Worst passage we've had was coming back from New Zealand. Our original plan was to stop at Bevridge Reef, making our heading ENE. We lost our SSB on the 2nd day and had no way to get weather updates other than looking at the barometer, sticking our head out and guessing. As a result, we got slammed for 6 1/2 days with 30-45 kt winds on the nose and big waves. When the furling line broke the 2nd time and I wouldn't have another spare if it broke again, we turned left and headed for Tonga.

Another member mentioned fatigue as a contributing factor. I'm here to tell you, that sleep deprivation and fatigue are not just contributing factors in that situation, but major ones.

I lucked out, and suffered nothing more than a minor stab wound after I made a seriously bad decision. It could have been a lot worse.

For the record, both times I've brought my boat back from the S. Pacific, it was a month or two earlier in the season and they were not El Nino years. We also did the more common route of heading north to Hawaii first.