Well it has almost been 10 years since our last sailing adventure and we are finally ready to go again. Keeping it simple we are staying in Australia this time and will be heading north from our home in Coffs Harbour NSW up the Queensland coast.
So heres the new plan for this coming year.
Peter has work lined up for the last two weeks of school term 1, which means that we are free to leave from around the 3rd April. We plan to sail to Lord Howe Island, at this stage we haven't decided whether we will depart from Coffs Harbour or a bit further down the coast. From Lord Howe Island we will make our way to Opua, New Zealand. Here we will have a short stop to provision and then make the big trip north to Tonga. We will spend several months sailing the island groups of Tonga particularly the Vavua group in the north. Around the beginning of August we will start looking for the weather window to sail to Fiji. In October/November we plan to sail south to New Zealand for the summer.
Here is a rough plan with a few dates obviously just guestimates.
Coffs Harbour to Lord Howe Island 312nm 52hrs or 2.1 days
Depart Coffs Harbour 15 April
Arrive Lord Howe Island 17 April
Lord Howe Island to Opua NZ 789nm 131hrs or 5.4 days
Depart Lord Howe Island 24 April
Arrive Opua NZ 1 May
Opua NZ to Nukalofa Tonga 1080nm 180hrs or 7.5 days
Depart Opua 22 May
Arrive Nukalofa 31 May
Vava’u Tonga to Suva Suva Fiji 404nm 67hrs or 2.8 days
Depart Vava’u 14 August
Arrive Suva Suva 17 August
Peter has work lined up for the last two weeks of school term 1, which means that we are free to leave from around the 3rd April. We plan to sail to Lord Howe Island, at this stage we haven't decided whether we will depart from Coffs Harbour or a bit further down the coast. From Lord Howe Island we will make our way to Opua, New Zealand. Here we will have a short stop to provision and then make the big trip north to Tonga. We will spend several months sailing the island groups of Tonga particularly the Vavua group in the north. Around the beginning of August we will start looking for the weather window to sail to Fiji. In October/November we plan to sail south to New Zealand for the summer.
Here is a rough plan with a few dates obviously just guestimates.
Coffs Harbour to Lord Howe Island 312nm 52hrs or 2.1 days
Depart Coffs Harbour 15 April
Arrive Lord Howe Island 17 April
Lord Howe Island to Opua NZ 789nm 131hrs or 5.4 days
Depart Lord Howe Island 24 April
Arrive Opua NZ 1 May
Opua NZ to Nukalofa Tonga 1080nm 180hrs or 7.5 days
Depart Opua 22 May
Arrive Nukalofa 31 May
Vava’u Tonga to Suva Suva Fiji 404nm 67hrs or 2.8 days
Depart Vava’u 14 August
Arrive Suva Suva 17 August
Well as you know our plans changed a bit and we are now on our way up to QLD for the winter. In October/November we will head back to Coffs Harbour and on to New Zealand for Christmas then fall back into our original plan. Well lets hope anyway!
Heres the rough plan for the next few months... weather depending of course!
Dates are sure to change but will give you a rough idea of our plans
Dec 26 Depart Port Hacking for Sydney Harbour/Hawkesbury
approx 30 nautical miles = 6hours @ 5 knots
We are hoping to see some of the Sydney to Hobart race and then head up to the Hawkesbury for a few days
Dec 29 Depart Hawkesbury River for Sydney Harbour
approx 19 nautical miles = 4hours @ 5 knots
Getting in early for the fireworks!
Jan 1 Depart Sydney Harbour for Jervis Bay
approx 73 nautical miles = 14hours @ 5 knots
3 nights in Jervis Bay
Jan 4 Depart Jervis Bay for Ulladulla
approx 22 nautical miles = 4.5hours @ 5 knots
1 night in Ulladulla
Jan 5 Depart Ulladulla for Batemans Bay
approx 44 nautical miles = 6hours @ 5 knots
2 nights in Batemans Bay
Jan 7 Depart Batemans Bay for Bermagui
approx 44 nautical miles = 8.8hours @ 5 knots
1 night in Bermagui
Jan 8 Depart Bermagui for Tathra Head or Eden
approx 21 nautical miles to Tathra Head = 4hours @ 5 knots
approx 42 nautical miles to Eden = 8.5hours @ 5 knots
7 nights in Eden
Depart Eden for Tasmania sometime around the January 15 depending on the weather.
approx 266 nautical miles = 53hours @ 5 knots
Jan 26 Flinders Island Cruise
Depart Hobart for 3 week cruise up to Flinders Island and back with The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania
Feb 17 Return to Hobart
March 1 Lindisfarne - NS14 Coaching
March 2 Lindisfarne - NS14 Coaching
Mid March Depart Hobart for Nelson, New Zealand
approx 1226 nautical miles = 10 days @ 5 knots
Dates are sure to change but will give you a rough idea of our plans
Dec 26 Depart Port Hacking for Sydney Harbour/Hawkesbury
approx 30 nautical miles = 6hours @ 5 knots
We are hoping to see some of the Sydney to Hobart race and then head up to the Hawkesbury for a few days
Dec 29 Depart Hawkesbury River for Sydney Harbour
approx 19 nautical miles = 4hours @ 5 knots
Getting in early for the fireworks!
Jan 1 Depart Sydney Harbour for Jervis Bay
approx 73 nautical miles = 14hours @ 5 knots
3 nights in Jervis Bay
Jan 4 Depart Jervis Bay for Ulladulla
approx 22 nautical miles = 4.5hours @ 5 knots
1 night in Ulladulla
Jan 5 Depart Ulladulla for Batemans Bay
approx 44 nautical miles = 6hours @ 5 knots
2 nights in Batemans Bay
Jan 7 Depart Batemans Bay for Bermagui
approx 44 nautical miles = 8.8hours @ 5 knots
1 night in Bermagui
Jan 8 Depart Bermagui for Tathra Head or Eden
approx 21 nautical miles to Tathra Head = 4hours @ 5 knots
approx 42 nautical miles to Eden = 8.5hours @ 5 knots
7 nights in Eden
Depart Eden for Tasmania sometime around the January 15 depending on the weather.
approx 266 nautical miles = 53hours @ 5 knots
Jan 26 Flinders Island Cruise
Depart Hobart for 3 week cruise up to Flinders Island and back with The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania
Feb 17 Return to Hobart
March 1 Lindisfarne - NS14 Coaching
March 2 Lindisfarne - NS14 Coaching
Mid March Depart Hobart for Nelson, New Zealand
approx 1226 nautical miles = 10 days @ 5 knots
Well since I last posted our plans have changed significantly!
• We have decided to go for 3 years not 2
• We will be heading down the coast first not up
• We also have a tentative departure date of December 26 2007 (thats only 48 sleeps away, not that I'm counting)
Click on the picture for more detail
We are planning on departing on December 26. Spending the next few weeks slowly making our way down to Tasmania (stopping at Jervis Bay, Ulladulla, Batemans Bay and Eden). From Eden we will pick a good weather period to make the dash across the Bass Strait to Beauty Point on the northern coast near Devonport. We then plan to join a cruising group doing a 3 week cruise from Hobart to Flinders Island and back again.
and that is really as far as we have got with the plans.....
• We have decided to go for 3 years not 2
• We will be heading down the coast first not up
• We also have a tentative departure date of December 26 2007 (thats only 48 sleeps away, not that I'm counting)
Click on the picture for more detail
We are planning on departing on December 26. Spending the next few weeks slowly making our way down to Tasmania (stopping at Jervis Bay, Ulladulla, Batemans Bay and Eden). From Eden we will pick a good weather period to make the dash across the Bass Strait to Beauty Point on the northern coast near Devonport. We then plan to join a cruising group doing a 3 week cruise from Hobart to Flinders Island and back again.
and that is really as far as we have got with the plans.....
"Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it. Plan more than you can do, then do it." Anonymous
Basically our plan is to spend the next two years cruising the South Pacific. We want to visit Fiji, Tonga, The Cook Islands, Vanautu, New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island, New Zealand, The Whitsundays and Tasmania and everything in between! We will spend the Cyclone seasons (November to April) in New Zealand.
Below is the rough two year plan (red - year 1, orange - year 2)
Click on the picture for more detail
We have no plans and we’re sticking to them!
Basically our plan is to spend the next two years cruising the South Pacific. We want to visit Fiji, Tonga, The Cook Islands, Vanautu, New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island, New Zealand, The Whitsundays and Tasmania and everything in between! We will spend the Cyclone seasons (November to April) in New Zealand.
Below is the rough two year plan (red - year 1, orange - year 2)
Click on the picture for more detail
We have no plans and we’re sticking to them!
