sailing to china end of the year?

Hi, im new round here. I have a brother who has bought a 45' yacht and is planning to sail it to china, i have agreed to come aboard as cook but am a bit reserved still. I have faith in him but would like to hear from anyone who has done a similar trip, or any handy hints anyone has. We are hoping to sail from Darwin Australia, onto Dili up through the Molucca sea to Qingdao, China around the beginning of October. Is this is a good time to travel? Is there a site i can get hold of seasonal wind charts, currents etc? Most important question i suppose, has anyone done this route or know of a better one? Is there any loose convoys heading that way??

[Rod Headlee]

Pilot charts for download can be found here:http://www.nga.mil/portal/site/marit...c24fd73927a759

Have fun,

Rod

[dnelson]

The trip up from Oz to China really isn't that difficult, though with the current problems in Timor I'm surprised you would go through Dili and not stick to Kupang. Although the route through Kupang would be a bit longer.

[Auzzee]

Dili has become relatively safe again following the change of Prime Minister. There is a Darwin Dili yacht race planned again for next Dry season. Before setting north from Darwin, it is prudent to check travel advices issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They generally weigh heavily on the side of caution, but they will present an up to date analysis of current political situations. See: www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/

[JeanneP]

Unfortunately the pilot charts for the North Pacific Ocean are not yet available, so two options for wind and current charts seem to be the British Admiralty "Ocean Passages for the World," or Jimmy Cornell's "World Cruising Routes". I just found this listing for the printed pilot charts for the North Pacific: http://www.landfallnavigation.com/gpilotatl.html $21.00 USD seems like a reasonable price. (the British Admiralty book and charts is more like $200 USD - or more)

Thanks so much everyone for all the info, much appreciated. I think we will alter the route and head to Bali and travel up throught the South China Sea. May run into a storm or two in Darwin but hope fully will be out before the wet sets in there... I think its going to be a hairy trip, but after re-assessing after all the information gathering (your wisdom included) and mulling over things for the umteenth time we are still going to push ahead it seems. Its about time for an adveture i think... If you're interested i think there has been interest in filming the trip and broadcasting it a minute a day to 3G mobiles. Will keep you posted if anyone is interested. So now i have to knuckle down and get my cooking skills up to scratch.... any cruising chefs out there with any wisdome to pass on?

Thanks again. I've been really impressed with the response from this site.

Meleuka