Sydney to Brazil for the World Cup

[meridiansahoy]

G'day Folks,

This is my first post on Sailnet so go easy. I've been sailing for long enough to know that preparation and planning are conducive to a great day / year out on the water. That in mind I'd like to get a bit of feedback on a very rough plan to start of our circumnavigation. We've got nothing but a tight budget and big dreams at this stage, and I'm looking out for a ocean tested low priced Kelly Peterson 44/46, or a an Adams 12/13 (for those in the northern hemisphere who have never heard of this design they are 40-ish ft Racer Cruiser designed by Australian Joe Adams).

My original plan was to head on up the Suez and follow the trade wind milk run like most (used to) do. Then I got to reading the ISAF guidelines on piracy and its had the intended affect on my planning, in short if it was just me I'd take it on, but with my lovely lady to think about I don't want the 300NM of paranoia that would no doubt accompany that route.

So, here's the idea as it stands. Starting in April 2013 and reaching Rio de Janeiro by June 2014:

.	From	To	Distance (NM)	Time (Days)
.	Sydney	Brisbane	413	4
.	Brisbane	Cape York	1239	12
.	Cape York	Darwin	739	7
.	Darwin	Timor	429	4
.	Timor	Bali	637	6
.	Bali	Singapore	919	9
.	Singapore	Phuket	521	5
.	Phuket	Sri Lanka	1082	11
.	Sri Lanka	Maldives	565	6
.	Maldives	Mauritius	1513	15
.	Mauritius	Madagascar	670	7
.	Madagascar	Durban	851	9
.	Durban	Cape Town	760	8
.	Cape Town	St Helena	1756	18
.	St Helena	Rio De Janeiro	2094	21
.			14188	142

I have a fair bit of research to do to make sure that all these legs are doable in the time frames to avoid typhoon seasons and catch the right monsoons to get us around the Cape of Good Hope.

Am I mad? Are we going be going too fast to enjoy it? What are the "Biggies" as far as weather patterns / timing to avoid on this route? Does anyone go into the Seychelles these days from the east?

Would be great to get feedback from anyone who has rounded the Cape or done anything similar at the budget end of a forty footer.

Cheers!
Hugh

[St Anna]

Well, the bits I know of are about right. Of course you are travelling at hull speed.

You have to factor in the effects of the maritime version of Murphy's Law.

Good luck

[chall03]

Welcome aboard from a fellow Sydneysider.

I have considered similar ponderings for some time and well circumnavigating from here is at the moment a bit of a tricky affair because of those pesky pirates.

Most seem to be heading around Cape Horn. I would add Seychelles into your passage Plan.

Another( some might say soft/expensive) option is to sail up to Asia and then get your boat shipped by a company such as Dockwise from there to the Med.( About $35kish I believe give or take) and then continue on. Those with the money and without the desire to meet Cape rollers are doing this.

Another option given our dollar that a few people I know of are doing is to chuck out the 'sailing around the world' idea, and buy a boat in Europe and sail it home. You will get more boat for your buck, get to do a shakedown in the Med, sail the ARC as your first ocean passage, hang in the caribbean and then coconuts and palm trees all the way home

If I didn't like my current boat so much(and my wife loves it) I would seriously consider buying a Hallberg Rassy or Najad in the Med and doing the above as a 2 year plan.

[killarney_sailor]

We are currently in Darwin before the Sail Indonesia rally that starts on the 28th of July. We will stay in Indonesia until around September 28th and then head to South Africa via Mauritius and Madagascar with arrival in Richards Bay around the end of November. We will leave South Africa and go to the Caribbean with stops in St Helena and northern Brazil, so it is a roughly parallel plan.

My thoughts about your plan:
- it is a bit rushed but probably doable so long as you do not suffer bad breakdowns at the wrong time.
- visiting Indonesia independently is a bit of pain and requires a shipping agent and a lot of bureacracy, that is why there are so many boats (130+) in the rally. The rally does not leave until the end of July and there is no way you could do Singapore/Phuket with that departure.
- the piracy info I got from the website of the multinational naval forces in the area recommend that you should not be north of 12°S, west of 78°E. Some of your route (Maldives) is well in this area.
- assuming you are not going around Cape Horn to continue your trip after the World Cup you will have to head northeast against the prevailing winds and currents. I have been told this is a very nasty trip although there may be a time of year when it is easier
- final thought, it may be very difficult to find somewhere to park your boat in Rio during the WC. It might make more sense to head to one of the more northern cities (Salvador or Recife) where I assume at least some early matches will be held. Even for these I would make sure that you can get a secure place to keep your boat.

[copacabana]

- assuming you are not going around Cape Horn to continue your trip after the World Cup you will have to head northeast against the prevailing winds and currents. I have been told this is a very nasty trip although there may be a time of year when it is easier
- final thought, it may be very difficult to find somewhere to park your boat in Rio during the WC. It might make more sense to head to one of the more northern cities (Salvador or Recife) where I assume at least some early matches will be held. Even for these I would make sure that you can get a secure place to keep your boat.[/QUOTE]

Going north from Rio is best done in the winter, riding the cold fronts north. Even in summer it's not that big a deal. The current isn't that strong and the real pleasure of the trip is taking your time, stopping at the lovely islands and coves along the coast onyour way up north.

I agree about looking for a mooring in Rio well in advance. I recommend staying in Niteroi where it's much cheaper (although nothing will be cheap at this time). You might also consider leaving your boat in a place like Ubatuba (very cheap) and taking the bus to Rio and staying in a hotel there (again, book in advance).

[meridiansahoy]

Originally Posted by St Anna

Well, the bits I know of are about right. Of course you are travelling at hull speed.

You have to factor in the effects of the maritime version of Murphy's Law.

Good luck

Hi St Anna,

Looks like you have a Peterson Formosa 46 is that correct?

Any chance you could measure the headroom in the saloon? I looked a KP44 yesterday and loved it, the only drawback was having to duck my head in the saloon... Depending on what you say I might consider some radical surgery.

Cheers
Hugh

[meridiansahoy]

Originally Posted by copacabana

- assuming you are not going around Cape Horn to continue your trip after the World Cup you will have to head northeast against the prevailing winds and currents. I have been told this is a very nasty trip although there may be a time of year when it is easier
- final thought, it may be very difficult to find somewhere to park your boat in Rio during the WC. It might make more sense to head to one of the more northern cities (Salvador or Recife) where I assume at least some early matches will be held. Even for these I would make sure that you can get a secure place to keep your boat.

Going north from Rio is best done in the winter, riding the cold fronts north. Even in summer it's not that big a deal. The current isn't that strong and the real pleasure of the trip is taking your time, stopping at the lovely islands and coves along the coast onyour way up north.

I agree about looking for a mooring in Rio well in advance. I recommend staying in Niteroi where it's much cheaper (although nothing will be cheap at this time). You might also consider leaving your boat in a place like Ubatuba (very cheap) and taking the bus to Rio and staying in a hotel there (again, book in advance).

Hi Copa,

Yeah I figured that might be an issue. I was wondering how many people would be really sailing their boats to the World Cup. The north americans aren't interested and its seems a bit extreme for europeans to cross the atlantic for a football tournament.

I mentioned it to couple of friends and it seems I could quite easily make my marina fees back renting out a few bunks anyway..

Will have to do some more research on those islands, then again, we might even get a bit crazy and head down around the horn.

Cheers
Hugh

[meridiansahoy]

Originally Posted by chall03

Most seem to be heading around Cape Horn. I would add Seychelles into your passage Plan.

The recent update on the ISAF Piracy report recommends avoiding the Seychelles, I've actually worked for the World Food Programme (they have the UN ships being protected going into Somalia) and I know that they will overstate dangers from time to time, but that said I'd rather not be that guy who read it and still got himself kidnapped.

Another( some might say soft/expensive) option is to sail up to Asia and then get your boat shipped by a company such as Dockwise from there to the Med.( About $35kish I believe give or take) and then continue on. Those with the money and without the desire to meet Cape rollers are doing this.

Another option given our dollar that a few people I know of are doing is to chuck out the 'sailing around the world' idea, and buy a boat in Europe and sail it home. You will get more boat for your buck, get to do a shakedown in the Med, sail the ARC as your first ocean passage, hang in the caribbean and then coconuts and palm trees all the way home

Yeah the shipping option is great for some, but not for me. I'm all about the journey, and the struggle of a few rollers will only make it sweeter. With the AUD just jumping all over the Euro its pretty tempting to buy something in the med. Haven't got my head around taxes / importing yet. Have you looked at it in detail?

If I didn't like my current boat so much(and my wife loves it) I would seriously consider buying a Hallberg Rassy or Najad in the Med and doing the above as a 2 year plan.

Hallberg-Rassy 43 Mk II.. Getting my drool on.

[chall03]

Agreed on the shipping.
I can just think of better things to do with the money

To import a boat into Oz you need to pay 15% tax on top of the purchase price, but only when you get to Oz.

Given the Euro/Aus exchange at the moment it makes some sense, as does buying a boat in the US and sailing home.

[aeventyr60]

Skip the route north to singapore, Thailand and the Northern part of the Indian Ocean. You can go direct from Darwin to Christmas island, Coco's Keeling and then on to Rodriquez, Mauritus and then to Richards bay in So. Africa. Many of my cruising friends are skipping the Northern Route/Red Sea and either going down the West coast of Sumatra or leaving from further South and going out the Sunda Straits and on to Coco's Keeling, Rodriquez. Then up to you to pick your WX season up the Atlantic.

Plenty of Adams 40's out here. My friends circumnavigated on one and also went around Cape horn. Many KP's out here as well. Both good for you purposes.

Folks who shipped their boats from Thailand this year to Turkey paid about $800 a foot. 30,000K+ for a 40 footer. They were scared......