The shortest passage from Tahiti to Chiloe is approximately 4100 miles going along the great circle route south from the tropics the roaring forties.
Download the GPS track of our passage.
This is a common weather configuration in the Southern Pacific. The anti-cyclone is positioned at Easter Island and stretches to the W-NW forming the Pascuan Ridge. Lows are going by in the South, squeezing against the high, and hitting Patagonia on their race East. Of course the position of the anti-cyclone and the lows is very dynamic and can change dramatically, yet fortunately the great circle route seems to be often positioned for favorable winds, i.e. below the ridge for the first half of the passage, and above the lows on the second half.
This route kept us above (North of) 40 degrees south where the temperatures are still relatively warm to moderate.
We wanted to visit the remote and wild Austral Islands (Raivavae) and thus we had to beat South after leaving Tahiti. One option would have been to sail E-NE to the Tuamotus, and catch the winds of the Pascuan Ridge from there.