Home time! But which route?
THE number of sailors visiting South East Asia is ever increasing, and while many choose to stay in Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand, for others there comes a time when the decision to return to Australia is made. The question then asked is: “Which way should we go?”
When it was time for us to return to Australia, I looked at our options and read of the choices that others had made, the pros and cons of their decisions. I considered the seasons, current flows, ease of entry and exiting, particularly in Indonesia and of course, the endless paperwork for transiting through that country.
I discovered that there were three known general routes for a return to Australia. However, I will focus primarily on a fourth route back to Oz as there was little available information on this route, it is the one we ultimately took for our return voyage.
ROUTE ONE: CIRCUMNAVIGATING
This is arguably the least used route as it requires the sailor to circumnavigate. This is not an option for many yachters, the time factor alone is an issue. Some cited the distances to be just too far and their fuel capacity was not enough to allow an ocean crossing.
While many European and American cruisers have undertaken a circumnavigation, it is not a consideration for most Aussie cruisers. However, for those with the time and a suitable vessel, this route and the opportunities to visit countries further afield is a huge draw card and some of their blogs do leave me drooling. While it is a hope that one day we will circumnavigate, at this time it is not an option for us.
ROUTE TWO: OVER THE TOP
This was the route we used on our return to Australia in 2009. We started in Kota Kinabulu at the completion of the Sail East Malaysia Rally, making our way around the top of Borneo, down to Sandakan and across the Sulu Sea south of the Phillipines, en-route to The Tall Ships Rally at Bitung. From there we set a course for Halmaherea and Sorong, to finally exit Indonesia at Jayapura then into New Guinea.
We used the ‘transition period’, with its reduced east/west currents, a six to eight week weather window between September and October, to cruise over the top of New Guinea to the Louisiades and back to Cairns.
It was six hundred nautical miles longer than going from Bitung straight down to Gove but, as we were in Borneo, it made more sense to take the route over New Guinea, a country that I was happy to visit again.
“NO WIND MEANT MOTORING, OR AT THE VERY BEST MOTOR SAILING, ‘WELCOME TO INDONESIA!’ SAID MY SAILING BUDDY.”
We kept close to mainland New Guinea, using the contra-currents of the transition period. We planned to exit at the tiny island of Samari, however the local government
