When is cyclone season and should I avoid it?

The official Australian tropical cyclone season runs 1 November to 30 April. Cyclones can occur outside it. If you are chartering in the tropics and your dates are flexible, the dry season from roughly May to October is the better choice.

This only applies to the north. Southern waters have their own calendar and their best sailing is roughly November to April, which is the opposite of the tropics.

What the dry season gives you

• Steady south-east trade winds, which are reliable enough to plan around.
• Less rain and better visibility for reef snorkelling.
• Lower cyclone risk, which also means fewer weather cancellation clauses biting.

It is also peak season, so boats book out six to twelve months ahead and there is no discount for going at the good time. See how far ahead to book.

Chartering in the wet season anyway

People do. It is hotter, greener, and the water is warmer. It is also the stinger season in tropical waters, the rain is heavy when it comes, and a cyclone developing in your week can end the charter. Operators and the vessel's Survey: see glossary">Certificate of Survey both constrain where you can go, and an operator will keep you in shelter or refuse handover rather than run risk.

If you book those dates, read the weather clause first. Most terms give a credit rather than cash if the operator cancels for weather. See who pays if weather cancels.

The middle months

May and October at either end of the dry season often have good conditions with slightly less competition for boats. Late April and early November are the honest gamble.

Regardless of season

Charter boats carry VHF and usually run a daily radio schedule with the base, so you get local weather and advice every day rather than relying on your own forecast reading. Take the schedule seriously and move early when they suggest it.

Weather and seasons has month-by-month regional detail, and Whitsundays covers what the trades mean for a week in the islands.