Philippines to Ireland - East or West?

[Geminidawn]

I'm looking to sail a Pahi 63ft Cat from Manila to Connemara there is a couple of options open to me:

A. Philippines - Singapore - (Pirates) - Phuket - Nicobar Is. - Sri Lanka -Maldives - Yemen - (Pirates) - Suez - Crete - Sicily - Sardinia - Palma - Gibraltar - Lisbon - Brest - Ireland.

With the Trades, lots of land fall, Shortest timewise
Pirates, Red Sea and Suez Officials

B. Philippines - Taiwan - Okinawa - Japan - Hawaii - California - Mexico - Panama - Puerto Rico - Bahamas - Bermuda - Azores - Ireland.

Against the trades, big ocean passages nowhere to run for shelter or repairs if needed.

C. Philippines - Papua New Guinea - Solomon Is. - Fiji - Westren Samoa - Cook Is - French Polynesia - Pitcairn Is - Rapa Nui (Easter Is.) - Galapagos Is. - Panama - Puerto Rico - Bahamas - Bermuda - Azores - Ireland.

The Pahi's ancestral home and a voyage of discovery
Substantially longer journey all together against the trades and a couple of open sea and ocean runs.

Which in your opinion is te best route or is there another I haven't thought of?

The boat will be a fresh build with little or no shakedown period.

[imagine2frolic]

Nice looking ship. Was she built in Carmen Cebu? I wouldn't do any beating if I could avoid it. Even if it's more miles........i2f

[Geminidawn]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

Nice looking ship. Was she built in Carmen Cebu? I wouldn't do any beating if I could avoid it. Even if it's more miles........i2f

Cheers! Those potos are of the designers own and used with his permission until my own boat is complete which should be sometime this year. It's being built in Bataan at Rouiva Road, Bataan Marina. Upon completion it has to be moved (exported) asap due to tax laws hence the little or no shakedown period.

There'll be little or no beating on the westward route which is also the shortest but I would be putting my crew, vessel and myself through some of the most politically unstable and pirate infested waters in the world.
I don't have any personal experience of the Malaccan Straits, Gulf of Yemen or the Red Sea which is the reason I posted this thread hoping to learn from the experience of others.

[jpemb7]

I don't have any personal experience of the Malaccan Straits, Gulf of Yemen or the Red Sea which is the reason I posted this thread hoping to learn from the experience of others.

We've traversed the Malacca Straits on a number of occasions. We anchored off Malacca itself for a few days and felt very secure. It is a really interesting town. On the one hand you have the old town with the centuries old architecture but in the new section you'll find one of the biggest shopping malls you will ever see. Make no mistake, Malaysia is a very modern, progressive country.
There are some security issues. We anchored off some islands in the Malacca Straits after a long slog down from Thailand. We were going to stop there overnight and rest but we were concerned by the interest shown by some local fisherman. In the end we decided even if we were mistaken we wouldn't get much sleep worrying about it, so we left and continued south.
The biggest risk in the straits is from large shipping. The straits are qiite narrow. The ships travel very fast and there are a lot of them. So you need to stick to the edges of the shipping channel, particularly at night.

So in summary, stay out of the shipping channel, be careful anchoring in islolated places in the straits and don't miss Malacca.

You should be fine

Jim

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Geminidawn

I'm looking to sail a Pahi 63ft Cat from Manila to Connemara there is a couple of options open to me:



Which in your opinion is te best route or is there another I haven't thought of?

I hear the NW passage is open now. Would be good for a summer run. North along China, around Alaska to Greenland and then down to Ireland. But a bit long.



But personally, I'd do "B"! Safer and better sights (I think!)

[dana-tenacity]

What about Jakarta-Cocos Keeling-Seychelles-SouthAfrica-Rio-Eastern Caribbean-Bermuda-Azores

Sounds like fun

[Laidback]

Your best bet is suggested by Dana-Tenacity. However need to know dates to the nearest couple of months. Once the North East monsoon gets underway take the outside western route - west of Busuanga, west of Palawan cross the Balabac strait to Kudat in Sabah Malaysia then on to Kota Kinabalu >> Brunei >> to Bintulu >> Kuching >> then west around the corner to Pontianak (Indonesia) then south through the Carimata strait to the Sunda Strait and then south west to Cocos Keeling where you leave South East Asia. Then west staying above 12 degrees south until its time to head for Rodrigues and then to the Zululand Yacht Club in Richard's Bay Natal South Africa. Once you have seen all the Elephants and Lions, head for Cape Town. From there start the homeward leg via St Helena >> Brazil to
IRELAND.
If you need more detailed information on a proven passage PM me.

[jpemb7]

I hear the NW passage is open now. Would be good for a summer run.

Hey, not as silly as it sounds... no ...wait...sorry... it is as silly as it sounds.

[Geminidawn]

Thanks for all the suggestions. The Northwest Passage is a definate no-no, neither the Pahi or myself was ever ment for cold water cruising, a couple of lads from Mayo did the Northwest & Northeast Passage in a purpose built boat "Northabout" and it wasn't easy, if I tried it I'd end up lying beside Lord Franklin.

Good to hear about the Malaccan Straits if that is the case I might chance it, with the ethnic look of the Pahi it may not attract as much attention as other cruising yachts. If the Gulf of Yemen was passable I'd be sorted, I wonder if yachties are running a "buddy up" system there?

Good alternative route suggested by Dana-Tenacity & Laidback, thanks for that well worth considering if Yemen still proves to be too high risk.

[imagine2frolic]

Thanks for the info on Bataan. I am preparing to sail to the Phils. Why not Hawaii, Calif, Panama, and on?........i2f

[Geminidawn]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

Thanks for the info on Bataan. I am preparing to sail to the Phils. Why not Hawaii, Calif, Panama, and on?........i2f

If I was to sail to the Philippines that would be the route I would take but that route out of the Philippines is against the Tradewinds all the way hence I was thinking on Japan to take in the Horse Lattitudes. Before disembarking on this build I test sailed the smaller sistership the Pahi 42 and the windward legs were slow and uncomfortable and as for tacking, forget it, it was so slow through a tack that by the time the tack was complete you'd almost lost all the ground you made.

[barnakiel]

Why not Philipines, down to the trades, RSA, West Indies, Ireland?

Trade winds most of the way and no pirates.

Why do you insist the pirates?

b.

[Geminidawn]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Why not Philipines, down to the trades, RSA, West Indies, Ireland?

Trade winds most of the way and no pirates.

Why do you insist the pirates?

b.

Crossing an Ocean just to cut back and cross that Ocean again - that's alot of un-necessary miles.
Maybe Jakarta-Cocos-Mauritius-South Africa-St Helena-Ascension-Cape Verde-Azores- Ireland, pretty much a beam reach from South Africa at least it's not beating.

Regarding the pirates, there will be 16 in total onboard and between us I hope there will be enough experience and hands to deal with whatever sailing situation or mother nature tends to throw at us and to be able to decide where to go and when to go at each pit-stop.
Regardless of how well prepared we are it will not factor in the actions of others propelled by greed and immediate gain that may wish us or the vessel any harm.
Look at what Paul and Rachel Chandler are going through at the moment and the fate of the French skipper prior to them. Not something I want to happen to anyone on my crew

[dana-tenacity]

16???????? Sounds like a football team. I think that might be a bigger problem than the route.

[Geminidawn]

Originally Posted by dana-tenacity

16???????? Sounds like a football team. I think that might be a bigger problem than the route.

Haha.. yeah you're probably right. That is the capacity of the Pahi 63 the reason behind the build is for surf charter and wave hunting 12 licenced passengers and 4 crew. With the wingsail rig it will take only two to sail it at any one time. But I do need to get it back to Ireland first to get it fitted out to EU standards so it will be a very basic vessel for the voyage home however there is no shortage of friends who are signing up for it. I'm trying to keep a balance between experienced crew and those wanting the experience so there'll not be too many cooks to spoil the broth.