So we did it – 3133.7 Nautical miles in 18.5 days – that’s a daily average of 170 miles (which is way better than we planned for). That epic current made all the difference. The overall route was about 200 miles longer than going direct, but we were picking up a free 30 to 40 miles per day from being in the current – so it quickly added up.   Apart from the minor wobble about whether it was a good place to be with a tsunami wave passing through, it was a great choice.

Nautilus held up brilliantly too. She coped with everything that was thrown at her and nothing major broke.  For a 40ft catamaran in the middle of the largest ocean, she was a very comfortable place to be.  That said, i’ve very glad we found the crack in the rigging before we left and we waiting to repair it…  It was on the port side and we were on that tack for the whole trip, so the two shrouds on that side of the boat took all the load.

Given this was our 2nd ocean crossing, we were a lot more chilled about provisioning than last time. It also is different when it’s just the two of you… Having the 3rd person is great as it lets you break up shifts, allows for more sleep and  gives you more contingency if things go wrong. However you still have a guest on your boat and always want to be good hosts… When it’s just the two of you, you” revert to you regular habits and routines. So whilst you don’t see much of each other, the days fly by pretty quickly. 

I think the other big achievement is we sailed the whole way and didn’t need to motor. In total we burned 80 litres of diesel, and that was just to make electricity to make water and to top up the batteries.  We bought that fuel in Panama at $0.7 USD per litre, so on that basis, we crossed the pacific for £43!!  better than Ryanair….