Hi, sorry if this is not the exact place to ask this (I'm used to be active in the Windsurfing forum when summer here in Spain). But I have a pair of crazy friends cruising right now a trip that joins Hong Kong to Australia. They are starting from Manado now, planning to enter into Darwin. Any advice for them regarding hazards and weather to keep in mind? They are expert sailors but usually on sailboats, now driving a high performance Italian made leisure boat absolutely NOT built for this trip. But they are close! Main issue is getting high quality Diesel there in the quantities they need when they arrive to some islands. Any advice will be great! Thanks!

Where do they intend to arrive into Darwin from? If they survive the high quality diesel of Indonesia, they'll have no issues finding diesel in Darwin?

Seriously though, not a lot of fuel options other than Darwin and the Tiwi Islands. Many of the islands off the NT may have fuel available, but many are communities where they will not be allowed to tie up too.

I know of people who have ordered fuel from barge and given enough notice they could come to you. I have heard of wait time of 6 weeks for this.
When do they intend to enter Australia?

AFAIK they will depart tomorrow from Manado. Thanks a lot! The arrival place is Darwin, the problem is before as I suppose. Any recommendation would be great. Thanks

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JPBARNA said..
Hi, sorry if this is not the exact place to ask this (I'm used to be active in the Windsurfing forum when summer here in Spain). But I have a pair of crazy friends cruising right now a trip that joins Hong Kong to Australia. They are starting from Manado now, planning to enter into Darwin. Any advice for them regarding hazards and weather to keep in mind? They are expert sailors but usually on sailboats, now driving a high performance Italian made leisure boat absolutely NOT built for this trip. But they are close! Main issue is getting high quality Diesel there in the quantities they need when they arrive to some islands. Any advice will be great! Thanks!

I wonder of the High quality Italian leisure boat has high quality Nav gear on board? Surely they got a route or Nav plan in place ???

But as you said - they are your crazy friends

So they are going to checkout of Indonesia at Manado and go nonstop to Darwin?
What's their route? What's there passage time? It's a bit hard to give you recommendations with limited information.

Right now I would recommend only going as far as Jakarta-Bali-Lombok and waiting out the cyclones. I'm sure a weather window does not need to be as large for a power boat then it does a yacht, but that only as long as they are traveling faster. Right now there is a cyclone off the WA coast so maybe they might want to come down via East Timor then into Darwin. But the NT have just had two cyclones of their own and another forecast.

IF they are going Manado Darwin direct then Darwin is a large port with good quality fuel. Where are they going after that? Either direction is very limited on fuel. If they go east they'll have fuel at Gove. If they go West they'll have to go down into Wyndham otherwise organize a barge at Truscott. Going further west into the Kimberly's there's no more fuel until Dog Leg Creek (a permanent barge cash only and in 2017 was $3 per liter. I don't know what it is now).

So fuel is of the quality you'll expect from a country like Australia but it's scarce outside of Darwin along the top end. Plenty of crocs (id advise ya crazy mates to not swim) and be aware we are still in cyclone season with limited bolt holes to escape them.

Steam very slowly!

Steam very slowly!

Manado is on the very northern tip of Sulawesi.
About 300 miles to Banda island. You can expect very poor fuel there,
Another 300 miles through the Arafura Sea with almost no fuel stops.
Then 300 miles through the Timor sea with no fuel available.
Nusa Tengarra (the Eastern Islands) is the least developed part of the Indonesian archipelago.
They will need fuel for the whole 900 mile trip to be safe.
(Jakarta / Bali/ Lombok are way out of the course)
40 years ago I sailed that area and used a fuel filter almost every week.

RE: Any advice for them regarding hazards and weather to keep in mind?
The first thing that comes to mind is theft. In that area, if it is not nailed down it will most likely be gone when you wake up.
Some would call these folks pirates, but they are looking for what ever comes along
The boat and crew will need their paperwork to be in perfect order, or they will be delayed by petty bureaucrats along the way.

You cannot expect to just pop into just any island along the way, ( to avoid bad weather or to stock up) especially if there is a military presence.

Modern weather apps will give all the information that you need. In general that area is out of the cyclone route until you get closer to the Australian mainland. But from Timor across to Darwin there is nowhere to hide.

They can expect a frosty greeting in Darwin from immigration (all aboard should have visas in advance), border control and customs.
The boat will be suspect from the word go.
Also they will need plenty of money when they arrive in Australia. It is a very expensive place for foreign cruisers.

RE: cruising right now a trip that joins Hong Kong to Australia.

Are they intending to sell the boat in Australia?
There lies a real can of worms.

gary

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AusMoz said..

JPBARNA said..
Hi, sorry if this is not the exact place to ask this (I'm used to be active in the Windsurfing forum when summer here in Spain). But I have a pair of crazy friends cruising right now a trip that joins Hong Kong to Australia. They are starting from Manado now, planning to enter into Darwin. Any advice for them regarding hazards and weather to keep in mind? They are expert sailors but usually on sailboats, now driving a high performance Italian made leisure boat absolutely NOT built for this trip. But they are close! Main issue is getting high quality Diesel there in the quantities they need when they arrive to some islands. Any advice will be great! Thanks!

I wonder of the High quality Italian leisure boat has high quality Nav gear on board? Surely they got a route or Nav plan in place ???

But as you said - they are your crazy friends

Yes, they have top equipment. Not a problem.

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garymalmgren said..
Manado is on the very northern tip of Sulawesi.
About 300 miles to Banda island. You can expect very poor fuel there,
Another 300 miles through the Arafura Sea with almost no fuel stops.
Then 300 miles through the Timor sea with no fuel available.
Nusa Tengarra (the Eastern Islands) is the least developed part of the Indonesian archipelago.
They will need fuel for the whole 900 mile trip to be safe.
(Jakarta / Bali/ Lombok are way out of the course)
40 years ago I sailed that area and used a fuel filter almost every week.

RE: Any advice for them regarding hazards and weather to keep in mind?
The first thing that comes to mind is theft. In that area, if it is not nailed down it will most likely be gone when you wake up.
Some would call these folks pirates, but they are looking for what ever comes along
The boat and crew will need their paperwork to be in perfect order, or they will be delayed by petty bureaucrats along the way.

You cannot expect to just pop into just any island along the way, ( to avoid bad weather or to stock up) especially if there is a military presence.

Modern weather apps will give all the information that you need. In general that area is out of the cyclone route until you get closer to the Australian mainland. But from Timor across to Darwin there is nowhere to hide.

They can expect a frosty greeting in Darwin from immigration (all aboard should have visas in advance), border control and customs.
The boat will be suspect from the word go.
Also they will need plenty of money when they arrive in Australia. It is a very expensive place for foreign cruisers.

RE: cruising right now a trip that joins Hong Kong to Australia.

Are they intending to sell the boat in Australia?
There lies a real can of worms.

gary

Thanks a lot for all this info. Don't worry about documentation, one of them is Australian resident. The plan is to haul the boat in a truck at Darwin and take it to the final destination where he lives. I will ask about their details, they are prepared guys and not tourists. I'm mostly asking because the departure date has been delayed far from ideal because of engines maintenance issues in the previous leg and they know weather is not OK. I'd they run clean they plane at 25knots/h. If not, 6.
thanks a lot!

Sounds like they will have to import the boat and pay duty as well. Bit of a paperwork and hip pocket nightmare.

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julesmoto said..
Sounds like they will have to import the boat and pay duty as well. Bit of a paperwork and hip pocket nightmare.

Yes, they'll certainly be going through the rigamarole of importing the boat if the boat is remaining in Australia.

This blog post may help:

blog.arribasail.com/2023/05/exporting-when-sailing-from-australia.html

Or they can use a broker, which I advise.

In Manado, I don't think you will get high quality diesel.