South Pacific Cyclone season

[Caroline Joan]

I'm really keen to hear from anyone that has spent the south pacific cyclone season north of cyclone prone islands such as Fiji. Is it possible to spend 4 months in say Gilbert islands, Phoenix Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands etc. Are these islands safe places to be? Can you easliy move from island to island during this time without having to motor much?

Are there good holding anchorages, protected from ocean swells etc? Can I expect strong winds still?
Is water and diesel available?

Is it relatively safe to swim - ie not shark infested!
Are they nice places to be on a boat anchored?
I hear its hot & Wet - is it bearable, we don't have air conditioner or watermaker.
There will just be the 2 of us. We have tanks with 1000 litres water & 400 litres of diesel.
Are cruising yachts welcome.

What are your favourite anchorages

What is it like to sail back south to vanuatu, etc. after the cyclone season has finished. What can I expect in the way of wind & sea heights.

I'm hoping that I can extend my sailing in the pacific by going north before I eventually return to New Zealand

Thanks

[atoll]

i have visited kanton island,in the phoenix group of kiribati,north of samoa,also the FSM islands of kosirae,phonepei and yap.
also funafuti in tuvalu.

in kanton you could easily spend cyclone season,though all water has to be collected by rainfall on the island.
you would also need to bring in all your food supplies and fuel for 6 months,and some for sharing with the few people who are caretakers on the island.

the anchorage would be safe in all wind directions,and fishing is excellent.
the supply ship comes in every 3 months or so for the islanders,so you might be able to get basics brought in if running low.

FSM islands are well supplied and have good safe anchorages from all wind directions,and you could work your way back in april with the NW monsoon to the bismark archepelago,then on to the solomons and vanuatu.

tuvalu being at 8deg south does not really get cyclones ,but the lagoon is large so you would have to move to the other side if there were westerly winds.

getting north of the equator in november would probably require 5-600 mile motoring.

if you are happy with coconuts , fishing , solitude and are totally self sufficient,go for it!

[Paul L]

Here's a link to the anchorages used by friends of ours last season (scroll down to get back to last cyclone season)
https://www.yit.nz/yacht/whitehawk

[Caroline Joan]

Thanks for the info Alex?. Is see on Wikipedia that you? were there in 2010 and only 24 very hungry locals lived there. Thats certainly solitude.

Do you know if its still inhabited. The island looks like a useful place to stay for a month or 2. Were you there in the cyclone season? I'll put Kanton Isaland down on my possibles list. Did you get much rain during your time there for water collection? How long were you there?

I'm sort of hoping I could spend 1 month at 1 island and then move on for 1 month somewhere else out of the way of cyclones or forming Typhoons.

Thanks for your feedback

[Tetepare]

The questions you ask are very broad. Kiribati for example is what, 2500km long. There are good anchorages, and bad anchorages in Kiribati. In some places there is fuel, in some there is not.

You're better off asking about specific islands or path through various island chains.

Keep in mind that there can be typhoons (and all sorts of really bad weather!) in Both Marshalls and FSM.

There are sharks- sometimes many. I'd not seen one in the Majuro lagoon, but off Arno we were trolling and lost every fish but one to sharks.

Cyclones aside, Funafuti, Majuro, Pohnpei all have excellent holding with the typical protections afforded by land. Funafuti food and fuel can be hard to come by at times, no problem in Pohnpei or Majuro. Tarawa is a monstrous lagoon, but selection of goods can be very limited- oh, and it's a total shiphole.

[Caroline Joan]

Thanks for Info.
The problem I have is there are just thousands of islands, atolls etc in that part of pacific, thats why I raised a general question.

I understand that the Marshalls can get high winds as typhoons build on the way to asia. If I head further east will I avoid these high winds?

As I cross from Panama to Marquesas/Society Islands/Fiji etc I know what route generally to follow. Its just going north over 5deg, and avoid really bad weather Nov to April that I'm not sure about.

Really appreciate your comments

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Caroline Joan

Thanks for the info Alex?. Is see on Wikipedia that you? were there in 2010 and only 24 very hungry locals lived there. Thats certainly solitude.

Do you know if its still inhabited. The island looks like a useful place to stay for a month or 2. Were you there in the cyclone season? I'll put Kanton Isaland down on my possibles list. Did you get much rain during your time there for water collection? How long were you there?

I'm sort of hoping I could spend 1 month at 1 island and then move on for 1 month somewhere else out of the way of cyclones or forming Typhoons.

Thanks for your feedback

yes that was me,and my crew on a delivery from hawaii to bundaberg,via kanton,funafuti and port vila.

not sure on the amount of people on the island at any given time as they swap around every 6 months or so,but there is a permanant presence to safeguard the island and lagoon from looters and illegal fishing.

we were only there 10 days,but in the community hall there were flags and logs from visiting yachts that had spent the cyclone season there in the past.

since the cyclone season in the S hemisphere (nov-april) coincides with the safe season in the eastern north pacific,(dec-may)as long as you do not go too far west you should be free of typhoons.

in the western north pacific the area is generally free from typhoons dec-march,with systems that do form ,only become intense storms north of 8-10 degrees of the equator.

in the southern portion of the western north pacific you have a brief NW monsoon bringing westerly winds in march- april- may,which is usefull if you want to get back east from the southern islands,and is out of the cyclone/typhoon zone to the north of iran jaya and PNG.

the biggest problem with anchoring in lagoons that have a large fetch,and this is westerly winds which put you on a lee shore after months of easterly trade winds.

this is quite common as the ITCZ moves over the atolls in the area,so great caution is needed to pick places that are protected both from the east and the west to anchor,and preferably to be on some kind of a secure mooring.

we have used steel cables and chain around large coral bommies to create temporary moorings,and have sat out prolonged 2m waves and 45 knot winds inside lagoons before when we have not had the option to leave for somewhere safer,with less fetch.

also bear in mind there are generally no facilities to make repairs should you suffer a grounding,so good ground tackle,good weather info are very important.

cheers atoll

[Fluenta]

Originally Posted by Caroline Joan

I'm really keen to hear from anyone that has spent the south pacific cyclone season north of cyclone prone islands such as Fiji. Is it possible to spend 4 months in say Gilbert islands, Phoenix Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands etc. Are these islands safe places to be? Can you easliy move from island to island during this time without having to motor much?

Are there good holding anchorages, protected from ocean swells etc? Can I expect strong winds still?
Is water and diesel available?

Is it relatively safe to swim - ie not shark infested!
Are they nice places to be on a boat anchored?
I hear its hot & Wet - is it bearable, we don't have air conditioner or watermaker.
There will just be the 2 of us. We have tanks with 1000 litres water & 400 litres of diesel.
Are cruising yachts welcome.

What are your favourite anchorages

What is it like to sail back south to vanuatu, etc. after the cyclone season has finished. What can I expect in the way of wind & sea heights.

I'm hoping that I can extend my sailing in the pacific by going north before I eventually return to New Zealand

Thanks

Hi,

Last South Pacific cyclone season we went from Fiji to the Marshall Is via Tuvalu and Kiribtai. We loved it especially the Marshall Islands and intend to head back up that way next cyclone season. We have not necessarily wrote up our blog as a cruising guide but lots of pictures and text: SV FLUENTA: Kite Boarding in the Marshalls

Lots of questions but to summarize: the Marshalls are excellent to visit. Yacht friendly and safe. The climate is good with constant trade winds. It can be a bit squally in the southern part of the Marshalls due to the ITCZ but north of Majuro was really nice.

Tuvalu and Kiribati were hot but friendly. Next time we will only stop briefly in Tuvalu and Kiribati on our way to the Marshalls. Note Kiribati is huge so our experience was limited to Tarawa (interesting for a short while) and Butaritari (excellent).

As far as water, you will need to be careful with that one. A friend got really sick taking on water in Tarawa and the northern atolls we visited in the Marshalls were short of water themselves so it would not be appropriate to ask them for water. Diesel is easy at Tuvalu, Tarawa and Majuro. In fact, almost everything is easy at Majuro as it has good supply links to the US.

Hope that helps,

Max
SV Fluenta

[Fluenta]

Also, yes. Super easy to sail from the Marshalls to Vanuatu. Close reach but need to pay attention to the ITCZ and SPCZ to reduce the squalls. Blog starts here: SV FLUENTA: Passage towards Vanuatu

[savoir]

Anyone wanting to spend months in remote Pacific islands should build a rain water catching system. Decent water can be hard to come by.

[CatNewBee]

Maybe a water maker could do the trick?

[robert sailor]

We did a full year in the Marshalls, found it to be a wonderful experience. We were constantly in the outer islands. Sailing conditions were on average very good. If your a ww2 buff the outer islands have lots to offer with crashed aircraft,gun displacements right down to live ammunition. People are very nice. Nothing but the fondest memories of the Marshall Islands. There are no real yachting facilities or marinas so only sailors that are self sufficient should bother going there. If you are self sufficient or leaning that way then it will be awesome experience.

[Caroline Joan]

Thanks for info, really helpful.
Did you use the morrings at Majuro, or just anchor. Really just wondering how effective they are in westerly winds if a decent swell builds up?
I'm just trying to decide how far west I should go during cyclone/typhoon season. Marshall certainly look nice and will definitely go that way, just a matter of timing La nina or El Nino year etc. PS - Nice Kite boarding photos

[Caroline Joan]

Thanks. We will definitely be matching a water catcher.

[Pelagic]

I have had the same positive experiences in the Marshalls.

During the Typhoon season (July to Nov.), those Storms often start as mild depressions along the longitude of the Marshalls, but often a bit south.
Not a real concern as long as you can find anchorages with limited fetch in a revolving situation.
I helped pioneer a live aboard dive ship operation in those waters in the 1980's and sharks were incredibly numerous and curious inside the lagoons.

Unfortunately, I expect their numbers to have been significantly reduced, but it was never a deterrent for snorkeling and swimming as long as you kept away from the passes where the larger pelagics would hang out.

Arno and islands north of Majuro is a good choice