KEEP AUSTRALIA ON YOUR LEFT
The Covid pandemic had prevented a refit and the forecast was favourable for a cruise north to enjoy the tropical Australian winter. So, my wife and I cast-off in early April 2021. Our pocket cruiser Skyebird, an Australian-built Contessa 25, was a former racer-cruiser that had known these waters well in her racing heyday. But that was nearly 50 years ago, prompting my mind to wander between skin fittings, rudder bearings and all the sundry items that kept her tired fibreglass hull afloat.
The east coast of Australia is the most popular boating area in that vast island and also the most populated, so compared with the rest of the country, boaters have access to services as they voyage north along the Pacific coast. Stretching from the edge of the Southern Ocean to the Torres Strait, along an island mass larger than Europe, it’s a long voyage I have enjoyed making several times. Best broken into two legs – Sydney to Brisbane and then the tropical leg north to Torres Strait and the Indian Ocean – the region offers pristine cruising with few other yachts. Our voyage would take us on the first leg for six weeks in day or overnight sections, according to the weather.
The region’s size means that there are two distinct weather zones – the more temperate southern half and the tropical northern section that is in the hurricane zone during the Australian summer. Cyclones can be fierce, such as Cyclone Debbie that destroyed much of
