About the Pacific Puddle Jump
Twenty-eight years of sailors making the passage from the Americas to French Polynesia.
More than a crossing
The Pacific Puddle Jump is a community that shares resources, preparation advice and friendship, helping cruisers take on one of the world’s great bluewater adventures with confidence.
Founded by Latitude 38 editor Andy Turpin, it has always been about freedom, conviviality, discovery and safety. What began as an informal gathering of bluewater dreamers grew into a modern rally, yet at heart it has always been a community of adventurers answering the call of the Pacific.
PPJ 2027: free entry
The 2027 Pacific Puddle Jump is free to join. There’s no paid membership any more, just a free entry: tell us a little about you and your boat and you’re in.
Your free entry opens what matters most to crews making the jump: the planning guide, weather and formalities advice, the video library, the archives and the community, so you can find buddy boats and crew heading west the same season.
Sail Tahiti, which organises the Pacific Puddle Jump, is here in Papeete for anything to do with your boat: buying one, preparing it, repairing it on arrival, or leaving it safely for cyclone season.
Freedom, safety, community
Flexible departure
Crews leave any time between February and May, from ports along the west coast of the Americas.
Your own route
Not a race. Skippers choose their own route and timing; the guides help you choose well.
A real community
Crews share information before, during and after the crossing, and many stay friends for life.
The Polynesian connection
After two years sailing with their children from France to Tahiti, Nikki and David created Sail Tahiti in 2015. Today it is the leading yacht dealership in the South Pacific: Excess catamarans, the Beneteau range and a large pre-owned brokerage.
In 2026 Sail Tahiti took over the organisation of the Pacific Puddle Jump from Andy Turpin, bringing local knowledge and a sailor-led team. Need a boat, a refit or a hand on arrival? Talk to us.
A short history
Latitude 38’s Andy Turpin gives a name to the loose fleet of cruisers sailing each spring from Mexico and Panama to the Marquesas. The Pacific Puddle Jump is born: a free, friendly rally with no start gun.
Fleets of 40 to over 100 boats, crew profiles in Latitude 38 and the Tahiti–Moorea Rendezvous to celebrate arrival. The recaps are in the rally archives.
Sail Tahiti organises the rally from Papeete, with a live fleet tracker, crossing guides and events across the islands.
No paid membership any more. Entry to the 2027 Pacific Puddle Jump is free, with the guides, videos and community open to every crew.