Pacific Ocean Adventure 2011

After 8 years of expedition sailing in Tierra Del Fuego, Antarctica and South Georgia its time to take this fair yacht to some different and warmer waters to show her the other side of the world.

Join Xplore for a multi stage voyage that will cross the Pacific Ocean and take us all the way to Tasmania, Australia with a variety of interesting island stops along the way.

If you only have a short time, then there are sections that will suit, or if you have always dreamt of sailing across the Pacific then what better way, or boat to do it in comfort and in a short period of time.

The Adventure Starts:

Leg 1: Depart Punta Arenas Thursday 14^th of April

3 days cruising the Straits of Magellan through to the western reaches that open into the Pacific. Visiting the Island of Charles the 3^rd, famous for whales, and enjoy a few Fuegan anchorages as we prepare for our first ocean leg to Easter Island.

Leg one 2400 nautical miles, time length 21 days, arrive Easter Island 5^th May

Leg 2

Easter Island, we will have a few days for everyone to explore this magical tropical island steeped in history and ancient pacific myths. We depart Easter Island Monday 9^th of May and set sail for Pitcairn island, 1130 nautical miles away where we will have a brief stop there for a day or two before heading further west to New Zealand.

Leg two 4,000 nautical miles, time length 25 days, arrive Auckland 2^nd June

Leg 3

Auckland New Zealand, some time on shore there in Auckland, the largest city and sailing centre of New Zealand, we depart Monday 6^th of June and venture into the Bay of Islands to relax and explore the myriad of islands before heading across the Tasman sea to Tasmania.

As we cross and enter the famous Bass Straits we plan to stop for a day in the remote Flinders Island. First destination in Tasmania will be Beauty Point, Tamar river in the North East of Tasmania.

Leg three 1,510 nautical miles, time length 9 days, arrive Beauty Point 14^th June

Leg 4

Tasmanian tour, we leave Beauty Point Monday 20^th of June in the NE and cruise the North, East and enter the south coast of Tasmania with our arrival into Hobart the capital of Tasmania. Visiting along the way the Bay of Fires, Wine Glass Bay, Coles Bay.

Hobart with its magical water front port is a marvel of history, architecture, great restaurants and the famous Salimanca markets on Saturdays, 4 to 5 days to enjoy Hobart and then we head to the West of Tasmania to the wild country.

Stopping at Port Davey, only access is by boat or sea plane, we will enjoy this remote area before heading north along the west coast to the also remote and rarely visited King Island, located in the western side of Bass Strait, it has a reputation of some of the most sought after dairy products, cheeses and free range beef.

From King Island we sail NW past Kangaroo Island and Back Stairs Passage to make land fall in Adelaide in the Spencer Gulf. Hoes to some of the best Australian wines, Adelaide and the hills regions is a wonderful place for exploring, enjoying great foods and wines, with its maritime history of the days of the grain races there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Leg four 1,040 nautical miles, time length 13 days, arrive Adelaide 3^rd July

Leg 5

Xplore departs Adelaide Monday the 11^th of July and heads back to the east to Sydney. On route we plan to stop for a day in the port of Eden, on the SE corner of Australia, famous as a fishing port and town, also for the killer whales which have been in residence within the bay, at times working with the fishermen in catching fish.

Leg five 880 nautical miles, time length 6 days, arrive Sydney 16^th July

Leg 6

Sydney harbour is a dream harbour, inlets bays, anchorages and one of the most exciting cities of the world, we will spend a week in Sydney so there is time to enjoy and explore this breathtaking city, climb the Sydney harbour bridge, visit the blue mountains, or maybe a classical concert or play at the well recognised Sydney Opera House.

We depart Sydney on the 23^rd of July and head a short distance north to the wonderful river inlets of the Pittwater and Hawkesbury rivers, and few days to relax and unwind from our Sydney city experience in this very picturesque location.

We depart Pittwater / Hawkesbury on the 27^th of July and head north along the Australian coast to the Queensland Territories, where we find one of the wonders of the world, The Great Barrier Reef.

We may make a short stop at South Port before heading to the Whitsunday Islands which is the start and Mecca of this tropical play ground.

Time to relax in the sun and crystal waters, we will have 10 days exploring the island bays with silica white sands, and make a trip to the Great Barrier reef before returning to Shute Harbour.

Leg six, 1,200 nautical miles, time length 24 days, arrive Shute Harbour 13^th of August

Leg 7

Whitsundays to Wellington New Zealand, an ocean crossing of 1,830 nautical miles, will take us to the impressive volcanic harbour that is secretly tucked away in the Cook Straits.

Four days in Wellington, often called Windy Wellington, we travel a short distance across the Cook Straits to the area that Captain Cook loved as his favourite area to stop for winter periods the Queen Charlot Sounds on the tip to the NZ south Island where we will have a few days to see this peaceful part of the country..

Leg seven, 2,100 nautical miles, 20 days, finishes in Queen Charlot Sound 2^nd September

Leg 8

South Island New Zealand

Queen Charlot Sound to Christchurch, we depart and sail to the eastern reaches of the Cook Straits before heading south to the harbour city of Christchurch where we will stop for a few days.

Further south we travel along the east coast to visit Duneden before heading to the most southern Stewart Island which is a wonderful remote and intriguing island, animals like the Kiwi can be seen, and the walks and bays are stunning.

We head back to the main south island to the port of Bluff on the southern tip to prepare for the next great adventure.

Leg eight, 630 nautical miles, arrive Bluff 22^nd of September

Leg 9

Bluff South Island to the New Zealand Sub Antarctic islands.

At this stage we are applying for permits for a “Friends and Family” trip to the new Zealand Sub Antarctic Islands.

We expect to voyage and explore these wonderful and remote animal islands for 1 month

Leg nine, 1,000 nautical miles, arrive Christchurch October 30^th

Leg 10

Christchurch to Tierra Del Fuego.

We take Xplore back to the South American territories and continue the adventure sailing in the south. This is an ocean passage experience for keen sailors who want to gain miles and serious sailing experience.

Leg ten, 4,200 nautical miles of straight sailing, arrive Tierra Del Fuego 1^st of December.