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Sail
BIMP-EAGA
Exploring Equator-Asia |
Mindanao/Sabah-Indonesia
The
Mindanao/Sabah-Indonesia
cruise
is
designed to assist cruising yachts explore Mindanao - one of the
least frequented areas of the Philippines, and Sabah - one
of the most popular visitor regions on Borneo - then meet in Manado (Sulawesi) to cruise to Sorong (Irian
Jaya) before dividing to travel either east - along the
northern coast of Irian Jaya to Jayapura, or south through
the Spice Islands to Saumlaki.
This
cruise gives yachts departing SE Asia to Australia, New
Zealand or the South Pacific a journey of discovery through
a number of diverse BIMP-EAGA regions, with the choice of departing
Indonesia to the Solomons or to northern Australia.
This
cruise includes
three
BIMP-EAGA
nations - the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Mindanao
branch starts in
Dakak, at a new resort/marina development. The
approximately six week cruise around the coast of Mindanao
includes stops in Zamboanga and General Santos, plus
numerous anchorages along the way where yachts will enjoy
the hospitality of local communities and resorts. The
selection of venues, visits and functions is co-ordinated by the
Mindanao Tourism Council in conjunction with government
agencies and local tour
operators, venues and attractions. This cruise finishes at a
new marina on Samal Island, adjacent to Davao city, where yachts can
prepare for their departure from the Philippines.
The route from Davao to
Manado involves hopping south along the chain of volcanic
islands, with numerous opportunities for diving, snorkelling
and shore excursions.
The Sabah branch
begins from Sandakan, where there are opportunities to
explore inland to see the diverse wildlife of Borneo,
including Orangutans and Proboscis Monkeys, sleep in a
hammock at a jungle camp and enjoy a home-stay lifestyle
experience. Coastal hopping around to Semporna brings yachts
to some of
the best dive sites in the world, including the
wall at Sipidan Island.
From Semporna the route
goes to Tarakan (Indonesia) and the Sangalaki Island area
for a few days, before heading east across the Celebes Sea
to hop along the north coat of Sulawesi to Manado.
Manado provides
opportunities for more island, diving and shore excursions/
It's also a major centre where yachts can restock and prepare for the next section to
Ternate, the Halmaheras and Sorong.
The eastern route
from Sorong involves coastal cruising along the northern
shore of Irain Jaya, to exit Indonesia from Jayapura. Most
yachts then take a passage clear of the PNG shore through
the Bismark Sea to New Ireland and south east to the
Solomons. A long port tack through the Coral Sea -in
the dominant SE wind - should bring up the Australian coast
near Gladstone.
The southern route
from Sorong takes yachts through the Spice Islands - with
stops at Ambon, the Banda and Tual Islands, to exit
Indonesia at Saumlaki.
This
Sail
BIMP-EAGA cruise
provides yachts with
very interesting sailing and travel experiences as
part of their exit route from SE Asia to Australia, New Zealand or
the South Pacific. The
Mindanao/Sabah-Indonesia
cruise gives
a means to complete a circular
programme through SE Asia for yachts from Australia, New
Zealand and the South Pacific which entered SE Asia via the
traditional Darwin-Komodo-Bali-Kumai-Singapore route, and
are now returning home after some years exploring the
region. It's also an option for yachts which are
circumnavigating from west to east; so they can experience
Borneo and the southern Philippines and enjoy the broad
range of cultures, biodiversity and beautiful cruising
grounds.
It is anticipated that
participants will form small sub-group of two to four yachts
for much of the programme, coming together with the
entire fleet at organised Stops and Anchorages, at islands
bays, where particular
shore excursions and official events. The many small islands and bays that
provide spectacular anchorages and access to local
communities, markets and beaches, suit small groups of
yachts.
Each
rally fleet will be limited to approximately 15 yachts and
50 crew, in order to facilitate access to smaller venues,
environmentally sensitive locations, and to avoid
overwhelming shore facilities. If required, there may be
multiple rally
fleets, travelling approximately two weeks apart.
At key Stops and
Anchorages, shore venues, shore
activities and visits will be available with local tourism
oriented businesses and local government, to highlight the
particular area's attractions. The local knowledge and
experience of these contacts will be available to
assist participants with information such as boat
repairs, fuel supplies, local markets, CIQ formalities and great places to
visit on route to the next key shore venue.
Timing of the
Mindanao/Sabah-Indonesia
cruise
is designed to integrate
with:
1.
Favourable sailing conditions and wind
directions.
The dominant wind around northern Borneo and the Sulu Sea
from March/April to September/October is the SW Monsoon.
This is the popular season for cruising the southern
Philippines and northern Borneo.
The coast of Mindanao
experiences a normally SW to SE wind flow from April/May to
September/October. These winds are generally in the 10
to 15kt range. There are numerous sheltered anchorages and
beautiful white sandy beaches along this coast. Use of the
GRIB weather charts (free via SailMail) with their
wind/wave/rain predictions up to ten days ahead, will help
yachts identify the best sailing opportunities between
anchorages.
Along the west coast of
Sulawesi, yachts making passages south in August and
September report mostly
SE, E and even NE winds. The Sandaq Race for traditional
Bugis Pinisi Schooners - runs from north (Majene) to south (Makassar)
because the wind is favourable for a north to south event
when it is staged - early August. A passage down the west
coast of Sulawesi usually involves enjoying sheltered
anchorages (off a weather shore) and trips ashore which
checking the GRIB weather charts (free, via SailMail) for
favourable E and NE wind periods.
In the Celebes Sea and off the northern coast of Irain Jaya,
yachts making passages report principally south and SW
winds. These winds are mostly in the 6 to 15 kt range.
In the Molukka, Ceram
and Banda seas, the predominantly SE winds have periods when
the direction is more southerly. These changes in wind
direction present opportunities for yachts to make hops from
island to island. Like the southerly passage on the west
coast of Sulawesi, a route from Manado to Saumlaki involves
enjoying sheltered anchorages and activities ashore, while
regularly checking the GRIB weather charts for opportunities
to make the mostly day passages between islands and
anchorages. A generous time schedule is important to make
this route enjoyable.
2. Build upon
existing events in SE Asia.
For yachts which left
Australia using the
Darwin to Ambon race,
or
Sail Indonesia, the
Mindanao/Sabah-Indonesia
cruise
provides an alternate route home - to Australia, New Zealand
or the South Pacific - potentially creating a circular
programme of cruising and shore activities through SE Asia's
most popular cruising areas.
The Sail Malaysia -
Passage to the East
- brings yachts from Peninsula Malaysia to the west
coast of Borneo. Yachts have the option to proceed
immediately to Semporna to begin the event, or explore North
Borneo and start on the
Borneo-Palawan
cruise
to begin their independent cruise through the Philippines to
Dakak, to join the start of the
Mindanao/Sabah-Indonesia
cruise.
Options before the
Mindanao/Sabah-Indonesia
cruise:
1. Yachts cruising
the Philippines,
can use
Sail
BIMP-EAGA's
Borneo-Palawan
cruise
from the north-west coast of Borneo - departing December or
January - to explore the west coast of Palawan till March,
before cruising the southern Philippines - Puerto Galera YC,
Boracay, Cebu areas - to arrive at Dakak in June prior to
the start of the Mindanao coastal section of the
Mindanao/Sabah-Indonesia
cruise.
The Philippines has an
amazing diversity of lifestyles, cultures, traditions,
topography and events. The creativity, flair for dance,
music and song, and the desire to have fun and party,
generates a long list of festivals, street parades, musical
events and more.
Some cruising yachts
have ventured into the Philippines and never left!
Others spend a SW monsoon season cruising the highlights of
the southern Philippines, and some stay for a couple of
seasons, mixing shore travel, sailing, boat-works and
periods back home in Europe, North America or Australia/NZ.
2. Yachts cruising
the west and north coasts of Borneo,
can use Sail Malaysia's
Passage to the East
programme, and the
Borneo International Yacht Challenge
- to enjoy the west coast of Borneo, before sailing around
to Sandakan to start the Sabah branch of the
Mindanao/Sabah-Indonesia
cruise.
3.
Yachts looking
for maintenance works.
The Philippines has a variety of low-cost boat maintenance
options. Key areas for haulout and maintenance
services are Subic Bay and the Cebu.
Subic Bay has facilities
previously developed for the large USA military presence,
and staff with trade skills also developed for that past
requirement.
Cruising yachts report the standard of workmanship and
skills with materials such as fibreglass, epoxy, aluminium
etc are good. Some major repair and rebuilt works have been
done for cruising yachts. The yard areas, cranes, hard
standing etc are apparently impressive.
Cebu has some
long-standing yacht maintenance and construction operations
which utilise the traditional craftmanship and creativity of
the Philippines. Numerous cruising yachts have used these
facilities for haul-outs, antifouling, repainting and other
works.
A number of yacht clubs
and marina/resort facilities also have haulout and
maintenance capabilities. These include Manilla Yacht Club
and Maya Maya Yacht Club.
Options after the
Mindanao/Sabah-Indonesia
cruise
finish in Jayapura and Saumlaki:
From Jayapura,
most yachts take a passage clear of the PNG shore through
the Bismark Sea to New Ireland and south east to the
Solomons. A long port tack through the Coral Sea -in
the dominant SE wind - should bring up the Australian coast
near Gladstone.
The Louisiades is
another optional destination. The
Louisiades Rally travels
from Cairns to this island group each September and the
rally normally ends in mid October. Yachts from the
Mindanao/Sabah-Indonesia
cruise might
aim to meet up with yachts in the Louisiades for company on
the passage back to northern Australia.
From Saumlaki,
yachts returning to Australia have the option to enter
Australia at Darwin, Gove or Thursday Island.
Notes:
1.
Equator Asia
is the tourism
destination brand name adopted by the BIMP-EAGA Tourism Cluster (BETC)
following extensive work on the part of two key BIMP-EAGA
supports - the Asian Development Bank and GTZ - and
subsequent market research by BETC members.
2. The SW Monsoon
period is the main cruising season in the southern Philippines.
It is referred to as their wet season, and is also the Tropical
Storm season. A number of Tropical Storms can be expected to
start in the NW Pacific, west of Guam each season. Some of
these can track west to cross the Philippines, or run
parallel with the eastern coastline of the Philippines.
While a considerable part of the southern Philippines
cruising area is south of 10d N - the theoretical southerly
limit of Tropical Storm activity - there will still be
significant wind changes in these areas if a TS approaches
or crosses the
Philippines.
The Mindanao coast route
of the
Mindanao/Sabah-Indonesia
cruise
is below 10 degrees north,
so is not in the path of Tropical Storms; but the region can
be affected by winds and seas created by tropical storms to
the north. The Philippines Tuna fishing
operations are all located in Mindanao because it is not in
Tropical Storm zone.
3. The Northern
Australia Tropical Storm season
is generally regarded to start from early December. Yachts
normally plan to be down the east coast of Australia by late
November.
Please return here to
get further details
as the cruise schedule develops.
If you would like to add
your contact details to our database to be updated with
details, please click on the For inquiries ....
link below.
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