Slowing down deliberately to time a reef pass arrival correctly
As Lauren Landers Sailing closed within range of the atoll, she reefed her jib intentionally to reduce boat speed. She was on track to arrive too early, and entering a reef pass at the wrong time, before the light is good or the current is favourable, can be dangerous. She also wanted to give the other vessel, SV Isa, time to catch up so they could transit the pass together. Timing a pass arrival is a critical skill in Pacific sailing: arriving with good overhead light and a fair current, and ideally in company with another boat, is standard practice.
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MembersNavigating raging water at a pass by tucking up close to the calmer side
Approaching the pass, Lauren Landers Sailing paused to assess a stretch of disturbed, raging water ahead. Rather than going straight through the worst of it, she identified that by tucking up close to one side of the current they could like
Sailing conditions on a slow but pleasant downwind passage to Tahiti
During this passage, Lauren Landers Sailing was seeing 8 to 12 knots of wind, giving boat speeds of around 4 to 5.5 knots. While 4 knots is a little slower than ideal, the wind was on the stern and the waves were behind the boat, making for
What it feels like to transit an atoll for the first time without it being too sketchy
After completing the pass entry, Lauren reflects that the conditions were relatively flat, which made for a good first experience. The key takeaway is that if the waves had been bigger, waiting for them to settle would have been the right c