Rapa Nui to Chile, day 5
02 February 2019
Mike
The wind has finally found us and we have been sailing since 0300 in a northwesterly breeze of 8 to 10 knots, moving us along at 6 to 8 knots. A large weather system will be passing in the next couple of days and sunrise showed a long period swell from the southwest and mare's tails overhead, hinting of the beast down in the high latitudes, hurrying westward with it's tail arcing north towards us, shoving the high pressure to the west and providing us this breeze. As it approaches, the cold front should bring winds of up to 35 knots or so. Our plan is to make all speed and try to stay in front of and above it as it dissipates, then ride the trough south as it passes, racing the high pressure that follows so we can stay in the wind. If all goes well we shouldn't see much more than 20 knots. On the other hand, we may just get a whoopin followed by more motoring, but what can you do? We are well prepared for any amount of wind we may encounter, with the drogue that Gordon so painstakingly put together in the Sea of Cortez, as well as the parachute anchor, both rigged and ready to go, although I don't expect they will be needed.
There are 3 ways to get to Chile from Ecuador. The first, and most direct, is to head straight down the coast. The advantage of this is that the wind is light and, once you get to northern Chile, you can harbor hop, taking breaks as you go. On the downside, the wind is relentlessly contrary and the current flows north, plus a lot of local traffic and fishing boats will be encountered. Some boats with big engines use this route but it is not suited to our boat with its small engines and crew that hates to motor.
Another option is to sail straight down against the trades. We know of at least one boat that has done this but it took them a month of sailing to windward to do it, which doesn't really appeal to us, especially since we did just that from Costa Rica to Ecuador.
The final option is the one we took, via Easter Island. This involves over 4,200 miles of sailing, but it is mostly downwind and pleasant and you get to see Easter Island. Plus you don't have to worry about traffic, particularly on the second leg as it is away from the shipping lanes. Assuming we don't have to heave to at some point for the weather, we expect to complete the trip in about 30 days sailing so it ends up being no slower than the direct route.