Pacific Ocean Outlook

Pacific Ocean © noonsite.com

UK cruising yacht, SV Rum Truffle, with experienced crew on board has been lost while attempting to cross the notoriously dangerous bar at Bahia del Sol in El Salvador.

Bahia del Sol is located in an estuary on the Costa de Sol peninsula, midway along the El Salvador coast. SV Rum Truffle was under the guidance of the recommended pilot boat at the time. The yacht not only capsized when the keel broke away, but was quickly looted and stripped of anything valuable. Read more here.

When cruising to Mexico, all yachts staying more than a few days will need to apply for temporary import and get a TIP. For US and Canadian yachts this is pretty straightforward and can be done online, however all other nationalities must apply on arrival. French sailor Laurent Gascoin reports on his experience in Ensenada.

The Galapagos archipelago faces a new natural challenge as the La Cumbre volcano on the uninhabited Fernandina Island, began erupting at the start of March, threatening a unique array of animal species. Read news here. An increase in National Park fees has also been announced starting August 1, 2024. More information here.

The World ARC 2024-25 yachts have begun their 2980NM ocean crossing from San Cristobal in Galapagos, to Hiva Ova in the Marquesas, while the World ARC 2023-24 fleet is on passage between Brazil and Grenada before finishing their adventure in Saint Lucia in early April, celebrating a 26,000NM circumnavigation. Find out more about World Cruising Club's rallies and events in their March news.

If planning a voyage across the Pacific, particularly from the Americas to French Polynesia and beyond, Pacific Voyagers Facebook group is one to follow. Here you can find out about the next "Pau Hana" on Pacific Countries, live on Zoom, which seems to be generating interest. So far topics have included Fiji, Nuku Hiva, Tonga and SSB/Starlink/Iridium. Check out for the next free event plus links here to view previous recordings.

Tonga has a newly established yacht steering committee led by the Ministry of Tourism. While entry formalities remain the same as last year, it's expected a few things will change after the new committee gets under way. Greg Just of Cafe Tropicana in Vavau is port officer for various cruising associations and a local contact for Noonsite. He produces this local information pdf for visiting yachts.

Cruisers in Kiribati - in the centre of the Pacific Ocean - report being robbed the first night on board after leaving their catamaran anchored for 3 weeks while they returned home. Read the skipper's first-hand report here.

Pacific contributors to Noonsite Brent Crack and Mary Bevan are now in Australia and have taken the route less travelled by foreign sailors, heading south from Sydney to sail around the bottom of the continent, from east to west. Read their detailed report here.

Looking ahead to April, many boats in NZ will be preparing for departure to the islands for the start of the South Pacific cruising season. Gulf Harbor Radio's website has some excellent articles on weather information, cruising New Zealand and anchorages as you head north. For those with SSB on board their radio net starts on May 1st. Go to ghradio.co.nz.

SV Soggy Paws have a huge collection of useful cruising guides, compendiums, articles and links on their website for the South Pacific (as well as SE Asia, Red Sea and Indian Ocean), much of which has been updated in the last 2 years. Visit here.

This article has been provided by the courtesy of noonsite.com.