FAQ - Destination Specific

Did New Zealand take your spices or grains from you upon entering?

They only take things that can go to seed. So if they are ground you might be ok, if they are whole we know that Australia will take them (and likely NZ).

 What courtesy flags do I need for the South Pacific?

For the Marquesas, Tuamotus and the Society Islands you use the French flag. All the other islands have their own flag - so it just depends on where you are going.  We recommend going to Noonsite then scroll down to South Pacific Islands - you'll get a list of the islands and using that you can figure out where you might be going and which flags to get.  While you can purchase courtesy flags in many of the countries you will visit, it is cheaper to buy courtesy flags online before you depart.

Are there other boats heading to Indonesia and Thailand?

The 2007 rally actually has 110 boats.. a little more than we would like but it'll be nice to travel with others. It'll be a combo of experienced ocean crossers and newbie Aussies.

Do you get any southerly winds on the north bound trip to Darwin?

We've been having mostly SE winds but the other day we had some SW and S winds (a low formed off the east coast.. kind of rare). We've had some GREAT spinnaker runs.. it's nice to have a sail that works well when the wind is aft of 130 degrees. The trip North has been good although we either get 25+ Knots or nothing.. Now that we are using the chute again we can sail 4+ knots in 8 knots of breeze!! We haven't seen any crocs yet but we should a little further north.

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