Noonsite July Sailing News & Updates | |
Watching the Weather
From devastating hurricanes and typhoons to mini-tsunamis to extreme heat waves and forest fires and deadly flooding, July has seen its fair share of catastrophic weather events around the world. Wherever you have been cruising this month we hope you are safe, have escaped the worst of the extreme weather and are enjoying being out on the water - by far the coolest place to be!
Every July we seem to break heat records - tips on keeping cool on board can be found in last year's July news. This month we have plenty of updates on changing formalities for yachts around the world, in-depth reports on what's happening in the Caribbean post-hurricane Beryl, cruising news from ocean regions and more great reports from you, the Noonsite community.
If you haven't yet done so, get in touch with us and let us know your cruising story. We are always looking for interesting cruising reports, cruisers for our portrait of a cruiser series and insights into life on board to share with the Noonsite community.
Stay cool,
Sue and the Noonsite Team
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Vitamin Sea
Many yachts when cruising Indonesia, have the gateway to the Komodo National Park, Labuan Bajo, on their cruising itinerary. However, over-tourism has led to the Park’s Chief declaring that from 2025 the park will no longer open to tourists in order to safeguard and allow for the recovery of one of Indonesia’s major tourist attractions – the Komodo Dragons. It is still not decided if this closure will be temporary, permanent or partial. Find out more.
About 2,300 miles west of central Chile, Easter Island (also known as Rapa Nui) is among the most remote spots on Earth – and among the most polluted. Residents are having to deal with a flood of multinational plastic, much of it tossed overboard by the factory fishing ships hoovering up sea life just offshore. Read how the islanders are dealing with the trash.
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New to Cruising
Every month we are seeing more and more countries introducing stricter controls at their borders for yachts. Unfortunately, all too often, this is due to a rising number of non-compliance issues. Every country has a different entry and departure procedure, often tailored specifically for pleasure craft, and all yachts - whatever flag - must follow them. Just this month tighter controls for pets on yachts are being introduced in Fiji and USA and BIOT entry fees have more than doubled. Research is required before venturing to a new country with your boat to ensure you have all the correct paperwork and have completed the correct pre-arrival procedures. Read our deatiled article for the American Sailing Association on Destination Planning, to make sure you have all bases covered.
Yachting Monthly report that French yacht manufacturer Jeanneau, has contacted all owners of its Sun Odyssey 410, 440 and 490 models following a product recall, amid safety concerns about seepage around the retractable bow thruster.
Spices and herbs do so much more than make our food taste great – they are packed with health benefits too, according to Sarah Powell Fowler of Small Vegan Kitchen. In her latest INSIGHTS article for Noonsite, Sarah discusses why she believes spices are a true superfood ally for sailors and gives tips on choosing and storing spices on board.
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Yachties Helping Out
More initiatives taking place around the world as cruisers give back to the communities they are sailing to.
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Hurricane Beryl
We have been talking about giving back for some time now and recently launched our Cruising Impact page to profile some of the great work cruisers have been doing around the world for the communities they visit. This month cruising impact has truly come into its own with the mammoth effort taking place in the eastern Caribbean following the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Beryl at the start of July. Small boats can get to where large commercial vessels cannot and, once again, they have proved vital in bringing emergency supplies in the initial aftermath and sustained aid to the smaller communities. Cruisers, aid organisations, cruising clubs and rallies have banded together to solve problems and bring the right aid to where it’s needed most.
Read our latest report on the situation post-Beryl.
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Caribbean Season Coming Up
Not everyone can physically assist with the aftermath of a hurricane, but you can help by not changing your Caribbean cruising plans for the coming season. Part of the recovery post-Beryl for these small Caribbean nations is to get their livelihoods back and businesses operating. Once vital services are restored and re-building underway, islanders are going to be waiting for the cruisers to return post-hurricane season. While these islands - once breathtakingly beautiful - have been knocked, they will recover and they will need your business. Dutch sailors Floris van Hees and Ivar Smits (Sailors for Sustainability) spent several months in the Caribbean at the end of the 2023 Hurricane Season, as they neared the end of their circumnavigation. They discovered for themselves why so many sailors adore the Caribbean and linger there for months on end. Read their inspirational article here.
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Books Build Bridges
Candice and Mark McMillan have sailed the Caribbean for the past five years and became aware that there were many areas in need of library books for children. Candice founded the Trinidadian NGO Books Build Bridges, to help thousands of children have access to resources that were previously out of reach. Books Build Bridges began with a donation of 10,000 books and has now expanded to distributing 50,000 books across the Caribbean. Find out how you can get involved.
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Pacific Ocean
Niue: The humpback whales arrived late June in Niue and are expected to stay until October. If you are wintering in NZ and didn’t manage to visit Niue on your Pacific crossing, flights from NZ to Niue are very reasonable.
Cook Islands: Palmerston Atoll, famed for their hospitality towards visiting yachts, have been in touch to remind cruisers that in order to visit Palmerston, Cook Islands Customs (Border Control agencies) requires mandatory clearance into Aitutaki or Rarotonga first and sailing vessels have to request for approval to visit Palmerston.
Tonga: Following news that Starlink had to shut down operations in the Kingdom of Tonga, the Government Ministry has now granted a provisional temporary permit to the company to operate in the country for the next six months. Read more.
Fiji: Fiji is one of the most popular cruising destinations in the South Pacific, but skippers heading to these islands need to ensure they are aware of immigration requirements for crew changes and new biosecurity restrictions on cats and dogs on board visiting vessels. Here is an update on the new rules.
NZ: An all-women crew have set sail from New Zealand for Tonga on a restored voyaging waka, in a historic journey aimed at inspiring the next generation of female voyagers and raising the profile of women in the maritime industry. Read more.
Australia: Yachts heading to Australia need to be aware that all international, non-commercial vessels, must only arrive at specific Australian ports, known as First Points of Entry (FPOE). You must also ensure that your FPOE is also a Biosecurity First Point of Entry. If you want to arrive at a Port that is a non-FPOE, you must apply for permission at least 10 days before arriving into Australian territory. Find out more details at Australia Clearance.
Great feedback on clearing into Australia at Thursday Island, from regular Noonsite contributors Maria and Allen Wadsworth of Sailing Jamala, a friendly and straightforward port of entry if coming from Vanuatu.
A number of around-the-world cruising rallies arrive in Queensland, Australia from July onwards. The World ARC Rally, arrive in Mackay from Vanuatu at the end of July, followed by the Oyster World Rally in mid-August (both with 20-30 boats). The Go West Rally yachts arrive in Bundaberg from SW Pacific Islands during October/November.
Taiwan: Super Typhoon Gaemi made landfall near the city of Hualien late July 2024 and officials say it could be the most powerful storm to hit the island in eight years. Read more.
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Indian Ocean
Kenya: An excellent choice for first landfall in East Africa, Kilifi lies just north of Mombasa on the estuary of the Goshi River. Kilifi Creek provides visiting yachts with a very protected place to moor securely, great kite surfing, beautiful mangroves and a sociable and friendly boatyard who can assist with entry formalities and where boats can safely be left whilst exploring the interior.
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South China Sea
Indonesia: Noonsite has been advised of a new regulation for yachts visiting Indonesia. Starting from July 1, 2024 a change of crew or adding crew members is not permitted. Crew lists from the entry port must be the same as at the exit port. More details soon.
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Atlantic Ocean
Orca continue to interfere with yachts off the western Iberian peninsula, damaging a yacht’s rudder mid-July as far north as Brittany, NW France, resulting in a tow and a week later causing a yacht to sink close to the Straits of Gibraltar. Read the news here. The Spanish Government have issued new guidelines on how to avoid orca, and what to do in the event of an interaction (see poster image).
Next year (2025) marks the 40th edition of World Cruising Club’s Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), which has crossed the Atlantic from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to the Caribbean every year since 1986.
Find out more about the celebrations planned for this special edition.
A very sad story this month.
The bodies of British Colombia cruising couple Brett Clibbery and Sarah Packwood were found inside their liferaft, washed up on Sable Island, 290km SE of Halifax, Nova Scotia, mid-July. They had been undertaking an Atlantic crossing to the Azores when they were reported missing in late June. An investigation is being carried out into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy, to date there has been no trace of their boat “Theros”, a GibSea 42.
South Africa: Down in the South Atlantic there’s good news for circumnavigators. Following months of negotiations spearheaded by OSASA, it has been announced that Saldahna Bay, on South Africa's north west coast, has finally been authorised as a Port of Entry by the Department of Home Affairs and Border Management Authority and will be open for clearance formalities from August 1, 2024. This will save cruisers the hassle of having to return to Cape Town for outward clearance.
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Xufre Boatyard Galicia
Located on the beautiful Arousa Island in the Ria de Arousa, NW Spain, our boatyard is ideally situated to assist boat owners on passage south/north to/from North Europe and those enjoying summer cruising in the Rias, but wanting a safe and secure place to leave their boat for the winter.
Boat owners can carry out work themselves or use our on-site professionals. Just 1 hour from Santiago & Vigo airports, getting to and from your boat is easy. Competitive rates.
https://www.xufre.es/
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Caribbean Sea
With so many islands devastated by the passing of Hurricane Beryl this month, the yachting community have joined forces to assist with urgent supplies and relief aid. In this news report we outline guidelines for yachts wanting to assist and where to donate, and in this news item we report on cruisers with damaged boats needing aid and detail an urgent supply list. See the “Yachties Helping Out” section above, for more details.
Antigua: A new travelift suitable for catamarans (max. 10m beam) is now available at Jolly Harbour Marina and Boatyard, with a transporter with catamaran pads arriving September.
Grenada: Despite securely locking their catamaran, which was anchored in the outside lagoon at St. George’s in Grenada, the owners returned from a trip ashore to find the vessel had been broken into and a number of items had been stolen. Read the report.
Other security reports can be found at Noonsite Security Reports.
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Mediterranean Sea
Italy: Mid-July the Italian health ministry placed 12 cities under the most severe heat warning as a wave of hot air from Africa baked southern Europe and the Balkans and sent temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Greece and Turkey have also suffered extremely high temperatures since June.
Cruiser Patrick Catellani spent the month of June on Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island located halfway between Sicily and Tunisia. Patrick was there to scuba dive, but while in Lampedusa he experienced a mini-tsunami. “A Marrobbio is a kind of mini-tsunami, where water drains out of the harbor quickly, creating rip currents, and high waves enter the harbor from the south," he told Noonsite. "We encountered it once, and fortunately, we only had minor damages (a bollard broke), but a few fishing boats damaged their rudders by hitting the bottom.” Patrick also discovered that it’s possible to clear Customs from Lampedusa and exit Italy, which they did in order to sail straight to Tunisia without needing to return to Sicily for clearances. Read Patrick’s full feedback in Italy comments (Explore country + speech bubble icon).
Greece: Lefkas Marina, in the Ionian, report that the Lefkas Swing Bridge has announced new, more frequent, opening times for the next 12 months. See the Lefkas port page for more details.
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Off the Beaten Path
With the insufferable heatwaves throughout the northern hemisphere this summer, it’s no surprise that many sailors are heading north for some cooler cruising. This Cruising World article about a northern track across the Atlantic in the wake of the Vikings, covers sailing to Nova Scotia, Greenland, Iceland and Norway – all cruising grounds with agreeable summer temperatures, incredible scenery, yet challenging cruising. The port of Nuuk in Greenland has seen a steep rise in the number of commercial tour boats and Nuuk Harbour Master reports that it will be difficult for yachts to get a berth in the future. “This year at one time there were 5 sailboats on the Harbour buoy due to lack of space” he told Noonsite. Currently Nuuk harbour is out of bounds and is not accepting any sail boats to either moor or anchor due to overcrowding. Victor Wejer, OCC Port Officer, reports; “It’s not only Nuuk that gets crowded. Popular Ilulisaat (Jakobshavn) is at the limit as it is so close to the famed glacier Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn Glacier)." According to Radio Aasiaat, there are over 30 sailing boats currently in Greenland
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Book of the Month
Sailing to the Heart of Japan
By Nicholas Coghlan
Sailing to the Heart of Japan is a voyage of personal discovery and a unique account of one of the world's least-known, yet most attractive cruising destinations. Starting from New Zealand, Nicholas and his partner, Jenny, navigate Bosun Bird, their Vancouver 27, north through Pacific Island nations to make landfall on Kyushu, in SW Japan. Over a period of 15 months, they venture to the remote and depopulated archipelago of Goto Retto in the East China Sea, through Kanmon Kaikyo narrows and into the island-studded Inland Sea. Travel by "yotto" allows them glimpses of an enigmatic land that are rarely offered to more conventional visitors.
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