The crew of NDS Evolution has now had a few days to relax and recharge in the turquoise waters of the atoll that encloses the Gambiers, so it’s a good time for a recap of the passage from Chile.
– Total distance sailed: 4071 nautical miles. The straight line distance between Valdivia and Rikitea is 3300nm; we sailed almost straight north after leaving the Chilean coast in order to reach the tradewinds, and then headed even further north as winter storms disrupted the normal winds.
– Total time: 25 days and 22 hours. Gaspar once spent 41 days sailing from South Africa to Brazil without an engine, and Mike previously spent 31 days at sea on a research vessel, but this marked the longest passage for most of the crew.
Nacha and Gaspar preparing a meal in the galley
– Average speed: 6.7 knots. When the wind picks up, NDS Evolution really gets moving – sustained speeds of 12 knots were relatively common in strong winds. But all of the creature comforts onboard mean that she is also a heavy boat, so it was a challenge keeping the sails full in the light wind that marked the middle and end of the passage. That slowed us down and hurt the average speed.
Francisco, chief fisherman and ceviche master chef
– Fish count: 10. We landed five tuna and five mahi mahi during the crossing, and we caught a couple other fish that either didn’t make it onto the boat or that managed to elude the crew and return to the sea. The fishing was good enough that we had as much as we wanted to eat, and ceviche-master Francisco kept busy.
Mike adjusting the foot line on the gennaker
– Breakage: For a long passage, surprisingly little broke. A strap tore off the mainsail, and that was easily repaired by our onboard sailmaker, Nacha. The retractable bow thruster repeatedly sagged out of the port hull – likely a hydraulic problem. And there were a few glasses and plates, and unfortunately a favorite teapot, that were shattered in the strong weather on the first couple of days of the passage. NDS Evolution is a strong and exceptionally well-built boat, and that was borne out during this trip.
Celebrating Francisco’s 50th birthday with a magnum of prosecco
– Messages in bottles: 2. Francisco celebrated his 50th birthday about halfway through the trip, and the bottles for the wine we drank to celebrate now have messages and are seeking a new home.
Even Angie reeled in a tuna
– Wine consumed: 24 bottles? The only hard thing to do while enjoying wine is to count how much wine you are enjoying. But we probably averaged about a bottle a day, usually a glass each at lunch.
Tuna sushi aboard NDS Evolution in the middle of the South Pacific
– Missing boats: 1. A total of four boats left Valdivia at roughly the same time, and we kept in touch with a daily email. When one of the boats, Kiwi Dream, stopped sending emails we became a little bit concerned. We sent an email to the Chilean Armada, and they were kind enough to let us know that they could still track Kiwi Dream by satellite. It turned out to only be an email problem, but we were worried for a day or two.
Nacha repairing the mainsail
-Number of boats seen: 0. In today’s connected world, it’s amazing to spend almost 4 weeks without seeing a single sign of civilization. But that’s what we encountered – no boats, no planes, nothing but us and our thoughts in a giant disk of blue ocean.
Alejandro navigating on approach to Mangareva
