Sailing in June

June is the first month of the dry season at full strength. The south-east trades have settled into their pattern, the weather is about as predictable as Australian weather gets, and the tropical north is comfortable rather than hot. It is also the last month before the winter school holidays arrive.

The national picture

The tropical dry season, roughly May to October, is dominated by south-east trade winds, and June is where that pattern becomes dependable. In the south, winter has arrived: cold water, short days and a steady procession of frontal systems.

In their window

The Whitsundays is in full season. Trades of fifteen to twenty knots are typical, which is excellent sailing and demands a bit more of a bareboat crew than May does. Both Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island gateways are busy but not saturated.

The reef coast is at its best for reliability. Port Douglas and Cairns outer reef trips run most days. Magnetic Island and Townsville is comfortable, with Cleveland Bay chop the main consideration.

Darwin Harbour is excellent. June in Darwin is dry, warm and low humidity, which is the best weather the city gets. The Kimberley season is running.

Brisbane and Moreton Bay is cool but workable for a hardy crew, though it is past the comfortable autumn window.

Not their window

Southern Australia is out. Melbourne and Port Phillip, the Gippsland Lakes, Adelaide and Gulf St Vincent and Fremantle, Rottnest and Carnac are all in winter, with cold water, frontal changes and greatly reduced operator availability. Southern waters run roughly November to April for good reason.

Tasmania keeps a limited Hobart day sailing offering in its longer shoulder season, on the days when conditions permit, but nothing multi day. New South Wales harbours operate year round when conditions permit, so a winter day on Sydney Harbour is possible and often surprisingly good, with clear westerly mornings and flat water. See weather and seasons.

Price and availability

Early June is quiet and good value in the tropics. Late June is not, because the winter school holidays begin and the northern fleet fills. The gap between the first week of June and the last week of June can be substantial in both price and availability.

Book the middle of June if you want dry season conditions without holiday pricing. Avoid the last ten days unless you are travelling with children and have no choice.

Northern operators are fully staffed and fully provisioned by June, which is not always true in May. If you want a specific boat, June is when the whole fleet is available to choose from. See costs and choosing a vessel.

Better in June than any other month

Darwin. June is the single best month of the year in the Northern Territory: the wet is long gone, the humidity has dropped away, the evenings are mild, and the peak dry season tourist crush of July and August has not arrived. A Darwin sunset sail in June is as close to a guaranteed good evening as this directory contains, and the Top End multi day trips have their pick of settled weather. No other month in Australia offers that combination of certainty and quiet.

See the region directory, the operator directory and charter types.