Best Route to Brisbane from Cairns - Advice, Please

[Scare_Rab]

the vessel is in Cairns.

Could leave her with trusted Family in Brisbane.

Do *NOT* have the months available to go west_about (via Perth).

No time either to await that (Possible) Xmas Northerly.

The prospect of sailing Coast-wise south is daunting... getting up every day to bash south into the face of the SE Trades.

? Q1. Does it make any more sense to head out into the Coral sea, turning the trip from a long series of day trips into an Ocean passage ?? = doing a big "Zig" before a "Zag" back to the Coast around Moreton Bay?

? Q2. Or, if I going to go to so much bother, why not simply bite the bullet and head home ... across the Coral Sea, on into the Tasman - aiming for landfall in Auckland / NZ ?

Suggestions / Questions / comments ...welcomed

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by Scare_Rab

? Q2. Or, if I going to go to so much bother, why not simply bite the bullet and head home ... across the Coral Sea, on into the Tasman - aiming for landfall in Auckland / NZ ?

If home is NZ, just go there. That's easier than the other options you mentioned. . . . but is the boat ready for an offshore passage?

[maxingout]

I used to have a Westsail 32 which is a Colin Archer design. It carried its beam quite far forward, and was underballasted so that it was tender with the rounded bilges.

I don't know what I would choose to do among the choices you have presented if I was in my Westsail 32. Going to windward in my Westsail was very tough unless I sailed at least 55 degrees off the wind. That gave me a tacking angle of 110 degrees which discouraged me when I was sailing to windward in rough seas. If I pinched it any closer than that when going to windward in tradewind seas, my progress to windward was painfully slow.

If my Westsail 32 was in good shape, I would probably start out heading south and just see what the wind and weather gods had in store for me. Then I would go with the flow and roll with the punches. I would take whatever turned out to be the path of least resistance, and I would not know what that path would be until I actually set sail.

[cat man do]

Cairns to Brisbane
Head south, keep the land on the right hand side

The prospect of sailing Coast-wise south is daunting... getting up every day to bash south into the face of the SE Trades.

Many get up before daybreak and motor like crazy so as to get some miles up before the SE kicks in around 10-00am

Brisbane to NZ
I think most who do this trip actually head down to Coffs Harbour or even Sydney for the jump off, I may be wrong, but I reckon you'll be punching hard into it all the way if leaving to NZ from Brisbane