Seeking Advice On San Diego Usa To Darwin Australia Passage

[Rufus]

My wife and I are U.S. citizens and we're considering a couple of 3-year positions in Darwin Australia. If we move, we'd like to try to buy a boat. I've been looking at boats online, but the decline in the dollar has made them really expensive (for us). Given the time of year and declining dollar, I'm considering buying a boat here in the US (Southern California) and sailing it down.

That is why I'm writing. My understanding is that it's possible to sail from San Diego to Darwin in a month. Is that true? I'm a decent sailor and have sailed out of site of land, but not much. If we took these jobs, I could leave anytime between February and about May. Is that a good time to sail to Australia?

I'm prepared to train myself up, outfit a boat, find crew, and make the passage; but there's no point in starting down the path if it can't be done within my timeframe. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and perspectives.

[JeanneP]

The distance between San Diego and Darwin, Australia - in a straight line - is over 8,000 miles. That's 266 miles per day, as the crow flies, or 11 + knots. Takes a big monohull or fast multihull to average that kind of speed day in and day out, with an experienced crew. Check out the 2007 Transpac race - Los Angeles to Honolulu, about 2,220 nautical miles. A 50' monohull, with crew of 7, racing, finished in about 10 days, or 222 miles per day.

I wouldn't want to try to sail nonstop for more than a month, more than 8,000 nautical miles, from the Northern hemisphere to the Southern hemisphere, and I've got about 20,000 blue water miles experience. You need a lot more experience than coastal cruising to try such a trip. As most sailors have learned, book learning is no substitute for actual hands-on experience.

[Rufus]

Originally Posted by JeanneP

The distance between San Diego and Darwin, Australia - in a straight line - is over 8,000 miles. That's 266 miles per day, as the crow flies, or 11 + knots. I wouldn't want to try to sail nonstop for more than a month, more than 8,000 nautical miles, from the Northern hemisphere to the Southern hemisphere, and I've got about 20,000 blue water miles experience.

Thanks, that's what I needed to know.

[JeanneP]

A correction, as pointed out to me by another moderator - I mixed statute miles and nautical miles, and got neither quite right. The distance between San Diego and Darwin in a straight line is about 8000 statute miles, or about 6800 nautical miles. the actual distance, dodging and land in the way, particularly Papua New Guinea, is going to be a bit more than that. That's still no less than 226 miles per day, or about 9 knots average, and a bit much for two or four people to maintain in racing mode for a full month.

It wouldn't be fun.