Cairns eco yachts to visit Milne Bay

LOUISIADE in Milne Bay province will be the stop for a group of yachts from Cairns, Australia, in September.
Organisers Eco Sustainability is organising this year’s rally after successful rallies in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
The rally departs from Yorkeys Knob Boating Club Cairns in mid-September.
Participating yachts will cruise in convoy across 520 nautical miles of the Coral Sea, to the Louisiades Archipelago.
The Louisiades are close to Australia and are a real jewel of the Pacific.
Organisers say the people are very friendly, the Melanesian and Pacific Island culture is abundant and the landscape both above and below the water are fertile with flora, fauna and sea life.
The rally leaves on Sept 15, 520 nautical miles northeast of Cairns, and the trip would last between two and four days depending on the southeasterly trade winds.
Organisers say they choose Louisiades because it is close to Australia.
The rally departs the Louisiades in October to make the passage back to Cairns, or for those who find the area too beautiful to leave, onwards through the Pacific and beyond.
Organisers say based on other cruisers experiences and local knowledge from the Louisiades June-August can be pretty windy and wet, the southeasterly tends to be a bit fiercer at this time.