Sailing North from Brisbane

[Cavalier 32]

Hi All,

looking at sailing from Manly and heading as far north as I can, ultimately to Darwin. Depart late August early September. Vessel is a Jeanneau 37. Single handing and not well versed on the East Coast. Well sailed though.

Pick up crew if available.

Is that time too late for a safe departure?

Cheers, Keith

[fxykty]

We left Southport early September and leisurely cruised as far as the Whitsundays by mid-October. By then the breeze often comes in from the NE, so we picked our days heading north and didn’t bother going any further as we did have to get south of 25* by 1 December.

If you treat it as a delivery with breaks for weather when the wind goes N, or just bash to windward regardless, you could certainly make Darwin by December. That’s pretty fast though and not as much fun as leisurely enjoying one of the best cruising areas in the world.

Of course, make sure you book space in one of the Darwin marinas in plenty of time as that will likely be an insurance requirement after 1 December.

Get Lucas’s Cruising Guide to Queensland - it covers the entire coast with detailed information.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by Cavalier 32

Hi All,

looking at sailing from Manly and heading as far north as I can, ultimately to Darwin. Depart late August early September. Vessel is a Jeanneau 37. Single handing and not well versed on the East Coast. Well sailed though.

Pick up crew if available.

Is that time too late for a safe departure?

Cheers, Keith

Agree with FXYKTY, get Lucas Coral Coast,

Also Download for free the BEACON TO BEACON GUIDE BEACON TO BEACON
And Curtis Coast by PATRICK And 100 Magic Miles by Colfeldt and Going Troppo will also be useful.

[barnakiel]

Look up the monsoon winds over the top end. You do not want to sail against the wind there - plenty of coral reefs, shallows, and generally easy - when done downwind or on the reach. I would absolutely hate do do any upwind work there.


We did this but we were in Darwin by September. In the easy season.


Alan Lucas' book +++!!! recommended




cheers,
b.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Cavalier 32

Hi All,

looking at sailing from Manly and heading as far north as I can, ultimately to Darwin. Depart late August early September. Vessel is a Jeanneau 37. Single handing and not well versed on the East Coast. Well sailed though.

Pick up crew if available.

Is that time too late for a safe departure?

Cheers, Keith

Hi, Keith,

If you wind up singlehanding for the northbound leg, one way to make things easier on yourself is to leave anchorages or ports very early in the day, just before sunrise, and plan to be safely anchored or tied up before 2:00 p.m. This will allow you to do the difficult eye search into the water to avoid bommies when you're fresh, and you stop before you have to do it tired. Wear polarized sunglasses to help see into the water.

Ideally, one should only traverse coral waters that have isolated coral heads between 10:00 & 2:00. So plan your routes very carefully and stay outside the hazards, sailing farther to be safer. When going west, expect to not be able to see well, because as the sun goes down, it really sort of blinds you, makes seeing aids to navigation, and into the water much harder.

Finding pickup crew could work. Lots of backpackers in the vicinity of Airlie Beach that would like a free ride to Darwin, but be careful whom you select. Bad crew imo would be worse than no crew.

Crocs are known to bite rubber ducky dinghies, so you might want a tinny for the trip.

Happy sailing.

Ann

[ChrisJHC]

No one going to mention cyclone season (November to April)?

[JPA Cate]

Good point, Chris. I actually thought the OP'd be aware of them, but possibly not. It's what he needs Lucas for. There are a few places where it's few and far between for truly sheltered anchorages.

I'm not clear on how much this is a delivery trip and how much actually cruising, either.

Ann

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by Cavalier 32

Hi All,

looking at sailing from Manly and heading as far north as I can, ultimately to Darwin. Depart late August early September. Vessel is a Jeanneau 37. Single handing and not well versed on the East Coast. Well sailed though.

Pick up crew if available.

Is that time too late for a safe departure?

Cheers, Keith

G’day Keith, I’m on the marina at Manly, (East Coast Marina) send me a PM and we can have a yarn about cruising up to Cape York and across to Darwin ( and Asia)