 Getting to Vanuatu aboard a sailing or motor vessel 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.
My wife, 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 CD-ROM 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. But meanwhile, here are some tips on how to make an easy and happy passage.
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 favourable 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.
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