Noonsite May Sailing News and Updates |
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Just like the birds, cruising yachts have their migration seasons and May is a pretty big one covering all points of the compass globally. There are yachts passaging: NORTH from NZ and Australia to the South Pacific, from the Caribbean to the USA and tail-enders heading up the Red Sea to the Med; SOUTH from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean; EAST from the Caribbean to Europe; and WEST through the Pacific Islands.
With the Atlantic Hurricane Season beginning on June 1st and the Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season already begun on May 15th, it’s a race against the clock for many.
Our featured book this month focuses on heavy weather and is a great one to read before undertaking any major passage.
We have a plethora of cruiser reports from around the world including Australia, French Polynesia, Guam, Namibia, Philippines, Cayman Islands, Morocco and Turkey. Thank you to all our readers that took the time to share these accounts of their recent cruising experiences.
We hope you enjoy our world cruising round-up this month and please continue to share reports and updates with us at editor@noonsite.com.
Safe Passage,
Sue and the Noonsite Team.
Editor@noonsite.com
Previous newsletters can be viewed here.
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The Brian Black Memorial Award 2023 sponsored by B&G is back, with a new video competition alongside the well-established writing competition, each with £2,000 on offer for the best video story and best written story about marine environmental issues explored by sailing boat. This year, the award is focusing on coastal biodiversity, its beauty and wonder and the crisis it is facing. Find out more here. Image of Brian Black provided by the Black Family Estate.
We talked about Sargassum last month - the great Atlantic belt - and how it affects transatlantic sailors, however, Sargassum is also a big problem in the Caribbean Sea. NOAA now produce a monthly Sargassum Inundation Report for the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and tropical Atlantic, which gives clear, colour-coded indications as to where levels of weed are at their worst around the coastline. Go here to find out more.
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You are on passage when you suffer an expected breakage and need to divert to the closest port with a boatyard that can lift your vessel. A tricky situation, but one that would be greatly eased if you had Noonsite at your fingertips? Our Premium membership, available monthly, offers the ability to download up to 10 ports and 10 formalities per month, selecting what information you want in an easy-to-read pdf that you can store digitally on board and use when needing port information quickly offline. Plan better, get organised and reduce the stress by upgrading to Premium for your next extended cruising and download all the port info. you might need in advance.
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Top Tip:
To quickly check out new links and books on the site, scroll down the hamburger menu to “Navigate Noonsite” and “Archives”. We can’t get everything we publish on the homepage, so in order to not miss out on recent information posted, just click on Archives every time you log in and find out what’s been posted since your last visit. Just above Archives are the latest news and reports that have been posted on the site too.
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The second SSCA Bahamas Gathering in the small community of Black Point, Exumas, was yet again a great success. More than 85 boats joined the three days of festivities raising enough funds in advance of the event to provide host, Lorraine’s Café and Bakery, with a Starlink system. Other SSCA members donated laptop computers to the local school, two gestures that will make a real difference and long-lasting impact on the Black Point community. Read news item here.
Help is on its way to cyclone-stricken parts of Vanuatu as sailors and aid organisations band together to bring much needed supplies to the country. The Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey 500 (GLYWO) arrives there this month, with a plethora of donated supplies and to kick-start tourism activities following the devastating cylones. Yacht Aid Global have activated Operation Nasama to help the people of Vanuatu get clean water access and provide shelter-rebuilding and hygiene kits. Find out how you can help.
Danish cruiser Hans Clemmensen makes regular voyages aboard his yacht SV Seagoon from Cairns, Australia, to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea to set up solar power systems in a region where electricity is either not available or not sustainable. Find out more about Hans and his project here, also at https://www.facebook.com/LouisiadeSolaLightProject.
German cruiser Hilde Larsen of SV Amiga is based in the Solomons and runs the Sailing Solomon Islands Facebook page for cruisers. She has been in the Solomons for 4 years and raises school and study money for young people in the Western Province. According to a CIA report, the Solomon Islands are the second most expensive country to school fees relative to the gross domestic product, at 12.8%. Find out more about Hilde’s fund raising here.
Let us know how you’ve been getting involved with local community projects as you cruise and we’ll feature your story here.
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The VHF is your Lifeline: The VHF is an essential piece of safety gear on any cruising sailboat. At least, it was. Long distance cruiser Bruce Balan of ChartLocker was recently anchored in Baie Taiohae on Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas listening out on VHF Channel 16 and sent this poignant message to the cruising community:
“I counted 35 boats in the bay. Scanning all the normal calling channels I heard maybe 2 boats a day making VHF calls. When I started asking around, it seems many boats don’t even turn their VHF on any more. With Iridium GO texting, Starlink, increased mobile phone coverage, most people SMS, message, or call. Frankly, this is crazy. The VHF is our lifeline to each other and fastest and best way to contact boats nearby. How can someone come to your aid, or you help a fellow cruiser, if no one is listening on 16?
Bruce fears this will only get worse as more and more boats choose to have 24/7 internet access and use texting and calling to communicate with each other. He asks, “Please turn your radio on - it ties our community together. Don’t let the other technologies destroy that.”
Useful Skills: Traditional sailing skills of rope splicing and whipping are ones that some boat owners may know and appreciate. But for those unfamiliar with these techniques, this informative article by Jimmy Green Marine may help you better understand the onboard benefits of these sail-making arts.
Cruising Abroad: A Noonsite page not to miss if planning to cruise beyond your home country, is the Noonsite Documents page, covering all the documents required, as well as other considerations, when cruising abroad. It includes boat documents, crew documents, cruising permits, visas, boat equipment and other topics such as money, food, cultural differences etc.
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Jimmy Green Knowledge Centre |
The Jimmy Green Marine Team have over 40 years of experience in the marine industry, selling ropes and rigging, anchoring and mooring solutions.
Over that time, we have built up our Knowledge Centre with content directed at helping our customers make a considered and informed purchasing decision.
Whenever a customer asks us a question, we don’t just answer it personally, we take the time to add a detailed explanation to the website for everyone to get the benefit. So, the next time we are asked, we can point to the information online.
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Pacific:
The eastern North Pacific hurricane season began mid-month and it’s been a quiet start to the season with no tropical cyclones so far. Visit http://hurricanes.gov for the latest.
Met Bob publishes a weekly sailing weather blog for the South Pacific and he calls the exodus of yachts from NZ the “Autumn Flush”. Many of those heading for the tropics are congregating at Tonga's Minerva Reefs, a group of two submerged atolls located between Fiji, Niue and Tonga and a useful stopover in calm weather (thankfully now available to passage makers having been closed for 2+ years). The image from the ICNZ Pacific tracking page, shows the South Pacific lit up (in pink) with the Autumn Rush.
Regular contributors, Canadian cruisers Brent Crack and Mary Bevan, are crossing the South Pacific and sending Noonsite comprehensive reports of all the places they visit. As they have made their way through the various island chains of French Polynesia, they found a complex situation regarding anchoring and mooring restrictions. In this report, Brent outlines their experiences and provides some useful tips and updates for those concerned about anchoring here.
Allen and Maria Wadsworth have been contributing information to Noonsite ever since they cast off their dock lines from the UK in 2017. They enjoyed the Caribbean and east coast of the USA before transiting the Panama Canal and crossing the Pacific to French Polynesia where they have spent several seasons. In this report Maria provides some updates on a few of the many places they have visited in the archipelago.
After five years of planning and preparations, the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) will begin a four-year, 43,000 nautical mile circumnavigation of the Pacific in June 2023 aboard replica ancient voyaging canoes, using traditional wayfinding methods. Find out more at this news item.
Still in French Polynesia, Kevin Ellis of Yacht Services Nuku Hiva reports that the new online system for clearance in French Polynesia seems to be working well for EU citizens, however for non-EU it’s debatable if it actually will save you any time. The reason being that you still need to go to the Gendarmerie to get your passport stamped and the officers at the Gendarmerie have no documentation on the new online system and are not aware of how it works. Hopefully these kinks will be ironed out in due course.
It is no longer possible to clear into the Southern Cook Islands at Palmerston Island. All yachts must first clear in at an official port of entry before proceeding to Palmerston. Landing fees on the island have also increased from NZ$5 to NZ$10 per person. Cruisers should note that the wonderfully remote Suwarrow in the Northern Cook Islands is closed until June 1st, 2023.
The Niue Yacht Club has a new web page - https://www.niueisland.com/niue-yacht-club - with detailed information on arrival procedures and rules for visiting yachts, plus a new online mooring booking system, which can be paid in advance. There are also links to forms for Customs, Biosecurity and Health, that can be downloaded and completed ready for arrival. The NYC have provided the FAD positions in the approaches to Alofi Bay. See Niue Yachting Essentials for the co-ordinates.
Savusavu is a Port of Entry on the south east coast of the large northern island of Vanua in Fiji and is where most yachts from Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu & Wallis-Futuna clear into the country, particularly if they are keen to cruise in the east of the archipelago and to Lau after clearance. While the town has worked very hard to make clearance here friendly, simple and straightforward, it has been starved of a good marina, dry dock or haul-out facility. The new Nawi Island Resort and Marina hopes to fill this gap and is designed and built up to a category 5 cyclone resistance rating. While new arrivals are welcome, it will officially open for business in June/July 2023.
Kiribati’s Kiritimati (Christmas) Island reopened to yachts after 3 years in lockdown at the end of March. Fiji Airways resume weekly flights this month, but while testing requirements have been lifted for air travelers, they remain in place for crew arriving by yacht along with proof of vaccination. See biosecurity for details.
While waiting for the north Pacific winter storms to abate, Dean Isherwood stopped in Guam and found it to be a nice change of pace from the developing world of the South West Pacific. He sent this useful report.
Typhoons are a risk on Guam during most of the year, however the strongest in years made itself known last week as super typhoon Mawar ploughed over the territory. After passing Guam Mawar intensified with winds peaking at 185 miles per hour, making it the strongest tropical cyclone in the West Pacific during the month of May on record and the strongest storm so far in 2023.
British sailors Philip and Sarah Tadd have provided a useful report on Australian GST, having had extensive repairs and maintenance done on their boat in Australia. After receiving different information about the GST situation they contacted the Australian Tax Office for clarification, and include these details in the report.
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South China Sea:
Dutch cruiser Eddie Smit flew into Vietnam to join a boat at the new Ana Marina, using an e-visa, which was pretty straightforward. However, once there discovered that cruising in the country is not possible at this time and yachts are treated just like commercial craft. Find out more in his report.
Singapore clearance procedures are now back to normal after Covid, albeit complicated and lengthy. An agent is still required to enter, however, now clearance must be done once a marina has been selected rather than clearance with Immigration out at sea.
Cruisers are warning of not trying to clear into the Philippines at Batangas, at the southern end of the main island of Luzon. A rogué agent there tries to extort huge fees out of sailing yachts for clearance and it is best avoided. If coming from the south, Puerto Princesa on Palawan is reported to much more yacht-friendly.
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Indian:
Motor yacht “Frantic Pace” reports on a 70-day visit to the Andaman- Nicobar Islands in eastern India. This was their third visit and they noticed some significant improvements as well as welcoming officials. Some of the burdensome red tape has eased: yachts can now remain in the Andamans for the length of the Captain’s visa; many more islands have been approved for anchorage, swimming, snorkeling and fishing; and there is no longer a requirement to report your position twice daily. Read the full feedback in comments, Andamans.
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Red Sea:
Yachts visiting Djibouti report on the importance of getting the right agent for clearance, one who knows and understands small yachts. Most agents in Djibouti are geared towards commercial shipping and recreational cruising is little understood by the authorities. Consequently, if you get the wrong agent, you may find yourselves paying exorbitant clearance costs. Always appoint an agent well in advance and get several quotes and recommendations. Some interesting feedback in Djibouti Comments from Patrick Catellani of SY Tabata III who encountered problems when trying to obtain a cruising permit to explore the Tadjoura Gulf in Djibouti.
SY Tabata III is currently sailing up the Eritrea coast on the way to Jeddah and skipper Patrick has also sent feedback on Starlink; “I'm using the ROAM version with Mobile Priority 1T package. ROAM has worked well since installed a few months ago in Thailand. We went to Maldives, Seychelles, Socotra, Djibouti...and now navigating the Red Sea and we have never lost the signal. I work from the boat so for me it is important to have a constant, stable and fast signal." Read Yachting World's May update on Starlink for cruisers here.
The Red Sea Passage Facebook Page report that there has been an increase of 40% on the number of yachts transiting north to the Med this year (close to 50 yachts have cleared through Egypt so far).
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Keep your friends and family live-updated
while sailing on the seven seas
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Skipperblogs.com provides a live map with automatic tracking (Iridium, AIS, SPOT). Your relatives can follow your journey around the globe and discover your adventures on a smart map.
Already have a website? Embed the map on it.
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Caribbean Sea:
As boats migrate out of the Caribbean Sea with Hurricane Season approaching, starting on 1 June, Don Street’s article for Noonsite on when to leave and which way to go is a worthwhile read.
Helpful officials, friendly people, great diving plus few cruising boats, make the Cayman Islands worth a visit, says Keith Pomeroy who visited there in early 2023. However, you need to keep an eye on the wind and weather, as he details in this report.
A yacht sailing from Colombia to the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean, has reported a potential piracy incident off the coast of Honduras, after encountering a fishing vessel that acted in a highly suspicious manner.
The Tobago Cays Marine Park in St. Vincent & The Grenadines recently announced a change in the permitted anchoring zones due to signifcant damage to coral by yachts. This removes the small anchoring zone adjacent to the cay of Petite Tabac, which is located outside the main lagoon of the Cays, on the windward side of Horseshoe Reef. Read more here.
Chris Lewns visited Los Roques, Venezuela, at the end of February and reports what a wonderful and beautiful (albeit pricey) place it is to visit. Read his feedback here under comments.
High season through the Panama Canal has ended and although news outlets are reporting drought and delays with transits, this will not affect yacht traffic, says canal agent Erick Galvez. “For yachts there is no delays, heavy season has ended, therefore transit after inspection is about 3-4 days. The dry season has affected merchant vessels, Panamax and Neopanamax, due to their high draft and heavy cargo, but every day there is traffic moving and yachts are not affected since yachts are always in tandem with a merchant vessel in the chamber. We are starting to get more rain since mid- May, thus lake levels will rise up eventually. What really affects yachts are the limited Advisors available per day, since they are workers within the canal authority who sign up to transit small craft in their time off. Also, the availability of Canal Inspectors, since they give priority to merchant vessels and their staff is limited as well.”
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Atlantic:
With the start of Hurricane Season on June 1st, the Spring migration across the Atlantic from the Caribbean to the Azores and Europe has begun. Bermuda is a popular pit-stop for many yachts, but it should be noted that although the online clearance service SailClear states it operates for Bermuda, the officials in Bermuda do not use it. Therefore, be sure to complete the official pre-arrival form. See Bermuda Clearance for more details. Bermuda Carnival runs from June 16th to 19th.
Circumnavigators Mike Reynolds and his wife Nicki were on their way to Bermuda from the BVI, on their 34-foot cruiser-racer Zen Again, when the passage turned nasty. With unexpected squalls of 60 knots+ they experienced significantly more wind than they had ever sailed in before (and they had crossed the Southern Indian and the South Atlantic Oceans!). The couple shared their experience and lessons learnt in this article for Yachting Monthly.
In the Azores, Horta on the island of Faial is already in their busy season with yacht arrivals. Duncan Sweet of MAYS, a company dedicated to ocean cruising sailors, reports “the main waterfront thoroughfare in Horta has been given a serious rebuild over the winter, with on-going work to complete a new laundry and showers complex to the south of the Yacht Club (Club Naval da Horta). Until these are completed, the original laundry, toilets and showers by the marina bar, are still operational. There is also a clear view of the fuel & reception quay as well as the MAYS location, which is on google maps here. MAYS monitors VHF Ch. 12. Two websites that will help visitors with insight into the Azores as well as Faial are https://www.visitazores.com/en and https://www.discoverfaial.com/en/. Arrival procedures and berth rates remain unchanged.
Unfortunately. the beautiful port of Lajes das Flores on the island of Flores (so named for its flowers) is still out of bounds for visiting yachts. Following Hurricane Lorenzo, which passed over the Azores at the beginning of October 2019, this port has been closed as the harbour was completely destroyed. A new harbour is under construction, however, Portos dos Acores are still busy getting the harbour repaired and they ask that yachts do not attempt to come to the port until construction work is complete.
The CA also report that Officials in France have announced a derogation for the ports of St Cast, St Quay, Lézardrieux, Tréguier, and Trébeurden in Brittany to act as temporary Ports of Entry for the period of 1st June to 30th September 2023 to ease entry into France for yachts arriving from outside Schengen.
A great many yachts in North Europe will be heading out across Biscay this month and down the coast of Spain and Portugal to Gibraltar and the Med. Of prime concern is likely the continuing on-going activity concerning orcas and yachts. Just at the start of May a third boat was sunk by the Iberian orcas to the south of Barbate in SW Spain with all four crew safely rescued. The CA have updated their ‘orca information and reporting’ portal this month reflecting the research and analysis that has been undertaken by the CA since June 2022. The CA orca project team has analysed over 300 interaction and uneventful passage reports received in 2022 and some patterns have emerged which are shared on the portal. Noonsite has many useful links on the Orcas and Yachts page, including links to interesting scientific articles with theories as to why the orcas are behaving this way.
Down in the South Atlantic there’s a new way of making payments in St. Helena and Ascension Island. At present, personal cards such as Visa and Mastercard are not widely accepted on-island and visitors either have to carry cash or visit the Bank during opening hours to draw from their card (fees apply). The local Bank on St Helena, also the only Bank on Ascension Island, has launched a new ‘Tourist Card’, a virtual prepaid GBP cash card that tourists can apply for and have ready to use when they arrive on the island. Find out more at https://sainthelenabank.com/tourist-card/
Namibia, on the south-west coast of Africa, is one of the driest and most sparsely-populated countries on earth. Its NW coast is known as the "Skeleton Coast", for good reason, but it is very scenic and there are many sheltered bays to anchor in, provided you keep a watchful eye on the weather. OSASA Director John Franklin provides this useful report for anyone considering heading that way.
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Teos Marina, Sığacık, Turkey |
Giving exclusive services since 2010, Teos Marina has been established as one of the premier destinations in Europe for yachting enthusiasts. The privileged TYHA’s 5 Gold Anchor Award places Teos Marina among the most remarkable marinas in the Europe for its exceptional facilities, amenities and excellent service levels once again.
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Home to many globetrotter sailors, Teos Marina is a well-known marina with its international quality assurance, high environmental awareness, customer-oriented service understanding and premium land & sea services. As a Blue Flag certified marina Teos Marina offers services in line with the world-class quality marina life and service concept which stands out with unspoiled nature, turquoise coves, historical texture, helpful people, natural products and local flavors.
Located in Turkey’s first Cittaslow city, Teos Marina is also logistically advantageous. Being a port of entry one can find ferry service from Teos Marina to Samos, one of the most popular islands of Greece and it is only 1 hour away from the Ancient City of Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary, which are among the most popular tourist destinations in the world.
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Mediterranean:
If you have been thinking about a visit to Morocco, this report by long-term liveaboard Alison Gieschen will most definitely tempt you. Full of glorious details of touring Morocco, as well as the difficulties her and her husband Dan experienced on trying to leave the Med for the Canaries, this is yet another great read from a Noonsite regular contributor.
Marine Publisher Imray has a nice feature about the “bora” in Croatia in their newsletter this month, as they share expert tips from the Adriatic Pilot by Trevor and Dinah Thompson. May, being a wonderful time to visit Croatia because of the mild weather and no summer crowds, does have its downside. As it’s “transition” season, there is a chance you may experience the “bora”, a cold, dry wind from the NE that often appears with little warning and can reach gale force in just a few hours. Imray explain more in their blog.
Wade and Diane Alarie arrived in Alanya, on the southern coast of Turkey, after passing through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in June 2020. After three years in the country they are now departing Turkish shores, but have shared a great deal of knowledge they have accumulated over the years in this informative report, a must-read for anyone considering sailing to Turkey.
Shavit Marina in Haifa, Israel, has now re-opened for the season after winter dredging operations. It is a port of entry and just a 30-minute drive from Nazareth and 50 minutes from the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River.
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LINKS WE LIKE FROM AROUND THE WEB |
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Sharks and Cruising Kindly
Pre-Launch Checklist
Practical Sailor have a useful pre-launch checklist to ensure you don’t miss anything when putting the boat back in the water.
The Role of Technology in Rescues
This article for Ocean Navigator by Ann Hoffer, Key Communications in an offshore rescue (page 18), demonstrates how technology is changing the way rescues at sea work. It’s a detailed account of two yacht rescues in the South Pacific in March 2023. Eddie Tuttle of BoatWatch, who were involved in the rescue, told Noonsite; “I think this is one of the most amazing stories ever of communication, captain and crew safety skill and the maritime community coming together. When Tommy Joyce commented on Boat Watch Facebook that he had set up a mobile command post in the vast Pacific Ocean, I drew a sigh of relief and amazement at this cruiser stepping up in such a profound and diligent way. He also did a great job along with Raindancer’s shore side contact Vinny Matiola, of coordinating the numerous people trying to help. And then there is the boat, SV Rolling Stones, that diverted and took 4 more crew on in the middle of nowhere. I still wonder how the provisions went.To top off the Raindancer episode, soon thereafter Tommy Joyce helped handle the medical emergency and dramatic rescue on SV Cepa in the middle of nowhere! Chris Parker, Marine Weather Center, who has helped BoatWatch and various Coast Guards and relayed distressed messages for countless boats, also assisted as the WorldARC SSB Radio Controller. Ann Hoffner sums up her article by saying, "It takes an ocean”. So true. I encourage cruisers to read the article (page 18)".
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By Tom Cunliffe
Despite what many of today’s “YouTube” sailors and bloggers may say, bad weather is an unavoidable, yet integral, part of life on the ocean – be it a tropical thunderstorm or a mid-ocean gale. This book provides a sound brief for all passage-makers when confronted with adverse weather and waves, on what options are available.
Tom Cunliffe is one of Britain’s leading sailing writers and his many years of experience in the maritime environment shine through in this comprehensive, but easy to read book.
When you next go out to sea, make sure you have a copy of this stowed away.
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Sevenstar Yacht Transport offers guaranteed sailings to the world’s premier cruising grounds. Whatever your destination, we tailor the best suitable transport solution for you.
Need any help with your planning? Visit our website and find your local cruising yacht specialist.
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How to get more out of Noonsite
While the majority of Noonsite continues to be a free resource, there are some ways you can get more enhanced viewing and more involved with the site:
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Become a Member:
Starting from just $2.99/month you can benefit from enhanced access to key areas of Noonsite via our membership program. Your subscription will help keep the site on the web as part of a growing community of supporters. Our free membership is available to all but does come with a ‘fair use’ policy limiting access to country formalities each month. Enjoy unlimited access via our Basic Membership for just $2.99 a month, which also gives you the Noonsite community map, where you can view at a glance marine services worldwide, ports of entry and post your favorite anchorages. Noonsite Premium Membership add offline access to port and country formalities information to use when on passage.
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Find Crew with Ocean Crew Link |
Need crew? Want to find new sailing buddies? Then visit Ocean Crew Link, the only crew connect website specifically for ocean voyaging.
Add your boat and opportunity and it will be emailed to over 11,000 sailors worldwide. If you want to find a boat, then hop aboard as we have over 150 active sailing opportunities open all the time.
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