... Wondering if any old hands out there can tell me how feasible this trip would be.
My idea is to sail coastwise north along the Chinese mainland, in early autumn, then cross to
Taiwan in November and
head south with the NE monsoon.
The reason for the round-about trip is that the
boat I may
purchase in Macau is not really a
blue water sailer, so I want to avoid overnight passages. After sailing or motoring far enough north to have a favorable angle on the
wind, I plan to cross the straits in a day and harbor-hop down the
west coast of
Taiwan to Kaishung. Then, I'll cross into the
Philippines,
anchoring out in the Batanes islands at night to split up the
passage into two or more day trips.
I know that the area is prone to major typhoons, but I figure that I can make the passages without too much worry, as long as I keep them short and get the
weather right. However, I've never sailed this territory, in anything but a 600 foot cargo vessel (and that was many years ago) so any
advice would be greatly appreciated.
I am also worried that the most difficult part of the trip might be securing transit visas from Taiwan when approaching from
China. I'm an American who is a permanent PI resident, and the
boat would probably still be Macau registered at the time of the trip.
Any
advice from anyone with first or 2nd hand knowledge of the area, visa issues or potential
registration or
customs problems, would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks folks,
Goner