Sailing to Australia / New Zealand Area ?

[scgilligan]

Anyone here ever sail from East Coast USA to Au. area.? Is that something that is conceivable to "normal" people.? I hear a lot about cruising to Caribbean, etc. but no one seems to talk much about heading down South America and out to Au/NZ. Would you go through Panama Canal, or round the tip of South America.? Is that a treacherous undertaking.? I know nothing about the waters in that part of the world..or any part of the world for that matter..Just curious.

[Alan Wheeler]

Most head throught he panama, then on to ummm....where the heck did Darwin go???....and across that way. You have to be realy keen or realy good, probably both, or just plain nuts to go around the Horn. But then it tends to be a toss up between being shot at through Panama, or sailing through 80ft sea's and 80kt winds around the Horn.
For those that know, is Panama still that bad or has it cleand up somewhat????

[donradcliffe]

The trip though the Panama Canal and the South Pacific is great cruising--much better than the Caribbean. However, if you have to ask about The Horn, you had better take a shakedown cruise to the Caribbean first.

[Rangiroo]

That's exactly the trip we are planning for later this year and into next year. Leaving the US east coast in November/December sometime and stooging our way through the Caribbean to Trinidad by about early March...then straight to Panama from there via some Venezuelan islands maybe...through the Canal and out into the Pacific by April...then to Galapagos then French Polynesia....and on to NZ by November next year....cannot WAIT to leave.....

I wouldn't go around the Horn until I have several years of experience living at sea....but it is definitely on my list to do...just a bit further down the list than other things that's all.

[Steve Pope]

the northern parts of New Zealand have emptied out of foreign yachts as they all head back to the Pacific Islands around May/June we expect the next influx in October/November. The stretch from Fiji / Tonga to NZ (8 to 15 days average) is probably potentially the roughest stretch of water many of the around the worlders will ever strike. What they get at the NZ end is very good yachting facilities for repairs, reasonable rates for laying over until after the South Pacific cyclone season, leaving the yacht here and making a trip back to the states for family/money replenishment reasons etc. We speak english and can understand most American dialects although some folks have trouble understanding ours.
Steve.

[cat man do]

Hi scgilligan,

Just be warned, the Australian Custom's dept. have a bad reputation with yachties at the moment.

For the latest lot of grief click here Free download of The Coastal Passage recent editions.


There is also another thread worth looking at here
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ralian+customs

And here

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ralian+customs

Enjoy your visit

Dave

[Weyalan]

If the Bumfuzzles can make it from East Coast USA to Australia (& beyond) anyone can (no offence to Pat & Ali - I loved reading about their adventures - also not intending to start another Bumfuzzle thread, just sayin'...). Carib, Panama, Galapagos, Pacific Islands NZ, Aus definitely seems to be the way to go.

I hope that someday some of yougood people will make it to Hobart, Tasmania, however many people seem to be put off by the reputation of the Bass Straight.

[Alan Wheeler]

Well there is a requirement for entering NZ as well. You have to make sure you catch up with at least one of us Kiwi's participating here. Failure to do so will make even the Oz customs officers look like nancy's.

[mudnut]

Don't believe eveything ya read about OZ customs,some people are full of it(scaremongering,and others just need to sell advertising)If ya find the facts and stick to the rules you will be right.

Weylans right,Tassie is just a great place to spend some time and the Bass staight is way much easier then the horn.Even if ya don't go to NZ the oz customs are still nancy's,NOT NAZIS,apparently the American Neo conservative party is alive and well in the Whittsundays.Mudnut.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by mudnut

Don't believe eveything ya read about OZ customs,some people are full of it(scaremongering,and others just need to sell advertising)If ya find the facts and stick to the rules you will be right.

Weylans right,Tassie is just a great place to spend some time and the Bass staight is way much easier then the horn.Even if ya don't go to NZ the oz customs are still nancy's,NOT NAZIS,apparently the American Neo conservative party is alive and well in the Whittsundays.Mudnut.

Of course all the dude's getting dragged through court, or given a hard time by custom's are just making it up right???

Like I asked last time you came out with this sort of statement, How would you propose to satisfy the 96 hour ruling on a vessel with no email or Satphone.??

What have your experiences been.??

When and if you get a boat, how will you address these comunication issues ??

Have you actually dealt with Australian Custom's??

What evidence have you got to back up your statement's ??



Dave

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by mudnut

Don't believe eveything ya read about OZ customs,some people are full of it(scaremongering,and others just need to sell advertising)If ya find the facts and stick to the rules you will be right.

Weylans right,Tassie is just a great place to spend some time and the Bass staight is way much easier then the horn.Even if ya don't go to NZ the oz customs are still nancy's,NOT NAZIS,apparently the American Neo conservative party is alive and well in the Whittsundays.Mudnut.

These people have EXPERIENCED Australian customs. Have you? : Australian Customs versus American Sailors

Australian customs acting like secret police?

Surveillance and Boating

[Alan Wheeler]

Trust me, it's a damn site harder to get into US waters if you are a foreigner.

How would you propose to satisfy the 96 hour ruling on a vessel with no email or Satphone.??

I'm not really sure i see the problem. Many countries have similar rules. But aside from that, surely you will have an SSB HF radio. We can't leave home without one down here. It's a Cat1 rule.

[southernman]

What about sending a fax to Australia from the last country you left? That's what we did on the way back to NZ. I'll be dealing with Aussie customs in a few days when we leave for New Cal - might be interesting!

[seafox]

Ahhhh,
just stuff a note in a rum bottle (empty), date it and hiff it over the side.
It will suffice for service in any court of law.
You can quote me on that......



Who said that?????????????????????

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Alan Wheeler

Trust me, it's a damn site harder to get into US waters if you are a foreigner.


I'm not really sure i see the problem. Many countries have similar rules. But aside from that, surely you will have an SSB HF radio. We can't leave home without one down here. It's a Cat1 rule.

Have a wade through any of the custom's stuff Alan,
OZ custom's have made it quite clear, if you are a computer geek that can find the information on the site, that they no longer monitor HF radio.

Dave