Sailing New To Australia

What is the passage like?

You don`t need to be a “weather guru” to choose a suitable window to make the voyage from New Caledonia or Vanuatu to Australia.

The passage to Australia is usually very predictable, weather windows are typically longer in the later part of the southern hemisphere spring (September - November), and Australia offers a huge target. This means that if needed, you can change your port of arrival at any time to suit the conditions you encounter you are able to do so.

Typically, favorable weather windows of around 5 -6 days for sailing from New Caledonia to Bundaberg (the shortest passage distance to a port of entry) are found in mid-September to early November. In recent times many catamarans have made the voyage in under five days.

It is worth mentioning that cyclone season in Australia officially runs from 1 November to 30 April. However, tropical cyclones can form at any time of the year, so do take this into consideration when planning your passage.

Arriving In Australia

Despite what you may have heard, to the contrary Arriving in Australia by sea is a relatively simple and straightforward process PROVIDED YOU ARE WELL INFORMED & WELL PREPARED.

JOIN THE GO WEST RALLY & WE WILL PAY your ARRIVAL FEES* 

An informative, interesting & entertaining interview (just over 10mins long) with international cruisers about their experience sailing to Australia and spending an extended period cruising in Australia.

Sailing to the SW Pacific from Australia.

Some people, mostly those with a vested interest in having vessels visit New Zealand, will try to tell you that it is “very difficult” to return to the SW Pacific Islands (New Caledonia, Vanuatu & Fiji) from Australia and that you are better off heading to New Zealand for Cyclone Season if you wish to revisit the SW Pacific Islands. In fact, the post below recently appeared on a Facebook page that is managed by one such person:

“New Caledonia is the westernmost Pacific Island neighbor to Australia and sees a number of Australian boats head in that direction each year. Unfortunately, one of the things that help make Australia an easy destination, the SE to East prevailing wind, also makes it a difficult place for cruisers to get back into the Pacific from.”

The down under rally organisers have made the passage from Australia to New Caledonia, Vanuatu & Fiji on many occasions.

Only one of these passages was difficult, and that was the result of leaving from a port well south (Newcastle) way too early in the season (April) and attempting to sail directly to Fiji rather than heading to New Caledonia and then waiting for a suitable window for the onward voyage.

In the past few years, well over 300 yachts, most of which being skippered by crews that have never been offshore before, have successfully made the voyage east from Australia to New Caledonia and Vanuatu, and very few have reported it to be a difficult voyage. Some have also continued onwards to Fiji.

In 2018 34 yachts joined the Down Under 'Go East Rally' from Australia to New Caledonia.

The crew of the Catamaran Supa Trooper share their experience making their first ocean passage from Australia to New Caledonia.