Sailing in April

April is a quiet, pleasant month to sail in the southern half of Australia and an awkward one in the north. The tropics are coming out of the wet but the dry season has not reliably arrived, and the official cyclone season still runs to 30 April.

The national picture

Southern waters are in the last month of their roughly November to April window. Water is still warm, air is cooling, and the severe summer heat events are over. The tropical north is in the changeover: the monsoon is withdrawing, the south-east trades are starting to establish, and nothing is guaranteed.

In their window

South-east Queensland is excellent. Autumn is one of the two best times here, and April on Brisbane and Moreton Bay gives warm water, mild air and steady south-easterlies without the summer storms.

New South Wales is very good. Sydney Harbour has clear autumn days, the Hawkesbury and Cowan Creek is at its quietest, and Pittwater and Broken Bay is comfortable. The nor-easter is less dominant and westerlies become more common, which changes anchorage choices.

Western Australia's south-west finishes its season in April. The Doctor is weaker and less reliable than in January, which makes a Rottnest crossing easier for a nervous crew.

Victoria and the Gippsland Lakes are still good, with fewer boats and cooler nights.

Not their window

The Kimberley season is about to begin but April is too early to rely on. Expedition operators generally start around May. Darwin Harbour is the same: the Northern Territory dry runs May to October, and April is the tail of the wet with high humidity.

Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour is closing out. The Tasmanian expedition window is December to March, and while a April window can appear, the statistical odds are worse and the daylight is shorter. Hobart day sailing continues in the longer shoulder season.

The Whitsundays, Cairns and Port Douglas are improving through April, and late April can be lovely, but the cyclone season formally runs to the end of the month and cyclones can occur outside it. See weather and seasons.

Price and availability

Easter is the problem. Wherever it falls, the Easter long weekend combined with school holidays creates the biggest single demand spike between January and the winter tropical season. Brisbane to Gladstone runs at Easter, which strips boats out of south-east Queensland. Book Easter a year ahead or do not plan around it.

Outside Easter, April is quiet and good value in the south. Northern operators price April as shoulder, and late April can be the best value tropical sailing of the year if you are willing to carry the residual weather risk. See costs.

Better in April than any other month

Late April in the Whitsundays, for people who can be flexible. In a year where the wet has finished early, the last week of April gives you dry season conditions, warm water, almost empty anchorages and shoulder season pricing before the winter fleet fills. It is a gamble, but it is the only time of year the Whitsundays is simultaneously good and cheap. Take a booking with clear weather terms and read the bareboat guide and safety and commercial vessel rules first.

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