Sailing in July

July is the middle of the tropical dry season and the middle of the winter school holidays. The weather is the most predictable of the year in the north, the trades are at or near their strongest, and everyone else has had the same idea.

The national picture

The dry season, roughly May to October, dominated by south-east trade winds, is at full strength. July typically brings the most persistent trade wind pattern of the year, which is good for reliability and demanding for comfort. In the south it is deep winter.

In their window

The Whitsundays is busy and good. Expect fifteen to twenty five knots of south-easterly with periods stronger. That is real sailing and it accelerates around the islands, so trade wind acceleration between the headlands is something a bareboat crew needs to plan for. The western anchorages at Nara Inlet and Stonehaven get crowded. Whitehaven remains a day anchorage.

Port Douglas and Cairns reef trips run, though a fresh trade makes the outer reef legs lumpy and the snorkelling choppier than in May. Magnetic Island and Townsville is at its best air temperature but Cleveland Bay is often rough.

Darwin Harbour is superb weather and very busy. The Kimberley is mid season and fully booked.

Not their window

Everything south. Melbourne and Port Phillip, Hobart and the Derwent, the Gippsland Lakes, Adelaide and Gulf St Vincent and Fremantle, Rottnest and Carnac are all out of season with cold water, short days and frequent fronts.

Sheltered New South Wales harbours still operate year round when conditions permit, so a Sydney Harbour day in July can be clear, flat and beautiful. Dress for it. See weather and seasons.

Price and availability

July is the second most expensive month of the year after January, and in the tropics it is the most expensive. Winter school holidays cover much of the month across the states, and Australian school holidays create demand peaks.

Northern bareboats for July are typically booked six to twelve months ahead. Late July availability improves slightly as the holidays end in most states, and that window, the last week of July into the first week of August before Race Week, is the value opportunity of the winter.

Expect no discounts and firm terms. Read costs for the bond, fuel and the environmental management charge that applies to commercial reef tourism.

Better in July than any other month

Reliability. If you have one shot, cannot move your dates, and need the weather to cooperate, July in the tropical north gives you the highest chance of getting the sailing you booked. The trade wind pattern is at its most persistent, the cyclone season is over, thunderstorms are rare, and operators run close to full schedules. You will pay for it and you will share the anchorage, but a July charter out of Airlie Beach or Hamilton Island very rarely gets cancelled for weather. Nothing else in the calendar is that dependable.

See the bareboat guide, qualifications, the operator directory and the region directory.