Sailing Atypic

The Pacific the Hard Way, from Tahiti to Panama!

Véro, Patrice and their dog Windy are from Quebec and have been sailing around the world since 2019. After cruising aboard their Fountaine Pajot Lavezzi 40, Atypic 2.0 – the first Atypic was a monohull – they decided to continue their adventure in a different way. Now working as delivery crew, they sail aboard other Owners’ boats. Their latest challenge was a major one: crossing the Pacific from Tahiti to Panama, against the usual route, into the prevailing trade winds and currents.

Sailing Atypic

Published 02/10/2026

Issue: 210

Published: dec. / jan. 2027

Discover this issue

Who: Véronique, Patrice and Windy
Where: Tahiti – Panama
Multihull: Lagoon 410
YouTube: @SailingAtypic

“In 2019, we left Quebec with no sailing experience to pursue a dream that would transform our lives. Today, we sail around the world, deliver sailboats and catamarans, and share our adventures to inspire others to live their own.”
Since selling their catamaran, Atypic has come to represent less a boat than a way of living and sailing. With more than 25,000 miles under their belts, Véro and Patrice, always accompanied by Windy, now take on deliveries and ocean crossings. Their latest assignment took them from Tahiti to Panama, against the usual route, into the prevailing trade winds and currents. Here are a few extracts from their impressions on arrival.
“After 41 days in the Pacific, we’re finally starting to realize everything we’ve just been through. Tahiti to Panama represents 6,400 nautical miles, including 5,374 miles non-stop from the Marquesas to Panama. Our average speed was 5.6 knots, with a maximum of 14 knots surfing, and the strongest wind we encountered was 47 knots! We saw 10 boats, caught two fish, went through 30 squalls and crossed the Equator twice!”
And what about the sailing itself?
“While crossing the Doldrums, we had to manage our route around two cyclones. The first, Fausto, was a Category 2 cyclone, and we managed to use the winds generated by the system to make progress eastward. Then Geneviève, a Category 4 cyclone, passed within around 700 nautical miles of us at its closest point. We monitored both cyclones very closely but, ironically, they both ended up giving us favorable winds. The hardest part wasn’t necessarily the sailing, but the almost constant stress, the decisions that had to be made, one breakdown after another and the lack of sleep. In the middle of the Pacific, when something breaks, there’s no mechanic turning up the next morning! You have to understand the problem, see what you have available and find a way to keep going. When we look at everything we repaired and improvised, we realize just how capable we are of finding solutions when we have no choice. More than anything, this crossing made us realize how far we’ve come: situations that would have completely overwhelmed us a few years ago are now simply problems that we analyze and solve. If we were to do it again, we’d carry roughly the same amount of diesel. We left with 206 US gal (780 liters) and had around 79 US gal (300 liters) remaining when we arrived. With unpredictable weather and the mechanical problems we encountered, we certainly didn’t regret having that safety margin. As for gasoline, though, we would have taken more! We had around 26 US gal (100 liters) and used almost all of it. Our freezer broke down, forcing us to run the generator almost every evening. And during the final few days, our dinghy and its 15 HP outboard actually became a means of propulsion for the catamaran! With our only usable engine losing oil, we would have liked to keep pushing ourselves toward our destination with the dinghy, but eventually we ran out of gasoline. Our drinking water calculations proved to be just about right: 79 US gal (300 liters) at the start and around 13 US gal (50 liters) remaining on arrival. As for food, we would have liked to have brought a little more. But when delivering a boat, it isn’t our multihull and we didn’t want to overload it with provisions. On our own boat, we would have filled every locker to the brim! After these 41 days, if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that the Pacific can throw plenty of surprises at you.”