Sailing to Vanuatu

Sailing to Vanuatu aboard a yacht is an enjoyable experience so long as you pick the correct weather window and the vessel is seaworthy.

Picking the weather is easier than ever these days with long range weather forecasts and satellite imagery. But there is a knack to doing it.

Frederique and I have made these passages many times over the past 30 years that we have been annually migrating between the Pacific Islands aboard the Moira. Not to press our luck, I can say 90% of our passages have been relaxing, and pleasant. The methods we use are described in full detail on the cruising guide to Vanuatu along with time-lapse images, month by month, of the weather patterns in the south Pacific. On the guide you will find complete details on ocean passages, where to leave from and when to go.

If you want to make "magic" passages get our guide and go over the instructions.

Meanwhile, here are some tips on how to make an easy and happy passage.

Followed (below) with a more scientific, professional kind of weather routing that has just recently become available online.

 

Comparison Shopping for Weather Windows

1. Don't leave until the weather window is right. This means getting ready to go well in advance of the expiration of visas or customs requirements and then being prepared to wait (as in ready to go today). Getting ready to go also means going to the place you wish to leave from (see below for tips on this).

2. When you are ready and in position, start watching the weather by going to two or more of the long range forecast sites. There are 4 main models available, NOAA and the US Navy in America, IGES in Canada, and the European Model (UK Online Sailing Weather). Each of these give 5 day forecasts.

3. Download the full 5 day forecast for winds and precipitation and compare the different sites, day by day for the full 5 days. If there are significant differences between the models, the weather is uncertain - don't go.

4. After three days, download the same sites. Compare what each site said the weather picture would be on the third day with what actually happened. If there are significant differences the weather is unpredictable - don't go.

5. Do this again after 5 days. Now you will have an idea if the weather is predictable or not and which site is doing the best job of getting it right.

6. Watch for a 5 day prediction that offers winds from a favorable direction (you can get a long way in 5 days with the right winds). One site will be doing better than the others, but the other sites should be close. Again, if they are significantly different in where they say the winds will be coming from don't go. When you see the right wind pattern for your trip - go immediately.

Where is the best place to go from ?

This is not a major issue if you are heading to Vanuatu from Fiji, and you don't have a lot of options from New Zealand.

But heading to Vanuatu from Australia and sailing from Vanuatu to Australia is another matter.

The best place to leave Australia for Vanuatu is Coffs Harbour in New South Wales. This will give you the least time at sea with the best chance of getting a good weather pattern for the crossing. Since customs and quarantine are located at the marina you can depart the instant the weather window opens. (One year we went to Noumea from Bundaberg with North to West winds 10 to 15 knots, sunny skies and full moon nights for the entire passage but this was a very unusual and welcome weather window).

Going back to Australia from Vanuatu, the best place to head for is Bundaberg in Queensland. There are several reasons for this.

1. It is the shortest passage,
2. The route is through the southern coral sea and avoids the often severe weather south of Fraser Island
3. The entry is clear of reefs or other dangers
4. Customs and immigration are at the Bundaberg Port Marina.
5. There is a popular yacht rally from Vanuatu to Bundaberg

For more details on these and related issues, see the Cruising Guide to Vanuatu .

On Line Professional Weather Routing Service

Finding the right weather window is only the start. Once you leap out the Weather Window you can be sure the wind will be changing direction as you proceed along your route.

So what is the best direction to sail when you set off? And what is the best direction on the next day? The solution to the complicated question of weather routing is www.predictwind.com - a new online computerized weather prediction and routing service available at very reasonable cost.

I am in the process of testing this service myself and so far I am truly impressed. It has become my favorite weather site for cruising in the New Caledonia lagoon and I plan to check it out extensively over the coming months.

For finding the best weather and the best route to take, Predict Wind provides a computerized analysis based on comparisons of two weather prediction models (Global Forecasting System and the Canadian Weather Model) along your intended route. Predict Wind analyzes the expected wind conditions and factors in your yacht's performance when sailing at different angles to the wind and waves. It then calculates a scientifically determined "best route".

One of the reasons I am excited about this new site is that they follow my own weather window methodology and I know that works from many years of personal experience.

ORDER THE GUIDES ON DVD
Order the Cruising Guide to Vanuatu and the companion Activity and Travel Guide Windows installation programs on DVD. This is a great gift for anyone headed to Vanuatu aboard a yacht or who intends to charter a yacht in Vanuatu, plan a diving trip or a sea-kayak expedition to remote parts of Vanuatu. AUD$110 includes air mail and handling to your billing or paypal address. AUD$130 air mailed to a transient address (eg. a marina or postal address in a country other than your billing address). Expect the post office to take 1 to 4 weeks to get it to you.	DVD Version AUD$110 air mailed to your billing or paypal mailing address Click here to order it for a transient address.
Special 4 Guide set: Cruising and Travel Guides to Vanuatu and New Caledonia This DVD will give you complete coverage of everything you need to know to cruise New Caledonia and Vanuatu, including every practical anchorage between Isle of Pines in the south of New Caledonia to the Banks and Torres islands in the north of Vanuatu. AUD$260.00 includes air mail to your billing address or paypal address. AUD$280.00 air mailed to a transient address (eg. a marina or postal address in a country other than your billing address). Expect the post office to take 1 to 4 weeks to get it to you.	DVD 4 Vanuatu + New Caledonia Guides AUD$260 air mailed to your billing or paypal mailing address   Click here to order it for a transient address.
DOWNLOAD THE GUIDES If you have a good fast Internet connection you can download your guides now. After payment you will be transferred to a page with installation instructions and download links. At the same time you will also be sent a receipt for your purchase and a separate email with the links and more detailed installation and activation instructions. The links are only valid 48 hours so be ready to do the big downloads within 48 hours before making payment. You HAVE to use a download manager like www.freedownloadmanager.org to assure the download will be uncorrupted. Many people who do not use a download manager have problems and waste their time and mine with download issues. In the end they use a download manager program and have no problem. So do it right the first time, please, the download manager program does not cost anything and will greatly speed up the download for you. Before you can use the cruising guide you, will need to activate it on the computer you will use while cruising (it will only work on the computer you activate it on). If you use another computer to download the file (for example your office or home computer), transfer the downloaded ZIP files to your cruising computer via a USB key and then activate it. (The companion tourism guide does not need activation). For details on downloading and installing the guides click here. For details on activation of the cruising guide click here.
Download the Cruising Guide to Vanuatu Windows Installation Programs 297MB and the companion Activity and Travel Guide 548MB for AUD$90.00. The download links are valid for 24hrs.	Download
Download the 4 guides to Vanuatu and New Caledonia (297MB + 548MB + 724MB + 563MB) for AUD$240.00	Download Vanuatu + New Caledonia

Australian Sailing Information

You can cruise the South Pacific aboard your own yacht, you could yacht charter in Australia to Learn about yachting and or charter a yacht where you intend to cruise and save yourself the time and expense of a lengthy passage. To do this, of course, you will need some sailing courses. Club Sail, in Sydney Australia, offers an excellent range of recreational sailing courses to teach you everything you need to know from being a good sailing crew member to being an inshore skipper or the offshore skipper course will get you qualified to bareboat yacht charter anywhere in the world. This can include some great adventure cruising along the Australian coastline as well as day training cruises in Pittwater and Broken Bay. Cruising Broken Bay Australia is not to be missed as a great adventure experience in Sydney Australia. Club Sail is Australia's best known sailing schools.