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Passage Planning: Fiji to NZ

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Passage planning is all about preparation and weather. A good passage is one that has favorable weather conditions.  Good conditions include consistent, steady winds at 12-18kts, seas below 1 meter in long increments, no squalls or storms, low cape and low barometer.

Note: For the next 7-8 days we will be LIVE blogging.

Weather, weather, weather!  It can be your friend and your foe.  We live our life watching the weather daily.  Does the wind shift? Will the swell wrap around the island? Is there rain in the forecast? 

We purchased the professional / premium plan for Predict Wind which allows us to enter our boat polars, plan routes, and receive detailed passage forecasts. 

This software, along with feedback from professional weather routers, rally participants, and other sailors, provides us with the valuable information we need to do accurate passage planning.

This particular passage, Fiji to NZ, is very challenging.  We will have to sail across 20 degrees of latitude between two weather systems.  This is an extremely formidable and demanding stretch of ocean.

Well over 100 boats will make this same journey this year. But we will only be sailing with a handful.

The Strategy

We take this passage very seriously, despite this being our 3rd time making this journey. 

The basic strategy is pretty well known.  You leave Fiji on the back side of a high (front) usually in crappy conditions.  You do this so that you can arrive New Zealand before the next low in relatively benign conditions. 

The systems near NZ change frequently and dramatically and tend to be more extreme.

sv Roam wrote an excellent blog post, a lot more thorough and detailed explanation on weather. I highly recommend this descriptive read.

This is what a typical and pretty good weather routing or passage plan looks like on Predict Wind.  We are starting at Fiji (top of the page) and ending in NZ (bottom).  The colors indicate the severity of the wind.

Preparations

There are numerous preparations that go into passage planning.  You’d think we’d have this down after sailing over 70,000 nautical miles and visiting over 33 countries.  But each passage and each country has its own unique preparations.

First of all, there is lots and lots of paperwork!  So much paperwork!

  • Paperwork
    • Departure paperwork for Fiji
      • Schedule appointment with officials
      • C2C Outward Report Form
      • Statement by Master Form
      • Photographs of boat (bow, stern, port, starboard)
      • Crew change Form
      • Crew List
      • Copies of Fiji entry paperwork, boat paperwork, and all passports
    • Entry paperwork for New Zealand
      • Apply online for an NZeTA (temporary visa) for each crew
      • Apply online for Traveler Declaration for each crew
      • Apply online for a Customs Number (Client Code) which gives us Duty Free purchases
      • Submit the Advanced Notice of Arrival Form
      • Submit the C4G Form
      • Appy for T.I.E. (Temporary Import Entry) which allows us to bring the boat into NZ
      • Crew change form
      • Bio Management Plan (6 page document detailing our hull cleaning/maintenance)
        • Provide photographic and video proof of cleanliness of the bottom of the boat including all niche areas (props, thru hulls, rudder, daggerboards, etc…)
    • Submit a Float plan for family, friends, and emergency contacts

Additional Preparation:

  • Pre-cook passage meals and freeze 
    • We made enough food for 3 people for 10 days (that’s a lot of food)
      • Eggplant parmesan
      • Chicken enchiladas
      • Chicken chow mien
      • Gumbo
      • Mongolian Chicken
      • Pasta de la casa (with a nice spice pasta with meat)
      • Chicken wontons
      • Gingerbread cookies
      • Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies
      • English Muffins
      • (3) bread doughs
  • Stow all valuables and breakables
  • Safety gear: put out and make accessible:
    • First aid medical kit, ditch bag, jackline, PFDs, foul weather gear 
  • Reservations at Marsden Cove Marina (where we clear into the country) and Town Basin Marina where we will stay after we arrive
  • Change window shade covers from sunbrella to Phifertex (to allow us to see out better)
  • Convert office cabin into sleeping cabin (for crew)
  • Separate “declared foods” and items to present to biosecurity upon arrival
  • Courtesy Flag: NZ and Quarantine Flag get out and make accessible
  • Clean bottom of the boat (every 5 days, 2 people, 2 hours)

Safety

  • Passage Guardian
    • File a float plan and sign up for passage guardian services
  • Island Cruising Pacific Rally
    • Land support
  • Gulf Harbor Radio
    • Daily check in with position reports and status report
  • Onshore support
    • Our very good friend, Donald tracks us while we are underway and provides weather and onshore support

Communications

We have multiple communications options.  We primarily rely on Starlink as this gives us access to the internet regardless of where we are in the world (even when we are in the middle of the ocean).  However, we do not leave this on 24/7 as it draws a lot of power.  

We’ve had our Starlink fail during a passage last year. So, we have always had communication back up plans.

  • Starlink gives us access to the internet anywhere in the world.  Starlink has been a game changer for us.  It allows us to get weather, check emails, and surf the web in the middle of the ocean, thousands of miles from shore.  However, it has been known to fail.
  • IridiumGo set up which gives us short text messages, short emails (no photos or attachments), and a few phone calls.  This can only be used in emergencies and cannot be used to surf the web.
  • SSB (HF radio) onboard.  This Single Sideband Radio can reach as far as 6,000 miles away.  We can use this to contact shoreside support.  We check in with the Gulf Harbor Radio daily through our SSB radio.  We can also get weather updates if Starlink and IridiumGo fail.
  • VHF Radio:  We also have a standard VHF radio which can reach other vessels within 24 miles of us.

As you can see there are loads of things we do to prepare for a passage.  All we can do is hope and pray that all of our resources, experts, and information is accurate enough to give us a safe passage.

We depart Fiji on 16 October 2025 heading for Marsden Cove Marina, New Zealand.  

In our last blog post we explore the beautifully authentic, old capital of Levuka.

Formalities and Tons of Paperwork

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We have received several inquiries about formalities and what it entails when you clear out of a country and clear into a new one.  Each country is different, but I will give you a run down of clearing out of New Zealand at Marsden Cove Marina.  And then clearing into Port Resolution, Tanna, Vanuatu.

Preparing for Departure

We splash Sugar Shack with the expert and professional team at Norsand Boatyard in the rain.  Not ideal, but not a big problem until a storm descended upon us.  We only had 9nm to go from Norsand to Marsden Cove Marina.  However, the winds kicked up to 25-33 kts with gusts up to 40kt.  The current was going against us, the rain was pounding and the wind howling. Not how we wanted to start our trip.  So, we decide to hide in a small anchorage for the night.

The next morning we woke up to a beautiful rainbow as if Mother Nature was apologizing for the terrible conditions the night before.  Made for a nice short trip to the marina where we fuel up and clear out of NZ.

New Zealand Departure 

New Zealand (NZ) requires “advance notice of departure” which is “Form C2B.”  You complete this form and send it by email to customs at yachts@customs.govt.nz at least 48 hours in advance.  We are clearing out at Marsden Cove Marina which requires the Customs official to travel so we gave them 72 hours in advance in order to schedule our departure interview.

At the interview you have to bring the following documents:

In addition, you have to go online to notify Maritime NZ (even if you are not a NZ registered boat), this is a short and simple form to complete.  They will send confirmation upon receipt.  

Once we are cleared out of the country, we remove our NZ flag, get lots of duty free diesel and gasoline, and cast off the docks.  We needed so much diesel that the counter clicked over and had to start at zero. We wore out our poor NZ flag, its a good thing we have a new one for our return. A friend of ours captured us leaving.

Notifications

We send out notifications whenever we go on passage.  The first one is Passage Guardian which is a free monitoring service.  We file a float plan and email our position (lat/long), wind speed/direction, swell, barometer, boat speed, and any other pertinent information every day while at sea.  Peter, at Passage Guardian, provides this service for free.  He tracks our movement and will notify our emergency contacts with any anomalies.  In addition, he notifies us if there is anything in our trajectory (fishing fleets, or container ships).  It is a very important service.

We also notify Viki Moore with the Pacific Rally.  She also tracks us using our AIS and ensures we have all of the necessary documentation to depart NZ and arrive Vanuatu.  She offers amazing service and I am eternally grateful for her spectacular efforts.

Gulf Harbor Radio is an SSB radio net that meets once at night.  We call in to report our position, wind/sea conditions, and get weather.  It is another free service.

Lastly, we will notify our emergency contacts and family members.  We provide our float plan and all of our important information so that they can find us in case of an emergency.

Entering Vanuatu

Formalities for Vanuatu include a lot more forms.  We have to provide them with advance notice of arrival, prior to arrival.  In addition, we are seeking special permission to clear in at Port Resolution which is NOT an official port of entry.  We will have to pay a fee to cover the officials travel.  The reason we are asking for special permission to clear into Port Resolution rather than Lenakel (official port of entry) at Tanna is because the anchorage at Lenakel is awful.  

The email with the “Inward Report” (Advance Notice of Arrival) has to include a lot of basic information (see below) and must include the Inward Report, a photo of the boat, and the bio pages of all crew passports.  This email is sent to CustomsBorder@vanuatu.gov.vu. 

  • Name of the vessel;  
  • Vessel registration;  
  • Vessel Radio Call Sign; 
  • Country of registration: 
  • Home Port:  
  • Voyage (last 3 ports);
  • Estimated date & time of arrival; 
  • Port of arrival; with approval, 
  • Estimated length of stay;  
  • Purpose of Visit: 
  • Port arrived from; 
  • Name of the master or skipper of the vessel; 
  • Name & contact of person providing data; 
  • Names of passengers on board; 
  • List of goods to be landed (if any) 
  • Crew list:  
  • Photo of your boat.  

I do all of the paper work before we leave New Zealand, since I get sea sick pretty easily. And off we go on passage.  See next post titled “6 Days at Sea.”

Mystery / Anatom Island

We originally wanted to clear into Mystery island as it is the furthest southern island in the Vanuatu Island chain.  And it just seems super cool to go to an island called Mystery Island.  However, we would have to receive permission to clear in at this island as it is not a port of entry.  In addition, we would have to time our arrival with the cruise ship schedule, which comes twice per month.  Why do you ask?

Officials have to be flown in, given housing, and food which costs a lot of money  So, if you time your arrival with the cruise ship you don’t have to pay to get the officials to Mystery Island since they will be there for the cruise ship.

It just seemed like too much trouble to leave on a good weather widow for us and arrive at the island when the cruise ship is there (which is only for 9 hours).  

So, we decided to get special clearance for Port Resolution at Tanna instead.

Change of Heart

While we were at sea, we realized that if we slowed the boat down, there was a good possibility that we could arrive the day before the cruise ship arrived.  So, I reached out to Vanuatu Customs with the hopes of being approved for this special entry.

We got approval and nearly jumped for joy.  But, it was short lived because 5 minutes later our approval was revoked.  What?  Evidently there is a large storm coming and they are re-routing the cruise ship so the officials are not going to be there.  What a huge disappointment as we had lost about a half day sailing at painfully slow speeds.

Well, onward to Port Resolution.

Arriving Vanuatu

Once we arrive, we fly our Yellow Quarantine Flag, notify the Yacht club on VHF 16 of our arrival and make arrangements to meet the officials.  When we meet the officials we have to bring the following original and signed forms (forms found here):

  • Inward Report
  • Yacht Master Certificate
  • Inter-Island Permit Application
  • Maritime Health Declaration
  • Biosecurity Passenger Card (one for each crew)
  • Exit Forms from NZ
  • Passports of all crew
  • Boat Registration

The Rocket Guide is a very valuable resource if you require additional information on clearing into Vanuatu.

Some Hiccups….

Evidently the Immigration officer was sick so he could not come which means we have to go to Lenakel to finish the process.  We have to get our inter-island cruising permit, stamps in our passports and our 90-day visas.  Not much of a big deal as we planed to take a taxi to Lenakel anyway.  We need local SIM cards, more Vatu (local cash), and some fresh produce.  Plus it will be fun to see the inner island.

One thing to note is that all attachments, for all countries, should always be labeled with your boat name, the name of the document, and date.  For example, “Sugar Shack Inward Report_May 2024”

One of the benefits of joining the Pacific Rally is having Viki verify all of the necessary documents for NZ and Vanuatu.  Usually, I am on my own to figure out what is required, who it is sent to and in what time frame.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred around the end of May.  In our last blog post I share all of the amazing donations we plan to distribute in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.