The region is dominated by two main weather patterns; the North East Monsoon from November through to April and the South West Monsoon from May to October. The start and the end of these monsoon period is called the ‘transition period’ and the with can be varied during these.
During the NE monsoon Schooner Dallinghoo will be based in the Andaman Sea and we will be offering charters from Langkawi (Malaysia) in the south and up through the Thai Islands and onto Burma (Myanmar) and charters around the Mergui Archipelago. Further to the west are the Andaman islands and these are only a two day sail from Phuket in Thailand and can easily be reached. The weather during this period is generally calm with an afternoon breeze of around a force 4 and is always very dry with only the rare light shower.
By April the NE Monsoon has died away and the winds and seas start to pick up from the SW and by late May these are quite strong and bringing with them heavy monsoon rain making the Andaman Sea unpleasant. Schooner Dallinghoo now moves around into the South China Sea, here the winds are light and are off shore making the sea calm, the rain that the SW monsoon brings has already fallen on the west coast and the east coast of the peninsular is experiencing it’s dry season.
From here in the South China Sea we can offer charters from the East Coast of Malaysia, Borneo (Malaysia) and then onto the Philippines and beyond, a vast a varied cruising ground with the perfect weather from May to October. Here however the distances are vast and from East Malaysia to Papua New Guinea is around 2,000nm is around 1,800nm – a large distance for Schooner Dallinghoo to re-locate so charters may have to be put together with careful planning around geographic locations to start and finish.
Relocation Cruise
For those wishing to spend their time at sea, experiencing life on board a tall ship under way, with regular stop offs in exotic locations then a relocation cruise may be for you. Schooner Dallinghoo will be sailing from the Andamans Sea to the South China sea every year during May / June and return in in October. These trips and date will vary depending on our charter itinerary at the start and end of each season. Please contact us for the available plans and we could offer you the whole yacht for your group or just a cabin for yourself.