Minimus Makes The Marquesas

Purchased for $2500, this Cape Dory 25 proves you don’t need a big or expensive yacht to reach the most exotic cruising grounds.

- David Omick

Forty-one days after Pearl and I left San Diego in Minimus, our Cape Dory 25, we made landfall in the Marquesas Island group of French Polynesia. The voyage left indelible memories, from beautiful trade wind sailing to awe-inspiring mega-squalls, to being hit by a whale, and finally to the long-awaited landfall on the jungle-covered island of Hiva Oa.

The voyage was a vindication of our belief that with a small boat, a relatively small financial outlay, and determination, one could sail to paradise. Time-wise, the passage was a long one, mostly due to calms, squalls and inconsistent trade winds during the last half of the voyage. Most other boats we’ve met in the islands also reported long passages due to similar weather conditions this year.

The smaller the boat, the more one’s daily routines at sea are influenced by the vagaries of wind and waves, sun and rain. Nonetheless, we quickly developed a basic routine, beginning with both of us up around dawn. We’d have breakfast of cereal, tea and coffee, then I’d read messages from friends that came in overnight on our satellite messenger.

Pearl spent most of her days in the cockpit tending the self-steering as needed, sometimes listening to audiobooks, sometimes singing, and always watching the endless waves, clouds and occasional sea birds. If the weather permitted, she would also read or play her ukulele.