Hi Cruzy,
We returned home to Fremantle from Langkawi earlier this year in our 34'
cutter.
We made our way south to
Singapore between December and February. We cleared in to
Indonesia at Nongsa Point in early March. Very little
wind to that point apart from a couple of thunderstorms (as usual).
We sailed non-stop from Nongsa to Benoa, Bali in March. Winds in the Java Sea were light and the
passage took 10 days. It was a very nice sail on the last of the NW monsoon. Plenty of
commercial traffic so
AIS recommended.
In Bali we waited for the end of cyclone season. In late April a depression came past Bali and delayed our departure by a few days to early May. We departed for Dampier and had a fantastic close reach across the Timor Sea. A few thunderstorms about as we closed the Australian coast.
We spent several days in Dampier. From there we sailed to Exmouth, Geraldton and Fremantle, arriving in early June. The sail down the
west coast was better than expected. We waited for one cold front to pass through while in Geraldton.
To get to Melbourne you'd need to push on fairly quickly to avoid crossing the Bight in mid-winter.
An alternative would be to cross the Timor Sea just prior to the cyclone season in order to cross the Bight in summer. Or
cruise the WA coast for a while!
For more details of our trip see our blog.
Cheers,