Oz Circumnavigation
Setting a new course - April 1st, 2009
We are in the planning stages to embark on a circumnavigation of our beautiful country - Australia.
This 7200 nm round trip was inspired by a special moment in Bathurst Harbour in Tasmania just recently when I found one of the most beautiful scenic environments I have ever been in after 40 years of travelling the world, causing me to contemplate that we may have only just scratched the surface with what our country has in store to see from the water.
Snow over Bathurst Harbour, Tasmania
Jimmy Cornell mentioning Australia in his Noonsite blog concludes why he doesn't see many Aussie boats around the world proportionate to boat owners "Why would they want to when you see what they have in their region."
How could you see the rest of the world just yet when you haven't seen, say the Kimberley, the Great Barrier Reef, New Zealand, the South West Pacific, SE Asia etc - all on our backdoor.
I'm currently planning for this trip, but the timetable should evolve on the wing as we go around, because it would be a shame to pass up an opportunity to drink up what is in store for us as we move from place to place.
We have to of course avoid the cyclone season around the top from Dec to April, so SKIE may move quicker or slower to meet this circumstance.
The trips route will be clockwise from Hobart where the boat is currently waiting to be hauled for the first time, and expect departure should be mid April 09.
Going against the westerlies across the Great Australian Bight is not the convention, but advice is that if we hug the shore across southern Australia we should find a reasonably comfortable trip with lot's of offshore easterlies and high pressure fronts more south.
This stretch is of course not for the faint hearted, but we have a boat that is designed to cross oceans, and some prudence with careful study of weather patterns, no set timetable apart from cyclone time, we should hopefully mitigate any serious discomfort.
I will update this blog page as my research evolves. Remember as said before that cruising plans are written in the sand at low tide.
