Winds Sailing South from Luzon in March

[Gone2long]

I am working on a plan sail to the Visayas in early March. Wondering if anyone has any experience sailing south from Luzon at that time of the year. Need help learning a bit more about what the winds may be like.

The information that I have read is derived from studies done over a number of years, but they are probably outdated. The info indicates that the winds are still predominantly easterly through March.

Any comments, advice, or shared experience would be greatly appreciated.

G2L

[StuM]

Check out Climatology of Global Ocean Winds

Very much Nor'easterly

[Gone2long]

Originally Posted by StuM

Check out Climatology of Global Ocean Winds

Very much Nor'easterly

Will do. Thanks,

G2L

[Pelagic]

I sail that area a lot and in early March you are getting mostly NE to Easterly winds starting to become light and variable as you get into Aipril's transition period.

Beautiful weather but the hottest period, so good use of thermals if coasting.

If you care to share your intended passage, I can make some suggestions as to best sailing route and POI

[sailcrazy]

We lived and worked in Subic Bay for 10-11 years, and took a "big" trip south every year on our 43' monohull sailboat. We usually left in mid March, and were out for 6-7 weeks. I'd recommend Maya Maya, Puerto Galera, down to PanDan Island/or Apo Reeef, down to and around Busuanga, to Coron and Sanget Island(sp?) and the surrounding area, and on to ne Palawan and El Nido. Great cruising grounds in our opinion. Enjoy!

[Gone2long]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

I sail that area a lot and in early March you are getting mostly NE to Easterly winds starting to become light and variable as you get into Aipril's transition period.

Beautiful weather but the hottest period, so good use of thermals if coasting.

If you care to share your intended passage, I can make some suggestions as to best sailing route and POI

Thanks for sharing your experience.

The itinerary is wide open at the moment, so your advice will be greatly appreciated. The first leg of the trip would be from Subic to Batangas or Puerto Galera via a stop over in Nasugbu. I am just getting back into sailing after many years, so we will probably be day sailing mostly, stopping a lot along the way to relax, take stores and water, etc.

Was planning to take the inside passage, and I am not sure if it is a good idea to hug the Bicol coast or scoot down the east coast of Mindoro and cut over to Marinduque. Next stop could be the Bondoc peninsula of Bicol which is relatively unpopulated but looks like a nice area to dive/fish, then to the north island of Masbate and down it's east coast, til I can cross over to Calbayog or Catbalogan Samar.


I imagine that the winds near the coast are probably less reliable, but a lot of where we go when will depend on decent, safe anchorages and the availability of water, fuel, etc. We are not set up for long cruises at the moment, which is another reason I don't want to make any long passages unless we have to.

Ultimate destination will be western Samar or Tacloban City, Leyte where the boat will be staying for the foreseeable future. Want to note that this will be a leisurely cruise, with the limiting factor probably be the onset of the SW monsoon, which, as you note, will probably start to hit in April.

My sincere thanks for your reply. I am anxious to hear your suggestions.

Best regards,

G2L

[Alii]

How about NO wind. In March-April 2014 we motored 95% of the time. Several complete days of motoring across seas flat as a mirror, not a whipser of breeze. It is a beautiful, no-hassle place to cruise, however, and we hope to be back next March-April -- even if it means a lot of motoring.

[Gone2long]

Originally Posted by sailcrazy

We lived and worked in Subic Bay for 10-11 years, and took a "big" trip south every year on our 43' monohull sailboat. We usually left in mid March, and were out for 6-7 weeks. I'd recommend Maya Maya, Puerto Galera, down to PanDan Island/or Apo Reeef, down to and around Busuanga, to Coron and Sanget Island(sp?) and the surrounding area, and on to ne Palawan and El Nido. Great cruising grounds in our opinion. Enjoy!

Hi,

Yeah, that is the scenic route, alright. Have been to Maya Maya, which is one possibility for the Nasugbu stop over, and Apo Reef has always called. However, this route takes me out of my way, in that we are heading to W. Samar/Leyte. Four to Six weeks is what I figured we'd take, taking our time the whole way as noted in my post above.

Thanks for the suggestions; still not perfectly sure how exactly I am going to get from point A to point B, at the moment.

Best regards,

G2L

[Gone2long]

Originally Posted by Alii

How about NO wind. In March-April 2014 we motored 95% of the time. Several complete days of motoring across seas flat as a mirror, not a whipser of breeze. It is a beautiful, no-hassle place to cruise, however, and we hope to be back next March-April -- even if it means a lot of motoring.

Indeed, hence my mention of the need for fuel stops and preference for day sailing noted above. Not excited about maneuvering around fishing nets and ferries in the middle of the night, with limited or no sources of "reliable power".


The data on wind is collected over a decade or so and represents "average" conditions, but any one year can be significantly different than another. This year, we are expecting another el nino, or was it la nina event, (need to check on that) and I am not sure how this condition will effect the onset of the SW monsoon. As you probably know, the monsoon will vary and swing one way or the other by a week or two in various years.

Lots to considee, so I appreciate hearing about your experience.

G2L

[Gone2long]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

I sail that area a lot and in early March you are getting mostly NE to Easterly winds starting to become light and variable as you get into Aipril's transition period.

Beautiful weather but the hottest period, so good use of thermals if coasting.

If you care to share your intended passage, I can make some suggestions as to best sailing route and POI

In my post above on my intended route, I meant first the northern most island of Masbate, then south to the main island and continuing south on Masbate's eastern coast til I cross over to Samar. There are also a number of small islands in the channel between S. Masbate and Samar, where I may want to stop. Don't know anything about these places, however.

Thanks for your help.

G2L

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Gone2long

.... we are heading to W. Samar/Leyte. Four to Six weeks is what I figured we'd take, taking our time the whole way as noted in my post above.

Sounds like you are mostly in delivery mode towards W Samar/ Babatnon area.

What is your fuel range?

As you know limited and rough dock availability in the Visayas. Best option is to logistically plan to refuel alongside the Ro/Ro terminals where a jeepney can deliver a few drums at a decent price.

I recently did a long road trip thru the Visayas so I have up to date info on terminals

PM me with your cell # and we can get together to discuss at SBYC

[Pelagic]

One other note on your route planning.

March is when you are getting the greatest number of Whale Shark interactions in the Donsol Area (25 a day)

[Gone2long]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Sounds like you are mostly in delivery mode towards W Samar/ Babatnon area.

What is your fuel range?

As you know limited and rough dock availability in the Visayas. Best option is to logistically plan to refuel alongside the Ro/Ro terminals where a jeepney can deliver a few drums at a decent price.

I recently did a long road trip thru the Visayas so I have up to date info on terminals

PM me with your cell # and we can get together to discuss at SBYC

I wouldn't call a six week trip to the Visayas exactly a "delivery" mode, but, yeah, depending on some stuff going on with the family, it will probably be best to take the most direct route.

Will PM you with the cell in the very near future. Best idea is to text, as I don't always hear the ring.

Regards,

G2L

[sailcrazy]

FWIW...We did the fuel problem by carrying 3-4 plastic 5-gal jerry cans on deck. When we dropped the pick at/near a town, we'd dinghy the jerries in, hire a trike to the local fuel station, fill them and return via dinghy to the boat, where we used a Baha filter and poured them into our tank. And then do it again and again until we were full. Pick a fuel station that seems busy...if there's a choice. We only got bad/questionable fuel 1 time. And we did a similar maneuver for water. It worked!
Also, Cebu had a marina that had some services...don't know if it's still in operation, though

[Alii]

We followed the consistent advice from many, many friends who visited Cebu in 2013 and early 2014 -- to Cebu City, especially the so-called marina, for numerous reasons. Instead went around the east side of the Camotes and had a great 3-day layover in Palompon. Protected anchorage, easy dinghy access, good provisioning, ATMs about 20 steps from the water. Filled our jerry jugs with diesel at the fuel station one block from where we tied the dinghy.