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Mr B · 30-03-2018, 15:53

Hi All,

I would like to hear from People who have crossed the Bight from Perth to Adelaide in a Cat.
From Adelaide to Melbourne thru Bass Straight, What parts are best to avoid,

Would it be better to go from Adelaide to Hobart down the west coast of Tassie, Than thru Bass Straight, Then up the East coast of Tassie,
I will be heading for Western Port Bay in Victoria, My Home Port,

Are there any safe moorings along the coast underneath South Australia,
Suitable for sight seeing, Etc, Or to avoid bad weather, And just to get a rest,

Is it safe to be near the cliffs or do you need to be a fair way off shore, And how far off shore,

Is it deep water near the cliffs or shallow and full of reefs,

What would be the sea state most of the time, Being the top of the Southern ocean,
What time of year is best to avoid crossing,

I will be single handing, and have a two foot draught, 34 foot Cat,

Thanks, Brian,

Steadman Uhlich · 30-03-2018, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr B

Hi All,

I would like to hear from People who have crossed the Bight from Perth to Adelaide in a Cat.
From Adelaide to Melbourne thru Bass Straight, What parts are best to avoid,

Would it be better to go from Adelaide to Hobart down the west coast of Tassie, Than thru Bass Straight, Then up the East coast of Tassie,
I will be heading for Western Port Bay in Victoria, My Home Port,

Are there any safe moorings along the coast underneath South Australia,
Suitable for sight seeing, Etc, Or to avoid bad weather, And just to get a rest,

Is it safe to be near the cliffs or do you need to be a fair way off shore, And how far off shore,

Is it deep water near the cliffs or shallow and full of reefs,

What would be the sea state most of the time, Being the top of the Southern ocean,
What time of year is best to avoid crossing,

I will be single handing, and have a two foot draught, 34 foot Cat,

Thanks, Brian,

Howdy Brian.

I have not sailed that area yet, but it is a part of the world I would like to see and sail, so I have done some research on going from Perth to Melbourne.

From my notes:
"The Western Australian Cruising Guide” by the Fremantle Sailing Club suggests the best time for the West to East crossing of the Bight is October to November or late February to March.

You can purchase that cruising guide for about $79 AUD directly from that cruising club. You can find the link by google for the club name. That guide is spiral bound, and as I recall about 300 pages. It describes the coast, anchorages, suggested routes and times. As I recall it is updated fairly often and was done recently.

The pilot chart should tell you expected winds and seas for the month you choose. I examined one while studying that route, but you would need to pick a specific month as the winds change with the seasons.
Those can be viewed for free online.
__________

Is there a special reason you are singlehanding that voyage, and not taking crew to help you?
__________

Good luck on your voyage and have a safe fun trip. Bon Voyage!

Reefmagnet · 30-03-2018, 18:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steadman Uhlich

Howdy Brian.

I have not sailed that area yet, but it is a part of the world I would like to see and sail, so I have done some research on going from Perth to Melbourne.

From my notes:
"The Western Australian Cruising Guide” by the Fremantle Sailing Club suggests the best time for the West to East crossing of the Bight is October to November or late February to March.

You can purchase that cruising guide for about $79 AUD directly from that cruising club. You can find the link by google for the club name. That guide is spiral bound, and as I recall about 300 pages. It describes the coast, anchorages, suggested routes and times. As I recall it is updated fairly often and was done recently.

The pilot chart should tell you expected winds and seas for the month you choose. I examined one while studying that route, but you would need to pick a specific month as the winds change with the seasons.
Those can be viewed for free online.
__________

Is there a special reason you are singlehanding that voyage, and not taking crew to help you?
__________

Good luck on your voyage and have a safe fun trip. Bon Voyage!

They no longer publish this guide, but it is available for download from their website (for free):

https://www.fsc.com.au/onwater/cruising/

Boatguy30 · 30-03-2018, 18:20

Know friends that have gone the otherwise in Top hat 25 keeler

Boatguy30 · 30-03-2018, 18:24

Must be some rivers or small craft harbors along the coast you can get into with a 2' draft?

Or is that coast totally desolate?

Reefmagnet · 30-03-2018, 18:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

Must be some rivers or small craft harbors along the coast you can get into with a 2' draft?

Or is that coast totally desolate?

Yep totally desolate. There ain't nothing and it's a multi day trip. Also, because it's a bight, you also have to navigate a fair way offshore for most of the passage.

Wanderlust · 30-03-2018, 18:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

They no longer publish this guide, but it is available for download from their website (for free):

https://www.fsc.com.au/onwater/cruising/

Wow. What a wealth of information for free. Almost 600 pages packed with details.

Mr B · 30-03-2018, 18:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steadman Uhlich

Howdy Brian.

I have not sailed that area yet, but it is a part of the world I would like to see and sail, so I have done some research on going from Perth to Melbourne.

From my notes:
"The Western Australian Cruising Guide” by the Fremantle Sailing Club suggests the best time for the West to East crossing of the Bight is October to November or late February to March.

You can purchase that cruising guide for about $79 AUD directly from that cruising club. You can find the link by google for the club name. That guide is spiral bound, and as I recall about 300 pages. It describes the coast, anchorages, suggested routes and times. As I recall it is updated fairly often and was done recently.

The pilot chart should tell you expected winds and seas for the month you choose. I examined one while studying that route, but you would need to pick a specific month as the winds change with the seasons.
Those can be viewed for free online.
__________

Is there a special reason you are singlehanding that voyage, and not taking crew to help you?
__________

Good luck on your voyage and have a safe fun trip. Bon Voyage!

Thanks for that Uhlich, Is that your first name or surname, Im not sure, So sorry if I got it wrong,
There are plenty of books on crossing the Bight, I have driven across the top of it,
Magnificent scenery, Approx 2000 miles across the Bight,
I live in Melbourne and we get all the weather straight up from the Antartic,
It gets jammed between The Adelaide hills and Tasmania's west coast, and we cop it here,
It intensifies as it crosses Bass Straight,
The bad weather here is some thing else, Think Northern Atlantic and triple it,
Sydney Hobart race, where a lot of the boats sank,
Bureau of Meteorology is very good for the weather here,
We get the same weather here as the Bight,

But I wanted some one who has actually sailed across and parked along the way, If they have parked in any places across there or it is just unsuitable, and to keep well clear,

It has 200 foot vertical cliffs most of the way, And nothing between them and Antartica,
The Bight is the Southern Ocean,
I am very wary of the Southern Ocean, It does have some Very Big Monster waves,
Where the Tasman Sea doesnt worry me, East Coast of Australia,

I will be on my way home after going around Australia, Via the Kimberlys in northern Australia, Coming down the west coast,
My Cat is only a small one and I can sail it very easily by myself,

I also stress out when I have some one elses life in my hands, Crew, Passengers, Etc,
It can effect clear and concise thoughts when its needed, I dont need that sort of Hassle,
I prefer to do it on my own,

Thanks, Brian,

Steadman Uhlich · 30-03-2018, 18:54

The Western Australia Cruising Guide (see link posted up above) is free and online. It has 596 pages of very good information in it, with chartlets and photos of anchorages and descriptive text. The latest edition is 2017.
Before taking that route or voyage, I would download to two devices and read it.

The relevant section for the Bight (from Cape Leeuwen to Eucla) is covered starting on page 500.

That page will answer most of your questions regarding winds and currents. It also has a warning about anchorages and recommended anchor type.

Good luck.
_______

P.S. I go by Steadman or Steady (here on CF). Either is OK. Uhlich is my last (surname).

Mr B · 30-03-2018, 19:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

Must be some rivers or small craft harbors along the coast you can get into with a 2' draft?

Or is that coast totally desolate?

Does this answer your question, Hahahaha,
Thats why I asked,
Its very desolate,
That road along the top is the longest straight road in Australia,
I have driven across it,

Steadman Uhlich · 30-03-2018, 19:57

The photo you posted is impressive (I have seen similar photos of that Coast).

It reminds me of some parts of California, with the high bluffs and rugged rocky unpopulated coast. Similarly a lee shore with large Pacific swells at times.

HankOnthewater · 30-03-2018, 20:04

Hi Mr B. From Perth to Esperance can be done in relatively short hops, and yes smaller boats than yours have done that trip. I will try to find the website of a guy in a ~30 ft Duncanson, I met him 3 years ago. Right now a UFO 34 leaving for Hobart in Tasmania., although with 2 crew on board. I have sailed that trip once.

Personally I would not sail close to the cliffs, except for making photos/videos……. There is no room for error, particularly when singlehandedly. But if you want to know more about the West coast of South Australia read “the cruising guide to Historic West Coast Ports” by Graham Scarce.

The next stop after Esperance is either Ceduna (when there are Easterlies blowing and waiting for favourable winds) or otherwise Pt Lincoln. This is the longest stretch 700-800Nm. After that one can divert to Adelaide, but a visit to Kangaroo Island would be more delightful in my opinion.
Down the Eastern side of South Australia, there are numerous ports, often 1-3 days’ sailing apart, all the way to Cape Otway, with Apollo Bay another good rest point. Just mind the large amount of cray (lobster)pots. Nicest harbour (IMO) would be Port Fairy.

If you have good reasons, go to Melbourne, otherwise skip that. Around Wilsons Promontory there is Refuge Cove. Even if you do not need protection from a front, a very nice place to anchor. There are more ports on the Victoria East coast although some harbours are a bit tricky to enter, I believe, when seas are up. I have not entered any of them, I stayed well offshore.
Soon you round the corner and find Eden an easy place to enter and rest. Then the harbours/anchorages are almost a day’s sail apart. Check the book “Cruising the NSW coast”

If you are leaving this Autumn/Winter, count on the fact that you will get at least 3 or 4 fronts during the 3-4 weeks of sailing. And not many places to hide, and the coast is always the lee shore.
I think it could work well that time of the year if
* you depart Perth on an approaching front and arrive in Albany (~300 Nm) before that front catches up with you, well that is the plan.....
* after that you depart on the back of a passing front, then wait in safe harbour/anchorage for the next one, and repeat. The only leg it does not work like that is Esperance - Pt Lincoln, hmmm you will get hammered once or twice.

Addit: when en-route, and you arrive here, drop me a line!