Around Australia

[burleigh66]

I have dream and loose plan to sail around Australia. I retire in 19 months from today. I own a 1979 Roberts ketch. My home port is Newcastle. I think I will leave Newcastle around April 2023 and head north stopping along the way. I have no time schedule just take each day as it come.
All comments and advice is welcome.

[Ded reckoner]

My understanding is Jul & Aug are good months around which to plan such a circumnavigation. Do you plan to take short coastline hops or long passages to make time? You may not have an exact schedule. But, there's a season more favorable than others for tropical cyclones.

[RaymondR]

April departure from Newcastle is good if you don't dawdle and want to miss the cyclone season in Queensland. If you want to make it around in one year you need to be at NW Cape in WA about October to be fairly confident of being far enough south in WA to miss the cyclone season and maybe get something with a bit of north in it for the stretch down to Perth.

You are probably going to do a lot of motoring so largish fuel capacity is good for across the top and down the WA coast One tends to do a fair bit of carting fuel to the boat in WA until you get down to Geraldton north of there they tend to cater to folks who buy it in thousands of litres where it is available dockside, Having a 3" poly pipe standpipe which screws into the deck fitting is handy.

[ilenart]

I’m planning on circumnavigating Oz leaving in October 21 from Fremantle heading south (anticlockwise). Just looking at my plans would be in Newcastle in April, so agree with your timing. For me the main timing issues are:
- crossing the Great Australian Bight in Oct / November
- staying south of Coffs Harbour till end of April to avoid the cyclone season in Qld
- use the SE trades for favourable wind for most of Qld and NT from May to Aug
- leave Darwin by mid August to get decent SE trades
- be in Exmouth no later than early September. to avoid cyclone season in WA.

For references I have used Alan Lucas’s Cruising the Coral Coast & Cruising the NSW Coast, Tasmanian Anchorage guide and West Australia’s Cruising Guide (free from Fremantle Sailing Club website).

I’m planning short coastal hops as much as possible, however there are a few long passages ie Daw Island to Port Lincoln is 4-5 days to get accross the Great Australian Bight.

Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.

Ilenart

[ozsailer]

Originally Posted by ilenart

I’m planning on circumnavigating Oz leaving in October 21 from Fremantle heading south (anticlockwise). Just looking at my plans would be in Newcastle in April, so agree with your timing. For me the main timing issues are:
- crossing the Great Australian Bight in Oct / November
- staying south of Coffs Harbour till end of April to avoid the cyclone season in Qld
- use the SE trades for favourable wind for most of Qld and NT from May to Aug
- leave Darwin by mid August to get decent SE trades
- be in Exmouth no later than early September. to avoid cyclone season in WA.

For references I have used Alan Lucas’s Cruising the Coral Coast & Cruising the NSW Coast, Tasmanian Anchorage guide and West Australia’s Cruising Guide (free from Fremantle Sailing Club website).

I’m planning short coastal hops as much as possible, however there are a few long passages ie Daw Island to Port Lincoln is 4-5 days to get accross the Great Australian Bight.

Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.

Ilenart

Just curious why do you plan on staying south of Coffs for the cyclone season. Cyclone area is considered Bundaberg and north. I think you may be limiting your options regarding some great cruising ground during this time.

[ozsailer]

Originally Posted by burleigh66

I have dream and loose plan to sail around Australia. I retire in 19 months from today. I own a 1979 Roberts ketch. My home port is Newcastle. I think I will leave Newcastle around April 2023 and head north stopping along the way. I have no time schedule just take each day as it come.
All comments and advice is welcome.

Gday Burliegh,
before you start planning or as part of you planning process talk to your insurance company first. There are quite a few restrictions and conditions when taking on a journing of this type. Better to know now and be prepared than find out later. Also if you are reitring take you time in undertaking this journey. There is so much to see and do a year can be a very short time to see so much. There are a lot of of cruising manuals and youtube channels of cruisers undertaking their journies along the Ozzy Coast and can be an excellent source of information. A facebook page called Cruising Queensland has some excellent posts and is a constant source of information.



Ozsailer
Lagoon 440.

[ilenart]

Originally Posted by ozsailer

Just curious why do you plan on staying south of Coffs for the cyclone season. Cyclone area is considered Bundaberg and north. I think you may be limiting your options regarding some great cruising ground during this time.

Just being cautious. Here in WA we had a cyclone in April that went straight over Geraldton, which is very late and a lot further south than usual. However I need to do a bit more reasearch on this point as my wife has family in Brisbane, so would be nice to spend some more time around this area. May head up via the Gold Coast seaway in April.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by ilenart

Just being cautious. Here in WA we had a cyclone in April that went straight over Geraldton, which is very late and a lot further south than usual. However I need to do a bit more reasearch on this point as my wife has family in Brisbane, so would be nice to spend some more time around this area. May head up via the Gold Coast seaway in April.

Historically June is the only month they have not had a cyclone in WA. However since they tend to cook up in the Timor Sea then move south westerly then bend back to the east to cross the coast one tends to get a few days, or more, notice of their whereabouts and travels once you get south of Port Hedland. Unfortunately the west coast of the continent is not overly fashioned with good cyclone havens.

Since the Timor Sea is the breeding grounds for many of the damned things one tends to get fairly short warning periods along the north coast of the continent so you really don't want to be too far from a haven during the cyclone season there.

They are fairly rare south of Bundaberg which is why your insurance policy might require you to be south of 25 degree south for the official season on the east coast.

From a viewpoint of clement weather and climate, magnificent vistas, laid back people, beautiful anchorages, convenient resupply, lack of dangerous bars (the Wide Bay Bar is the only one you need to be cautious about) folk to enjoy sundowners with and all the other things important to cruising in small vessels, Queensland is hard to beat so I'd tend to flee Newcastle a little earlier and give yourself a little more time to enjoy paradise.