Australia To Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar Route

[theway]

I’m currently heading north like many other boats up the Queensland coast. I’m planning to continue north up through Indonesia and around the top of the Indian Ocean. (as shown in attached image) I’m guessing some of you will be doing the same this year or have done something similar.

I have a few specific questions and would also welcome any feedback or detours regarding my proposed timing and/or locations. My main concern is avoiding tropical storms (cyclone/hurricane) seasons. The many documents and books I’ve looked at seem to suggest a path/timing like the one in the image.

So...
1: Any preference on an Australian departure port? Darwin or Thursday Island? Visa ends November 1st, hoping to be in Indonesia mid October to avoid possible storms in Timor sea. Darwin to Kupang seems simple.

2: Is April a good time to leave Sri Lanka for Maldives and then to Seychelles. Every seasonal map suggests this is a good time to avoid storms.

3: How is the cruising in West Madagascar? Can I spend 3 months there waiting for December/January to go around South Africa?

4: What else is there to consider or research?

Thanks,
austin

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by theway

I have a few specific questions and would also welcome any feedback or detours regarding my proposed timing and/or locations. My main concern is avoiding tropical storms (cyclone/hurricane) seasons. The many documents and books I’ve looked at seem to suggest a path/timing like the one in the image.

So...
1: Any preference on an Australian departure port? Darwin or Thursday Island? Visa ends November 1st, hoping to be in Indonesia mid October to avoid possible storms in Timor sea. Darwin to Kupang seems simple.

Whether you exit from Darwin or TI depends on your chosen port of entry in Indonesia.

When you leave is important. I vote for July, when the SE winds S of the Equator are dependable and the SW winds N of the Equator are similar.

Sure, it's good not to be caught by a tropical cyclone in the Arafura or Timor Seas.

But you also have to know where you'll be when the squalls of the later SW monsoon hit. And the squalls of the intermonsoon too.

I reckon the smarter skippers leaving Aus for SE Asia already are sitting at anchor (or in marina berths) in Malaysia, having completed their transit of Indonesian waters. So I suggest you leave TI a week ago. Tomorrow would be good. Day after not so good.

Heed the wisdom of Chinese who have sailed and lived in SE Asia for centuries. When the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts is happening, the Gates of Hell will open and thunderstorms and line squalls that can destroy a ship of the line are likely.

[theway]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

Whether you exit from Darwin or TI depends on your chosen port of entry in Indonesia.

When you leave is important. I vote for July, when the SE winds S of the Equator are dependable and the SW winds N of the Equator are similar.

Sure, it's good not to be caught by a tropical cyclone in the Arafura or Timor Seas.

But you also have to know where you'll be when the squalls of the later SW monsoon hit. And the squalls of the intermonsoon too.

I reckon the smarter skippers leaving Aus for SE Asia already are sitting at anchor (or in marina berths) in Malaysia, having completed their transit of Indonesian waters. So I suggest you leave TI a week ago. Tomorrow would be good. Day after not so good.

Heed the wisdom of Chinese who have sailed and lived in SE Asia for centuries. When the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts is happening, the Gates of Hell will open and thunderstorms and line squalls that can destroy a ship of the line are likely.

Thanks for the response...
Well, I'm 670 miles from Thursday Island, and another week planned for the Whitsundays so a week ago, tomorrow, and day after are out of the question. I haven't read anything that makes SE Asia sound as bad as you do for thunderstorms and line squalls. I understand that they happen, and theres a lot of rain, but Gates of Hell? Do you have any statistical information or graphs that could help me visualize that sentiment? At this point arriving in Kupang early October seems most likely.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by theway

Thanks for the response...
Well, I'm 670 miles from Thursday Island, and another week planned for the Whitsundays so a week ago, tomorrow, and day after are out of the question. I haven't read anything that makes SE Asia sound as bad as you do for thunderstorms and line squalls. I understand that they happen, and theres a lot of rain, but Gates of Hell? Do you have any statistical information or graphs that could help me visualize that sentiment? At this point arriving in Kupang early October seems most likely.

You do understand the 4 seasons of SE Asia, no? If we talk about anywhere N of the Equator, then those seasons are: the NE monsoon, an intermonsoon, the SW monsoon, then yet another monsoon. Just S of the Equator, in those parts of the Maritime Continent that are just in the S hemisphere plus places such as the NT and N QLD of Aus, the equivalents are: the NW monsoon, an intermonsoon, the SE monsoon, followed by yet another intermonsoon.

You have researched tropical cyclones in the Maritime Continent aka Indonesia, no? You have noted that places such as Saumlaki on Yamdena (a neat entry and exit port and a great place to visit) at latitude 7.5 S has been hit at least twice in my lifetime by cyclones, once in April and once in December from memory.

You have researched line squalls, the squalls so named because they can destroy a "ship of the line" meaning a battleship, and their other names: Sumatera (or Sumatra), barat (wester or westerly) and so on? You have read how some anchorages, such as Singapore, were regarded in the 19th century by sailors as so dangerous because of line squalls that they were the "graveyards of ships"? And you've researched the other line squalls that form over and around the warm moist landmasses such as Kalimantan and Sulawesi, right?

You've worked your way through the available resources, such as these excellent websites from Singapore (with stats and so on if you look in the right place), no?:

Climate of Singapore | (start with the table of seasons/monsoons)
Weather Systems | (make sure you click on the Sumatra squall topic and watch the animated weather radar gig)
Severe Weather |

And of course you've talked to the people who organise any of Darwin to xx rallies and asked them why they generally schedule their departure dates in the range July to mid-August (depending on the year)?

[Dauntlessny]

Have you looked at Jimmy Cornell's World Cruising Routes?
I would start there.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

And of course you've talked to the people who organise any of Darwin to xx rallies and asked them why they generally schedule their departure dates in the range July to mid-August (depending on the year)?

I personally think that when the Darwin-XX rallies delay their departure date to mid-August, they're making an error. And that they are doing it to fit in with Indonesian politics, such as the gesture of having foreign cruisers around town for national day and similar celebrations.

If you've not averse, like some I could name, to using marinetraffic.com and other AIS data aggregators for navigation, I'd suggest looking at the anchorages in Indonesia and Malaysia. My guess is that anchorages will show cruisers already in the good spots along the Malacca Straits coast of Malaysia.

Note that this year, the Hungry Ghost Month overlaps with Eid al Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice. Eid al Adha (aka Hari Raya Korban and similar names) is of course the feast associated with Abram (Abraham) taking his son for a walk up the hill because the big G told him to do so. I think you know Lenny Cohen's song, right? That's when Aus live sheep and cattle exporters make money.

Be alert when choosing an anchorage around that time, so you and your boat are not the sacrifice. Not because of the locals and their habit of sacrifice, but because of the t-storms. I've been in a Singapore marina and seen lightning strikes on a boat on the hard. In that same marina, I saw a yacht depart and then struggle back to berth, this time without any electronics or electrics.

[daletournier]

Hi, ive depated Australia via Darwin and Thursday island. Unless you particularly want to go to Darwin I would check out at TI. Darwin adds quite a few miles to the trip and Cape Don can be tuff if conditions arent right. Also theres often not much wind intially leaving Darwin. TI is easy.

Ive travelled through Indonesia twice, through the inside and the west side of sumatra as well as from the North ,south of the Phillipines. The previous poster is correct about strong squallsbut im not sure about hells gate..lol. Be prepared when at anchor for the strong squalls, they dont often last long.

April is possibly a little early to leave Sri Lanka , there was a deep low forming around Chagos area late April this year and also NE of Madagascar by memory. If you want to go to the Seychelles you dont want to leave there to late, it can be a very tough sail from there to Madagascar once the trades are fully established, best head to Comores or Mayotte from Madagascar if your leaving late June-July.

Im in Nosybe Madagascar now. No problem hanging around here for 3mths. You get a 3 mth visa, if you want more you can do a visa run to Mayotte. Nosybe is nice and easy.

Theres a indian ocean crossing Facebook site running, you need to be invited.

I would be getting a move on. You want to be up to Malaysia prior to November as the winds will change. Carry plenty of fuel filters through Indo its possible to get dirty fuel.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Ive travelled through Indonesia twice, through the inside and the west side of sumatra as well as from the North ,south of the Phillipines. The previous poster is correct about strong squallsbut im not sure about hells gate..lol. Be prepared when at anchor for the strong squalls, they dont often last long.

Geez, Dale, I'm right sorry to hear that you've spent time in Indonesia and Malaysia (and for that matter in the Philippines) and:

1. not learned much about local culture (including the culture of the Chinese in all three of the above, plus Singapore, Thailand etc etc); and

2. not even learned how to spell "Philippines".

For the Gates of Hell and Hungry Ghosts, I can only refer you to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Festival (look for four references to the Gates of Hell being open)

and

https://gbtimes.com/gates-hell-open-...ghost-festival

[theway]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Hi, ive depated Australia via Darwin and Thursday island. Unless you particularly want to go to Darwin I would check out at TI. Darwin adds quite a few miles to the trip and Cape Don can be tuff if conditions arent right. Also theres often not much wind intially leaving Darwin. TI is easy.

Ive travelled through Indonesia twice, through the inside and the west side of sumatra as well as from the North ,south of the Phillipines. The previous poster is correct about strong squallsbut im not sure about hells gate..lol. Be prepared when at anchor for the strong squalls, they dont often last long.

April is possibly a little early to leave Sri Lanka , there was a deep low forming around Chagos area late April this year and also NE of Madagascar by memory. If you want to go to the Seychelles you dont want to leave there to late, it can be a very tough sail from there to Madagascar once the trades are fully established, best head to Comores or Mayotte from Madagascar if your leaving late June-July.

Im in Nosybe Madagascar now. No problem hanging around here for 3mths. You get a 3 mth visa, if you want more you can do a visa run to Mayotte. Nosybe is nice and easy.

Theres a indian ocean crossing Facebook site running, you need to be invited.

I would be getting a move on. You want to be up to Malaysia prior to November as the winds will change. Carry plenty of fuel filters through Indo its possible to get dirty fuel.

Thanks for the info. Definitely helpful. I sat through a few spring/summer thunderstorms here in Australia and like to have my anchor down and secure before they start building in the afternoon. If it’s not too much worse than that I think I’ll manage even though I’d rather avoid them.

I’ll definitely start making a fast Lee pace after the Whitsundays and thanks for the advice on leaving from TI, the pilots seem to suggest the same.

Also leaving Sri Lanka later than April seems like a good idea. From the pilots and books, there’s a period around May that looks good before the tropical storms start off India’s west coast. Not too early and not too late.

Thanks again.

[daletournier]

I spent 5-6 years cruising Asia Alan, I'm reasonably familiar with it from a cruising perspective, met a couple of Asians along the way as well!

Regarding the squalls etc, yes of course they exist and sometimes can be quite bad BUT boats transit the straits and other places all year round. As I mentioned I also cruised the west coast of Sumatra thus I'm very familiar with the squalls you talk about. And yes lightening can be bad around Singapore as well BUT most boats don't get hit.

Your right the Op should get a move on but it's not to late to go.

Thanks for picking me up on my grammar

[theway]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

You do understand the 4 seasons of SE Asia, no? If we talk about anywhere N of the Equator, then those seasons are: the NE monsoon, an intermonsoon, the SW monsoon, then yet another monsoon. Just S of the Equator, in those parts of the Maritime Continent that are just in the S hemisphere plus places such as the NT and N QLD of Aus, the equivalents are: the NW monsoon, an intermonsoon, the SE monsoon, followed by yet another intermonsoon.

You have researched tropical cyclones in the Maritime Continent aka Indonesia, no? You have noted that places such as Saumlaki on Yamdena (a neat entry and exit port and a great place to visit) at latitude 7.5 S has been hit at least twice in my lifetime by cyclones, once in April and once in December from memory.

You have researched line squalls, the squalls so named because they can destroy a "ship of the line" meaning a battleship, and their other names: Sumatera (or Sumatra), barat (wester or westerly) and so on? You have read how some anchorages, such as Singapore, were regarded in the 19th century by sailors as so dangerous because of line squalls that they were the "graveyards of ships"? And you've researched the other line squalls that form over and around the warm moist landmasses such as Kalimantan and Sulawesi, right?

You've worked your way through the available resources, such as these excellent websites from Singapore (with stats and so on if you look in the right place), no?:

Climate of Singapore | (start with the table of seasons/monsoons)
Weather Systems | (make sure you click on the Sumatra squall topic and watch the animated weather radar gig)
Severe Weather |

And of course you've talked to the people who organise any of Darwin to xx rallies and asked them why they generally schedule their departure dates in the range July to mid-August (depending on the year)?

I have been learning about the seasons and still gathering much information about how they concern a small yacht, rain, storms, etc. I have looked at several books including world cruising routes, and many/most say that cyclones are a small threat to Indonesia at any time of year. Most do mention thunderstorms and rain.

I haven’t seen too much on line squalls and didn’t know that is why they call them that, so thanks for sharing that bit. I check forecasts daily, often many times a day when possible. Usually via Windy or BOM or whatever local sources are available.

The Singapore resources you listed are excellent, thank you. I have been a bit more focused on Indonesia and see that BOM has a little coverage there as well. I like to look/listen to as many forecast as possible.

Many thanks, I’m obviously trying to gather as many perspectives as possible hence the post here as well as guide books and other personal accounts/blogs/recommendations.

[theway]

Originally Posted by Dauntlessny

Have you looked at Jimmy Cornell's World Cruising Routes?
I would start there.

Definitely have, thanks... that, along with the pilots and other guide books is how I got this rough itinerary.

[theway]

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

You have researched line squalls, the squalls so named because they can destroy a "ship of the line" meaning a battleship, and their other names: Sumatera (or Sumatra), barat (wester or westerly) and so on? You have read how some anchorages, such as Singapore, were regarded in the 19th century by sailors as so dangerous because of line squalls that they were the "graveyards of ships"? And you've researched the other line squalls that form over and around the warm moist landmasses such as Kalimantan and Sulawesi, right?

Here’s one of the things I’ve found, and it shows January, February, and December and the best months.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by theway

I haven’t seen too much on line squalls and didn’t know that is why they call them that, so thanks for sharing that bit. I check forecasts daily, often many times a day when possible. Usually via Windy or BOM or whatever local sources are available.

The Singapore resources you listed are excellent, thank you. I have been a bit more focused on Indonesia and see that BOM has a little coverage there as well. I like to look/listen to as many forecast as possible.

1. on line squalls: Windy has made some recent improvements to its models and claims to be better at predicting thunderstorms (my understanding of a line squall is a linear set of t-storm cells, of the sort that Singapore weather calls intense t-storms).

GRIBs with CAPE and CIN values allow you to work out the conditions in which line squalls might form. But I've not a handle on how accurate that was. And some years see almost no line squalls. In other years, during the Hungry Ghost month the open Gates of Hell are marked by some of the most vicious lightning and t-storms you'll see anywhere.

I take the view that tropical weather can be (but is not always) so chaotic that it is close to unpredictable.

Line squalls do show up on radar and usually can announced themselves as a dark bar on the horizon. We spent 5+ years in SE Asia and have met up to 3 line squalls in quick succession on one occasion - each had peak winds of 40-50 knots. By the third squall (each was spaced perhaps an hour apart from the one before) the sea state was quite well developed for 40 knots (if you get my message). Around Singapore in the Malacca Strait, line squalls are often pre-dawn events. In parts of Indonesia particularly around Kalimantan and Sulawesi, a warm day can generate line squalls at any time of the night.

When sailing, I think you need to have a line squall procedure. That's up to you, but it might include: keeping a strict watch on the horizon for those black bars; lightning precautions; and then various measures ranging from reefing hard to knowing in what direction you can run before hitting coral etc. Line squalls can behave in unpredictable ways. We've seen a few: what you would expect an assault from one direction; the afore-mentioned three-wave assault; and (but only once) a line squall that split in two and left us untouched but ran N and S.

When choosing an anchorage, consider what you would do if you're hit with 40+ knot winds for 1-2 hours. That can mean plotting an escape route, but it also means considering your swing radius; and having excellent snubbing and chafe equipment.　

2. Singapore has the government capacity to deliver services. Indonesia does not. Malaysia is intermediate (meaning you can download a govt app for Android smart devices that gives country-wide weather radar, but otherwise local weather forecasts seem so general as to be useless).

3. Be prepared in anchorages in Indonesia and Malaysia to be asked by small-scale fishers to move because they want to net that area. It's their livelihood.

4. Of course be aware of the major fishing techniques and how they affect you. They range from a net some distance below the surface but suspended from visible white buoys (such that, depending on your draft, you might be able to cross mid-way between two buoys) through to various fish attraction devices (FAD) from palm fronds up to buildings.

5. Malaysia has some anchorages and marinas (Port Dickson, Pangkor, Langkawi) in which you can sit out foul weather. Some ports in Malaysia have technical backup for most anything you need, from galvanizing chain through to repairing your electron microscope (e.g. Penang). Singapore can do anything, but at a cost roughly equivalent to or just a little less expensive than Aus.

6. Small remote villages in Indonesia are just wonderful. We've received embarrassing amounts of young coconuts and fresh fish. Cities on the other hand can be foul and unfriendly. YMMV

7. Do not expect locals, including maritime officials, to understand your concerns with draft and coral. We had Indonesian maritime officials ask us to re-anchor near their office so they could watch us. And they expect us, like local pinisi, to have legs or to be happy to lay on our sides at low tide. Similarly assurances that an anchorage 'tiada kurang' was free of coral was without value.

I still advise early exit from AU to Indon so you have dependable wind. Leave it too late and you'll be motoring. And dealing with squalls in anchorages and island/sea combinations that are nasty.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by theway

Here’s one of the things I’ve found, and it shows January, February, and December and the best months.

Yeah. That's the NE monsoon. And a smart person doing what you outlined might want to use those NE winds to move W and S from the Andaman Sea or Sri Lanka, no?

See Dale's suggestions.

Or read how Arab/Indian/Chinese seafarers in pre-modern times sailed to and from E China via SE Asia to Sri Lanka and on to Yemen etc. Or read about the migratory raptors that fly to and from Pacific Russia to Indonesia etc.