Cruising rallies a draw-card to Equator Asia
by Sail-World Cruising on 16 Apr 2010
Amazing experiences in exotic locations - a cruiser saying hello to the locals SW
There are many reasons why cruising rallies are burgeoning in popularity - the good company, the collaborative rather than competitive atmosphere, the safety, the security, to name just a few.
This year there are four new rallies announced to the exotic cruising grounds of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines(BIMP) - otherwise known as Equator Asia.
The first is the Equator Asia Cruise, which is the signature rally, lasting four months and taking in all four countries in the region. Then there is the Borneo Palawan Cruise, the West Borneo Cruise, and the Mindanao/Sabah-Indo Cruise.
Organiser Allan Riches explains: 'Each event aims to capitalise on the prevailing wind and weather conditions to create attractive sailing experiences in conjunction with the shore visits, functions organised by local private and government organisations, stops at resorts, marinas, major towns, local communities etc.
'For example, the Borneo-Palawan event cruises north on the west coast of Palawan during the fresh NE Monsoon, with a weather shore, a wind that is regularly E, and clear water in the best diving conditions; Palawan's dry season.
'The Equator Asia event uses the prevailing SE Monsoon to push yachts from Darwin through the Spice islands, Komodo, Sulawesi region to north Borneo. As the wind does it's usual shift to the NE in October, yachts will be in the region of north Borneo and Palawan, where they will use that developing NE flow to push them south along the east coast of Palawan, then to island hop south along the east coast of Borneo, to finish at Brunei.
'The West Borneo cruise will start in mid November using the NE Monsoon to push yachts south from Brunei to Miri, Bintulu and Kuching to enjoy shore attractions and organised functions, with time to reach Singapore, Malaysia and even Thailand for the Christmas & New Year period.'
The rallies, each of which will have a maximum of 15 yachts participating, will have access to the natural and traditional areas of the countries visited, with a welcome from the local peoples.
To learn more about these rallies, and register for updates, click http://www.bruneibay.net/SailBIMP-EAGA/index.html!HERE
To inquire about more information or to register to participate, email Allan Riches: equatorasia [at] bruneibay.net
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