DISASTER Strikes on Night ONE of our Pacific Ocean Crossing Australia to America EP66

On the very first night of our Pacific Ocean crossing, disaster strikes — our main John Deere engine fails offshore, leaving us in 10-foot swell with no stabilizers and only our wing engine pushing us along at 2 knots. In this episode, Lindsey and I continue our journey on our Selene 49 Classic trawler as we depart the Gold Coast of Australia and begin a 1,500-nautical-mile passage across the Coral Sea, routing south of New Caledonia and onward toward Fiji. This route is challenging not only because of the conditions — but because we’re sailing the Pacific West to East… the “wrong way.” With the help of our weather router Bob at Ocean Marine Navigation and route planning via PredictWind, we found a promising weather window — but it required pushing through a rough first day to reach better conditions ahead. Unfortunately, on Night One, a mechanical failure shuts down our main engine, disables our ABT stabilizers, and forces us to rely on the Yanmar wing engine, barely making headway while the boat rolls heavily in steep swell. What follows is a long night of problem solving, concern, and determination. Join us as we learn, adapt, and fight through adversity at sea. This is only Leg 1 of our 10,000-mile Pacific passage from Australia to Fiji, through French Polynesia, to Hawaii, and onward to North America — and the adventure is only just beginning. If you enjoy passagemaking, trawler cruising, and real-world offshore problem solving — we’d love to have you along for the journey. Subscribe to follow every mile. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 👀 WATCH NEXT – Don’t Miss These Adventures! 🎬 BIGGEST ANNOUNCEMENT OF OUR LIVES! We Explain How Our Lives Completely Changed 👉 https://youtu.be/f07Cte18WXo 🌴 End of an Era! A Chapter Closed Sad but Exciting! 👉 https://youtu.be/hYIxA6YSVhM ⚓ We Survived the GulfStream Crossing! Bahamas Adventures Begin HERE!!! 👉 https://youtu.be/v3QXt2ka1qk?si=nt-jivSxL6uiOINg ________________________________________________________________________________________ 🌴 COME HANG OUT WITH US 🎥 Patreon – Exclusive content, early videos, and Lindsey responds to every message personally! 👉 Join us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/The71Percent 📸 Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/the71percentchannel/ 📘 Facebook 👉 https://www.facebook.com/the71percent 🌐 Our Website 👉 https://www.the71percent.com 🌐 Selene Yachts 👉 https://www.seleneamericas.com ________________________________________________________________________________________ ⚓ STUFF WE LOVE (and actually use) These aren’t just random links — this is gear we use on Ruth Pearl all the time. Some links are affiliate links, which means if you click and buy something, we get a tiny commission (at no extra cost to you). It helps keep us afloat — literally. 💙 Others are simply because they are great tools for boaters and explorers alike. -🌤️ PredictWind https://www.predictwind.com/?ref=mdzknwj *Weather routing, predictions and patterns. -⚡️O.M.N.I Bob https://www.oceanmarinenav.com/ *Our weather router, because no software can replace experience -⚓ Mantus Marine https://www.mantusmarine.com/?affiliates=176 *Bridles, Ground Tackle, Scuba Gear & Great People!! -⚓︎ Ultra Anchors https://ultraproducts.tr/ *Our Choice of Anchor ...So We Sleep at Night -🎥 BoatEye 360 Night Camera https://boateye360.com/ *Night Vision Camera, great for anchorages and very low light situations ________________________________________________________________________________________ ⏱️ VIDEO CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 02:00 Filling Fuel Bladders 03:55 Engine Component Failure 07:50 Day #3 12:00 Lindsey Update 15:35 Merry Christmas 20:00 Day 6... or Maybe 7 lol 23:00 Empty The Bladders 29:00 Engine Room Check 31:55 LAND HO!!! 35:30 Welcome to Fiji!!!