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There seem to be various opinions about the best time to cross from Aden to Sri Lanka and on to Thailand/Malaysia.
I'm sure Heikell's Indian Ocean guide recommends Aden to Ceylon in January, then Ceylon to Thailand in February. This will be on the wind but into the light NE monsoon with relatively flat seas I understand.
The VdG rally leaves Oman in late March which would mean continuing to Thailand in late April which seems to encroaching the early cyclone season.
I'm sure I read about an OZ cat skipper who got hammered in the southern Bay of Bengal in April.
Others seem to want to cross from Aden starting late September at the end of the SW Monsoon which could be a rougher trip altho downwind. And again flirting with late cyclone activity.
We need to get this right! I know South African yachts cruise the Indian ocean much more then european sailors, no doubt there's info on the SA websites.

Hi David,
The OZ cat skipper you mention might be me. The TRS that I encountered was in May 2003, about the fifth to tenth, would have to dig out that log book to be more precise.
We started to cross the Arabian Sea in early April and had hoped to have crossed the Bay of Bengal by the end of April. That trip was done for a specific purpose, not for pleasure, so we had to wear whatever weather we met. I would have preferred to have done it about 5 weeks earlier. This would have given better winds all the way on my route to Darwin.
The various opinions you mention may be due to people having different plans eg visiting India or the Maldives etc. They are probably all OK.
May-June and October-November are the periods with a higher chance of having a TRS. The monsoon transition months have a high percentage of calms, which mean a lot of motoring.
The North Indian Ocean is generally very good for sailing. Laughing

Regards,
Stephen

Thanks Stephen,
I do remember your trip, and also your wife's gunshot wound!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Where is you cat now? I don't think many skippers have done a return trip from OZ to the Med and back across the Indian Ocean like you did, but it seems sensible to me.
Especially when my brother lived in Fremantle, but now he's moved to NZ nr Opua I'm thinking again!

With my boat in the eastern Med I can't get enthusiastic about a westabout circumnav, with the Suez canal nearby.

I'm sure this forum would benefit from hearing more about you valuable experience.
David.

Hi David,
The boat is in Marmaris, Turkey. More yachts travel back and forth than you might think. Yeah it is a short trip to the West or North coast of Oz if you head East. A fair bit longer though to get to the East coast or NZ. What ever way you go, have a happy sail.
Stephen