Australia to Hawaii

[WeatherGage]

Anybody know when is the best time of year to sail from Australia to Hawaii in a 45' sloop? Thanks in advance. WG

[Whoosh]

You have two basic options: either sailing up to and catching the equatorial countercurrent, proceeding E'ward to the Line Is. or hopefully beyond, and then sailing N'ward to Hawaii -or- doing it the hard way via long tacks into the Trades (the 'tropical route'). 'When' depends on which route you select as the countercurrent, ICTZ, strength of the Trades and the cyclone season all tweedle with the timing.

Jack

[Amgine]

The traditional high latitudes route was followed for very good reasons as well. Get as south as you feel you can and make your easting, then north across the ITCZ to your destination.

Ocean Passages for the World lists two routes Sydney to San Francisco or British Columbia - via Tahiti or an alternate route via Fiji. This would be the route to modify to get to Hawai'i

Via Tahiti:
"Pass either north or south of New Zealand, or through Cook Strait, according to the wind on leaving; but preferably through Cook Strait. Thence make to the north-eastward so as to cross 30° S in about 160°W, and then northward through the SE Trades, passing closely westward of the Iles de la Société.

"In June, July, and August, cross the equator in 148°W, but from October to February in 151°W, steering through the doldrums to a position in 10°N, 143°W, where the NE Trades should be picked up. ..."

At this point you should be able to run down the NE Trade to Hawai'i. Or you could modify how far west you sail before working north.

(An alternative route for easting is to run south of 40°S to 156° or so, then northward to 30°S on the meridian of Tahiti and proceed direct. More wind and speed - at the expected cost.)

Via Fiji:
This is a September-April departure. "On leaving Port Jackson, edge away to the north-eastward to cross the meridian of 170°E at lat. 30°S. Thence continue eastward (nothing to northward) as far as 176°E, when course may be altered towards the Fiji Islands.

"If not calling at Fiji, pass eastward of the group and thence steer due north to cross the equator and lat. 18°N on the 180th meridian; thence stand more to the eastward to cross the meridian of 172°W in lat 30°N. From this point proceed as directly as possible to destination."

Since the equatorial counter-current can be found around 2°-4° N, I think this old course may need to be updated with modern data. And of course each and every route needs to be adjusted for the current and expected changes to weather, ITCZ, etc.

[antc]

Hi.
I am planning a trip to Cairns Australia leaving from California via Hawaii round about Jan-Feb next year.I have done it before via Tahiti and wanted to try a more direct route i would like to get any info from anybody who has done it or has any feedback what so ever. I would be going via Kirabati etc.
Thank you and happy sailing.
Tony.

[Dsanduril]

We did this passage several years back, not much that's easier in the grand scheme of sailing passages. Left from San Francisco and went direct the Kiritimati (Christmas in the colonial way) then on through Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Lots of long passages, but they're mostly with the trades, so pretty straightforward.

Left SF in February, ducked south pretty quickly to pick up the trades, then direct to Kirabati. Took some lumps the first week, but that's to be expected leaving California in the winter. Did the same thing several years later to Hawaii (left CA in March), wouldn't see much difference in going that route then on to Kirabati.

Once you get down toward Tuvalu you have to pay a little attention to timing. The western Pacific can be pretty active all year round, so have to keep an eye on what is forming either side of the Equator. Pick a good time somewhere around June to jump to the southern hemisphere, then continue on.

No reason in the world it can't be essentially a straight shot. We had a blast.

BTW, welcome. Probably ought to start of new thread (or have the mods move these posts) since we're talking about the opposite direction.

[Flyingriki]

Originally Posted by WeatherGage

Anybody know when is the best time of year to sail from Australia to Hawaii in a 45' sloop? Thanks in advance. WG

Vanuatu to Hawaii was a long, miserable beat of 22 days. Some days we were pointing as high as possible and pointing at Russia, one morning, China.....
Could easily have ended up way out in the Hawaiian chain with several days of tacking back.
Have fun.

PS: the Captain couldn't get the boat to Fiji given the prevailing winds and was tired of the long beat so we hooked up in Vanuatu.

[Jim Cate]

Several of our Aussie friends have done Oz-Alaska via Hawaii. Their routes were Tassie to South Island NZ to the Australs to the Societies to Hawaii to Cape Flattery. Going this more southern route to Fr. Poly. avoids having to beat against the trades, but exposes you to frontal systems from the southern ocean, and these can pack a punch.

We've done Societies to Hawaii... mostly close reaching, some beating, not too bad. This was in August/September ('87).

Don't think that there is an easy way for the yellow brick road is a one-way street!

Cheers,

Jim

[Dsanduril]

Originally Posted by antc

... to Cairns Australia leaving from California via Hawaii

And therein lies the problem in tying into a an old thread with a different question, and why I suggested a new thread. This poster is asking about a trip in reverse to the thread title, from US to Oz. Can't think of anything much easier.

[antc]

Hi Dusanduril.
Thanks for the info. I will be taking a Cross 40 home to Oz. I have done the Mexico Tahiti Oz thing and wanted to try a different route.
Since its a fast tri,And favorable winds it should be a blast.
Any more info would be appreiciated.
thanks again.
Tony.

[Dsanduril]

Tony,

Where in California? We're in the Bay Area, could grab a beer if you'll be anywhere close.

Search around here on CF for a thread about paperwork entering Kiribati. US flagged boats leaving the US are not required to get clearance papers. However, there has been news here on CF that boats arriving in Kiribati without clearance papers are either getting kicked out or paying a lot. I don't have any personal experience with the problem, but it is relatively easy to obtain a clearance certificate from US Customs. Not something I would have done in the past, but something I would recommend now.

If you've done the Milk Run then from a sailing perspective this is pretty similar. You'll probably spend a lot more time on/near the Equator, pay careful attention to the currents. The counter current is not that wide, and it is very easy to go from 30 miles/day one direction to 30 miles/day the opposite direction with one day of sailing. That can really mess with your mind and put you at risk if you're not paying attention.

Enjoy, I'm jealous.