Weather & routing
How the trade-wind season works, where the hard part is, and the tools crews use to pick their window.
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The trade-wind season, in short
The crossing is made in the established south-east trades, south of the ITCZ. The Galápagos–Marquesas corridor is the settled part; the convergence zone, roughly 3° to 8°N, is the part that asks for patience and fuel.
General orientation, not a forecast. For current conditions use the ENSO advisory and high-seas forecasts.
Reading the window
Most crews leave the Americas between February and April and reach the Marquesas as the South Pacific cyclone season winds down. Leave too early and you arrive while the risk is still real; leave too late and you get lighter trades and a shorter season once you’re there.
The part to plan isn’t the trade-wind run, it’s crossing the Intertropical Convergence Zone: light air, squalls, thunderstorms. Its position moves, often between 3°N and 8°N. Aim for the narrowest part you can find, keep fuel to motor through it, and expect the wind to be unreliable inside the squalls.
From Panama or the Galápagos you have to make west and south to pick up the established south-east trades, often around 3°S to 5°S. After that it becomes a long downwind run, the most settled part of the passage.
When the South Pacific high ridges, the trades strengthen sharply in a narrow band. This wears boats and crews out more than anything else. Spot it coming and work north or south out of it rather than sitting in it.
The ENSO state shifts where the ITCZ sits and how hard the trades blow from one season to the next. Check the official ENSO advisory before you fix your dates.
Prefer to watch? The preparation talks are in the video library.
The tools we use
Always compare two models before you commit. When ECMWF and GFS disagree on where the ITCZ sits, the window is less settled than it looks.
Want a router on your side?
Sail Tahiti’s bluewater team can put you in touch with professional weather routers and help you prepare the boat.