Micronesia-Solomon Is-Australia

[bdurham]

Wondering when is the best time of year for sailing south from Micronesia? Planning on leaving FSM late March?

must avoid the cyclone season in the coral sea... what are the winds like that time of year?
Ill be headed to Brisbane from Honiara, will that be beating windward all the way?

would love to hear from some people who have done this trip!

[GordMay]

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[savoir]

Leave in April or May and don't leave any later than September.

March will be OK if you stop in Tarawa. Get some Easting so you can reach to Brisbane. The trades through Vanuatu and New Caledonia are SE. Stop in Vila or Noumea or both. Some like Honiara but I reckon it's a dump. The place has a pretty high crime rate.

[MarkJ]

Honiara --> Noumea --> Brisbane.

Or at lease make no westing till opposite Noumea.

Whadda ya think?

[savoir]

If the trades are in then Honiara to Noumea will be a sail to windward of 6 - 8 days. It would be easier to make it East while you are still in NE breeze then turn South West, maybe stop at Santo and Vila.

[Jim Cate]

We did the Honiara to Brisbane passage a few years ago, sailing pretty near the rhumb line. Had a stop at Chesterfield reef, too. This was in late Oct or early Nov... can't remember, and our logs are back on the boat in Oz. Mostly close reaching to Chesterfield, then farther off the wind to Brissie. Not a bad trip that year.

Cheers,

Jim

[bdurham]

thanks for the advice everyone. it would be great to be able to just refuel and reprovision in honiara and head out again. but i know that we would probably be close reaching much of the way and that could be uncomfortable. i guess we could pick a more westerly point. like airlie beach or even rockhampton...

hadnt, thought about goin east earlier on... not a bad idea..

[savoir]

Making land around Airlie Beach should give you an easier sail. The nearest customs is a little further South at Mackay.

[bdurham]

from the Pohnpei in the FSM, to Honiara solomon islands. i was thinking about reaching to Nauru farther east first.. and then turn on the equator and head south east to honiara.

any thoughts..with the prevailing noreaster, the wind on the run to nauru should be about 60 degrees of the bow.. is that goin to be a hard trip? im pretty sure the current is against me as well...
any thoughts

[savoir]

There is no anchorage in Nauru although you could anchor near the commercial dock if the weather was good. Maybe that doesn't matter because you don't want to stop anyway. The place doesn't offer much to tourists anyway and neither does Banaba.

I went past there in May and it was 15 knots from 080. Very steady. No squalls above 30.

[bdurham]

what is the current like in that area?

[savoir]

Never above two knots and I couldn't see any streaming around the weather buoys. The water is VERY deep there so strong current is rare. You need shallow water for that.