Go West to Australia
Sep 01

Go West to Australia

Start Date
01-Sep-2025 9:00 am
End Date
30-Nov-2025 10:00 am
Timezone
(UTC+12:00) Pacific/Auckland

Go West to Australia with Island Cruising this summer. We are the experts when it comes to cruising the South West Pacific. 

 

 

 

Why Join Go West to Australia

  • Pacific cyclone season officially runs from November to April each year, and Australia is a great place to spend the summer.
  • Australia is a stunning cruising destination and is a must stop on your South Pacific voyage. From the gorgeous Great Barrier Reef & Whitsundays in the North, stunning Sydney Harbour for the New Years Eve fireworks down to the rugged beauty and wildlife in Tasmania in the south, Australia has some excellent cruising grounds.
  • Navigating your way through the paperwork, visas, biosecurity regulations, and changeable weather, can be time-consuming, confusing and expensive if you get it wrong. We are here to assist you at every step of the way and ensure a safe, easy and enjoyable arrival in Australia.
  • We partner with the best marinas, boatyards and other marine trades to give you great discounts and excellent service & advice. International vessels can take advantage of tax-free repairs and maintenance.
  • There are marinas where you can safely leave the boat and fly home, or alternatively tour and explore the country by land.
  • We'll connect you with all the other cruisers in the Pacific, keep you updated with everything going on throughout the season and support you on your adventures towards Australia.
  • Australia is home for us. We can help answer any questions you may have about sailing and exploring this part of the world.
  • When you stop in Australia, you are perfectly positioned to head back up to the South Pacific again the following year, either cross the Tasman to New Zealand, across to New Caledonia or north through the Great Barrier Reef & on to Indonesia.

 

Go West to Australia Inclusions

  • Membership of Island Cruising - access to all our cruising resources on our website.
  • Your rally entry fee can quickly be recouped by taking advantage of the excellent discounts from our wide range of rally partners
  • Access to a professional meteorologist weather router for guidance on picking a weather window and daily updates while on passage (when departing with the main groups leaving New Caledonia on the best weather window after 15 October) or we can connect you with a meteorologist for 1:1 support if you'd prefer to sail at another time.
  • All the departure paperwork for the Pacific Island you are leaving from.
  • All the entry paperwork for arrival in Australia.
  • Tips on which visa to apply for.
  • Detailed information on the Biosecurity Regulations, including a template for you to create your Biofouling Management Plan.
  • Invitations to cruising events in the South Pacific.
  • Connection to all the other sailors heading south to Australia.
  • Access to a special top-up insurance policy to increase your liability cover for marinas if required (at extra cost).
  • A detailed guide book - Cruising the Queensland Coast by Greg Luck valued at AUD$140.
  • Heaps of other cruising resources for Australia.
  • All your questions answered if you need any help during your stay. 
  • Save yourself LOTS of time, energy & stress trying to work it all out for yourself!

 

Price

The cost to join Go West to Australia is NZD$650 per vessel.

(This is around USD$390 or EUR$350)

If for any reason you are unable to participate this season, we will carry your payments over to the following year. 

 

Other Options

Go West to Australia covers the final leg of the Pacific Rally to sail south from any point in the Pacific into Australia.

If you are planning on cruising through Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu & New Caledonia before sailing to Australia - I recommend you join our more comprehensive Pacific Rally which includes a lot more information for cruising in the Islands. The Pacific Rally includes a 200+ page guide book covering Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu & New Caledonia, a flag, and chart. For those joining us from the Pacific, we can tailor a package to suit your requirements. Contact us for details - info@islandcruising.nz

Read more about the Pacific Rally here.

 

Dates & Departure Point

During Pacific Cyclone season, prudent cruisers and most insurance policies require you to be south of a certain latitude by 1 November. 

You can join Go West to Australia from any island in the Pacific and sail whenever you wish. If you would like weather routing to assist with your passage, you can join our main group departure, which will be looking to leave from New Caledonia on the best weather window after 15 October.

It is about an 800nm trip that will take you around five days. 

You can also sail to your own schedule or join us from any other island in the Pacific. 

 

What's On in the Pacific?

There are some fun key events for cruisers happening throughout the Pacific. Check out the latest Cruise News magazine for all the details.

12 - 16 September 2025              Musket Cove Regatta            Fiji

Early October 2025                      New Caledonia event

 

Weather

Picking the right weather window to sail to Australia is a critical part of having an enjoyable passage. We give you lots of information about the weather systems and strategies for this part of the world and also engage the services of a professional meteorologist to help us select the best time to depart, and you get email updates from them each day on passage. The weather routing service is available on the group departure which leaves on the best weather window from 15 October onwards. We aim to have everyone safely in Australia by around 1 November. 

You can sail at another date too if you wish, and we can recommend a weather router for you to engage directly for 1:1 support (at your own cost). 

 

On Passage

We track you on our PredictWind Rally tracker. We also have a daily sched on SSB Radio with Gulf Harbour Radio while you are on passage, and we also recommend the services of Passage Guardian for daily check-ins.

 

Join Us!

If you'd like to join us to Go West to Australia - please register here. We will then send you the invoice (which can be paid by credit card) set you up in our membership system so you can join our cruising community and give you access to all the content. You'll also get regular email updates with everything going on in the South Pacific and Australia and everything you need to know for planning your voyage west.

We look forward to welcoming you!  

 

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Event Location
NZ-NTH 0200

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