Perth to Brisbane

[Mikefitz]

Hi,
I'm crew and tasked with some pre-planning while the skipper preps the boat, an S&S 34.
We are planing to leave WA Sept-Oct 2013
Perth to Brisbane.
I am looking for experiences, safe havens etc that might help on the way round.
Any feed back will be welcomed.
Cheers
Mike

[Trav Stev]

Hi Mike.

I suppose the only questions that come to mind at the moment are which way do you intend to circumnavigate and crew details (age/experience)

Would also bee keen to hear feedback/reports etc - I'm sailing from Brisbane to Perth early/mid next year but have no other plans with the voyage in place...yet!

[RaymondR]

I did Maryborough to Exmouth June - October last year and Exmouth - Darwin October - November. Pretty well sailed all the way from Maryborough to Darwin with very good conditions. Did a lot of motoring Darwin Exmouth and pretty well motored all the way Broome - Darwin on the way back.

I voyaged Fremantle - Cairns between April and November in 2001 and it is a lot better trip when you have plenty of time to wait for favorable winds.

I am leaving Darwin in a few weeks time to go Darwin - Cairns and hope to be across the Gulf by early in November. I have had good crossings of the Gulf both ways so far and in 2001 made Gove - Port Douglas in 8 days without a great deal of motoring.

[Trav Stev]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

I am leaving Darwin in a few weeks time to go Darwin - Cairns and hope to be across the Gulf by early in November. I have had good crossings of the Gulf both ways so far and in 2001 made Gove - Port Douglas in 8 days without a great deal of motoring.

Given the current conditions and forecasts (and a bit of a punt not knowing your boat!) I would say you should have no problems making that timeline!

I did a similar cruise Darwin-Brisbane back in 2002. Wasn't exactly cruising but as seasoned and adventurous mono-sailors for (me, [ex] missus and other couple) we only stopped if we felt like it ie saw something interesting - life made easy with desalinator and an abundance of provisions - so made excellent time.

I came across these guys in years after that trip. Admittedly its going Bris-Dwn but their detail and log is invaluable information. In fact, a lot of their info is quite beneficial.

Cruising Australia

[Sandy Feet]

Also thinking about taking the boat from Perth to Albany this summer, does anyone have any experiences of this trip? Main question is what weather window would you be looking for to get around the corner and to Albany? A front would give Northerly through to Westerly for best wind direction but also associated crappy weather or just go through the prevalent South Easters?
Thanks - Andy

[Factor]

A family on a Seawind 1160 kept a pretty good blog of their lap of Australia, and have a lot of info on their blog

SCARLETT

And if you look at their track on skipr.net SCARLETT SKIPR and scroll out till you can see Perth and then zoom back in and pick up each entry point you will also see a short anchorage summary.

[boatman61]

I did Perth to Tasmania last year... left Perth in Easterlies and hove to in the lee of the Cape for a few hours with a 30kt E'ly till it swung round to SW... then headed for Albany. From there I made good time to Portland (straight across rather than coast hugging) did have to do some motoring between fronts so needed to refuel as the tank was only 25 litres. Turned out a bad idea as the nearest fuel is a 1/2hr walk away... so carried on to Port Fairy... lovely little place with a fuel dock... stayed there 2 nights waiting for a 50kt'r to blow out then travelled non stop to the mouth of the river up to Hobart... anchored there for the night before heading on down to Port Huon..
Its not as bad as folks make out... just time your windows and grab plenty of sea room for the middle leg... no place to run... no place to hide...

[Mikefitz]

Thanks for that,all good feedback.
Phil, the Skipper, had every intention of staying well offshore.
Any extra tips, radio,weather most welcome.
Cheers
Mike

[Sandy Feet]

Thanks for the blog link Factor, very useful.

Cheers, Andy

[Mikefitz]

Hi Trav,
Here are some links I found for Phil, my skipper, hope something is of use.
Cheers
Mike

Australian Sailing Guide Tasmania East Coast
Also good Pilot Guide for SA on their website, ePub’s around $5.00

Cruising Anchorages Australia - Live the dream!


Cruising Guides :Skipr.net

Notes on Anchorages

Australia - a Cruising Guide on the World Cruising and Sailing Wiki

Cruising Guides - Australia - SailNet Community