North Pacific East to West?

[Lantau]

Would anyone like to advise on the best months to cross the Pacific from the Pacific Northwest to Taiwan, probably via Hawaii and Guam? This would be on a 45 motorsailer with good amounts of water and fuel (about 350 and 500 gallons respectively, not including some emergency reserves). Three months should be plenty if conditions are more or less normal and if the boat doesn't break (not to mention countless other ifs).

There's no good time to do this, but I'm guessing that April-June would be about the best to avoid the winter in the PNW and typhoons in the Western Pacific. (I cannot do it from September through November.) I'm guessing that the hardest part will be the start and the end -- poor weather leaving PNW and lack of wind (or far too much) on the last third of the voyage.

Any other advice on this route would be welcome.

Thanks very much.

[Pelagic]

Hi Lantau,
I have made that trip a few times which is basically the Milk run via the Marshalls and Micronesia.

For your type of craft, I would suggest a two step voyage.

Position yourself near San Francisco during the summer, then leave earliest you can in November to Hawaii, Marshals Micronesia staying low latitudes below the strong NE Monsoon.

Clear in at Subic on the west coast of Philippines where you will have Lee sailing up towards Taiwan by March/April as the NE Monsoon starts to ease.

This way you are avoiding the Typhoon season June to November and will have manageable winds behind you with a favourable current

[Lantau]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Hi Lantau,
I have made that trip a few times which is basically the Milk run via the Marshalls and Micronesia.

For your type of craft, I would suggest a two step voyage.

Position yourself near San Francisco during the summer, then leave earliest you can in November to Hawaii, Marshals Micronesia staying low latitudes below the strong NE Monsoon.

Clear in at Subic on the west coast of Philippines where you will have Lee sailing up towards Taiwan by March/April as the NE Monsoon starts to ease.

This way you are avoiding the Typhoon season June to November and will have manageable winds behind you with a favourable current

Many thanks Pelagic for sharing your experience. Alas, I cannot do it during the autumn, so I'll plan to leave by the first of April or a bit earlier if the weather at departure is OK.

What stops did you make along the route?I was planning Honolulu and Guam if all goes easily.

Did you pass through the Philippines islands before clearing into Subic? I haven't researched that yet, but I assume there's a route through the middle of the country that's considered a passage and thus not requiring clearing before entering the islands.

Thanks again.