Having departed Dieppe in 2024, Serge Bonnel, a sailor in the Pacific Puddle Jump 2026, continues a great sailing journey that will take him all the way to Australia. After a stop in the Galápagos, his Dehler 44 monohull is currently heading toward the Marquesas with three international crewmates on board. The goal is to reach Hiva Oa around March 23… provided they can escape the wind hole slowing their progress.
Between the Galápagos Islands and the Marquesas, the sea can sometimes be unpredictable. Aboard Gow Tow 3, a fast blue Dehler 44, the crew has been trying for the past two days to escape a vast windless zone that is slowing their progress toward French Polynesia. It is a moment of forced calm in the middle of a much larger journey.
The adventure began far from here, in Dieppe, Normandy, in 2024. After first sailing south to Spain and then crossing the Atlantic last year between Cádiz and Panama, the boat set sail again in early February for a major Pacific crossing as part of the Pacific Puddle Jump 2026. On the agenda: French Polynesia, then New Caledonia, before reaching Brisbane, Australia, by June.
This passage marks Serge Bonnel’s first transpacific crossing, adding to two transatlantic crossings already under his belt. “What motivates me above all is the journey,” he explains. The desire to discover the mythical archipelagos of Oceania matters more than pure performance, even though Gow Tow 3 remains a fast boat with a race/cruise design.
Unique Wildlife
There are four people on board: two French sailors, one English woman, and one English man. The crew rotates through four-hour watches, two at a time, in a schedule that shifts slightly each day. English is the common language, and some of them already knew each other from sailing together in the famous Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
Before this long Pacific crossing, one stop left a particularly strong impression on the four sailors: the Galápagos. Between diving and observing the archipelago’s unique wildlife, they also received valuable help from a French couple traveling in the area who were temporarily stuck there due to technical issues and generously showed them around the islands.
If the winds finally return, arrival is hoped for around March 23 or 24 in Hiva Oa. It could coincide with the arrival of many other sailboats that departed at the same time with the World ARC rally.
On land, the plan is already clear: entry formalities, provisioning—sometimes a challenge on remote islands—and then a first exploration of the Marquesas. The schedule remains tight, as the route to Australia continues, balancing sailing passages with the discovery of Oceania’s islands.
One thing is certain: after days at sea, dropping anchor in the Marquesas is always a special moment for sailors of the Pacific Puddle Jump.
