Cruising the Pacific Ocean on the Coconut Milk Run

May 9, 2010
Brian Cross

Stopover on the Coconut Milk Run - Photo by Brian Cross

By the month of May each year the Coconut Milk Run is well underway. Hundreds of cruising yachts are making the Pacific passage from northeast to southwest.

The Coconut Milk Run describes the loose affiliation of cruising yachts that each spring depart North and Central America for the tropical islands of the Pacific. Most then carry on to New Zealand and Australia for the following southern summer. The knowledge that there are other like-minded people out there gives comfort as couples, families and groups of friends set out across the vast Pacific Ocean.

From North America to the South Pacific

The generally accepted Coconut Milk Run route starts in Mexico, where North American crews congregate for the great crossing that can take them up to 12,000 km. From there it’s often first stop Galapagos, on through French Polynesia, the islands of the central South Pacific (Tonga, Niue, Cooks), into the Melanesian waters of Vanuatu and Fiji, then down to New Zealand and/or Australia.

The destinations are enticing. But sailing the oceans in a small boat has its perils and its discomforts. There’s a good reason Coconut Milk Run navigators set a particular course. They are on sailing boats, and they rely on nature to get them where they’re going. The aim is to cruise the great Pacific Ocean, and the strategy is to do so in a way that maximises safety and comfort. Those most important elements cannot be guaranteed, but the chances are vastly improved with knowledge of the weather patterns - a prerequisite of blue water sailing.

So how do the Coconut Milk Run participants strive to make their journey enjoyable, and what are the great natural hurdles that they keenly seek to avoid? They do what sailors have done for centuries. They bow to Mother Nature and utilise the trade winds.

The Coconut Milk Run Plan

For the crews of these little ships it’s a case of plotting a course and its timeline to arrive Down Under by early summer, before the South Pacific Cyclone season begins in November. To achieve the best possible outcomes, they need to time their departures and progress to minimise the effects of what is known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). This is a band of latitude about 5º both sides of the equator where the winds of each hemisphere come together. The effect is light winds, often called the doldrums, and sudden, violent thunderstorms.

In the Pacific, the northern hemisphere trade winds blow from the northeast, so all going well it’s a downhill run to the ITCZ. In their detailed account of their Coconut Milk Run cruise of 2001 in their yacht Felicity, Ken Machtley and Cathy Siegismund describe the ITCZ as “a nasty place that we spent the first two thirds of the voyage discussing and worrying over. It is a place of light and variable winds sporting lightning and rain.”

Sailing the Southern Hemisphere

Once through the ITCZ and across the equator, and Milk Run sailors encounter the trade winds from the southwest. Yachts tend to make passage southward at these low southern latitudes to ensure they are clear of the ITCZ before easing sheets for the southwest. Then the prevailing course becomes a broad or beam reach depending on destination. The knowledgeable skippers know that should they venture too far to the west too soon in their courses, they will have the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) to contend with. This is where the ITCZ spreads its affects further south in the Western Pacific.

So what sets the Coconut Milk Run sailors apart from the completely independent go–it–alone types? Besides the improved chances of help at hand if and when needed, there’s the exchange of information and items such as books and dvds at the various ports of call.

Crews set up informal radio schedules with volunteer controllers. These relay weather, news and the position of each yacht on the Milk Run, and enable boat–to–boat communications for catching up and discussing future plans. The community of the Coconut Milk Run enables participants to get tips on where to make necessary purchases, what to look out for and what to avoid, and numerous other pieces of information.

By the time the participants in the Coconut Milk Run enter port at Opua or Auckland, Coffs Harbour or Newcastle, they will have had many memorable experiences. There will have been many highlights and at least some lowlights, but the accomplishment will speak for itself.