Sea Conditions in May
 

Greetings Everyone -

I have so enjoyed keeping up with all the great information offered in this forum. We've been saving our pennies and waiting for just the right time to visit Port Douglas, and have decided it's time to get serious about making the trip soon.

Since our primary interest is diving the Great Barrier Reef, I'm wondering if anyone can give me advice about the sea conditions in May. In particular, I tend to get very seasick and am looking for the time of year I'm more likely to encounter calmer seas. I know - there are no guarantees, but in general, is May a good time for water activities from Port Douglas?

Thanks for any and all suggestions...

Even if there are big swells on the seaward side of the GBR, the seas on the landward side are rarely very rough. You will see small swells and some chop, but I have not seen the big swells that tend to cause seasickness. On the other hand, I have a strong digestive constitution, so I am less sensitive to such things than others. We have gone out of Pt Douglas, Cairns, and Townsville in May and the seas were rarely rough at all.

If you get seasick, you should probably select a larger boat for the journey.

Point taken...thanks for the advice!

May is on the cusp of the 2 sea conditions. It is the start of the "south-east trade winds" which can produce some chop inside the reef. You will be fine at the destination if you are going to a pontoon and if you go out on a large vessel you will reduce your risk of sea-sickness considerably.

We were in Port Douglas last July and the seas were quite big. Heard some horror stories from some people who went out on some of the small and mid-sized boats. If you want to play it safe, go out on the big Quiksilver. You'll get there faster and have have much less turbulence on the way out and back. Very few were sick on our trip. They also have a pontoon when you get there. They take a lot of people, but are well-organised and have an excellent snorkelling spot. They tend to cater more for snorkelling but do also have dive options.

Since we're both certified divers, we're looking for scuba diving opportunities. Do you remember if there were any divers on board?

There is indeed a diving option for certified divers. The neat thing is that, on such a big boat, you will probably only encounter 4-6 fellow divers. The remainder are going snorkeling or doing an intro to diving trip. Your small group will quickly leave the crowd behind and have a fine quiet dive. After lunch and an appropriate surface interval, your group will probably do a second dive. Both dives should be relatively long, as the depth is not that great.

Thanks for the reply - I'm happy to hear this. I was under the impression that the larger boats would be like "cattle" cars! You've given me a different perspective to think about.