20090622 – 20090630 (Darwin)

In Darwin we tied the boat up in the duck pond which is a fisheries marina, so we were surrounded by huge rusty old fishing boats and singing fish workers met some really nice fishermen, it’s the place to go down too for fresh fish and prawns in Darwin. All the marinas are surrounded by locks due to the huge 7-8m tides up here, was interesting to see how they all work.

I didn’t realise what a rich history Darwin has had with it involvement with the world war, perhaps it comes from my growing up in a cardboard box with slits for windows. I have found it to be a fairly modern city and was later to learn it’s because in 1974 hurricane Tracey had a couple of rounds in the ring with Darwin and knocked it out. Short arms perhaps ? There is now an official cyclone shelter in Darwin
There are several places to see crocodiles in the area surrounding Darwin, particularly Adelaide river.
I went with Daryl and Laurel to see some big bloody lizards jump a fair whack out of the water for meat on a string, can’t blame them I guess it’s feeding time / fishing but on a grander scale with tourists taking 100’s photos all throughout.

If there is one thing you must do in Darwin its go to the Humpty Doo Hotel, it’s on the return from Adelaide river and is an awesome pub which is typical outback pub in Australia but starting to be more of a tourist stop –still well worth a lunch stop, have the buffalo burger.

Darwin was attacked 64 times during the course of WWII, and a set of oil storage tanks were built on Stokes Hill, if i recall correctly to later be part of an attack. So a set of tanks were created underground for storage but finished near the end of the war and never used during the war.

Two are open for tourist to wander through and another set is on Navy land and it’s not known what they are used for. (Conspiracy perhaps they store the flotilla of boat people there?)

Off course a trip to Darwin wouldn’t be complete without heading down to Mindil Beach markets to watch the another sunset on the beach with half of Darwin, I’m still not sure that sunsets or sunrises will ever become old. Mostly the markets were filled with locally made arts and crafts and had a mixture of something for everyone, there was a musical group there which made an amazing sound with a didge and a drum set.

20090617 – 20090621 (Gulf of Carpentaria, Wessel Islands)

Originally we where to leave and head towards Gove, but after restocking with supplies and diesel in Seisia it was straight across to top we go. Here are the most interesting parts summarised for you reading pleasure.

50 hours, 330 nautical miles, ginger pills, kwells (sea sickness pills), stomach bile and a bucket and bugger all sleep. Yea ha, was the first part of exposed water as everything else we had been sailing on was guarded by the reef.

In Paihia you can get “Paihia bombs” made up by a chemist to help combat sea sickness. They are one pill of a drowsy anti inflammatory followed half an hour later by a caffeine pill and are supposed to more confuse the hell out of your body by trying to sleep and being made to be awake so that it forgets sea sickness. Will see what I can find in Darwin.

Was perhaps not the favourite person on the boat after having a chunder on watch and only half cleaning up as far as I could without getting out of the cockpit (as it was my watch and I was the only one at 2am in the morning) and not wanting to use any fresh water. Next morning was out with the brush and the deck wash.

It made me think about man over board scenarios, why don’t boats have a proximity type device which can be used at night and alert the other boat members when they get more that 100m away from the boat?

You don’t need to worry though mum, the cockpit is closed and sheltered, we don’t leave it at night when we are alone, if we do with another person in watch a harness is worn while up on deck and we also leave GPS on all night so we can track back in the unlikely event should something happen our course can be followed back.

After the crossing we went to have a look at the hole in the rock, it’s hardly a bay of islands type hole in the rock more of a mile long crack in the earth which boats can pass through when the tide is slack, or else up to 9 knots can run if you get it wrong. We only had a look at the entrance as the tide was not in our favour.

We had another visit by the Coastguard via helicopter, came down and swooped by us and the next boat across to get the name and status check, they have some pretty good camera equipment on board to capture boat people, they should sell images on the side. Mind you this all happened while I was asleep after my chunder clean up sessions.

On ward and across to Wessel Islands, pronounced like the Russian says nuclear in the early Star Trek with Captain Kirk where they have to go back in time and pick up the hump back whales to stop impending doom and save to world. Was a really nice anchorage, we were not allowed to go onto the land because it’s all tribal there and we needed to ask permission.

At that point in time I think id contemplate loosing an appendage for a swim, hot and no wind.

We had some sun downers with 3 old fellas who were just going for a sail from Cairns to Darwin, they are all mates the two crew members are getting off in Darwin and the owner is heading on to the rally the same as us. He said he is really just to make it easy to enter Indonesia from the red tape point of view, once there will go to the surf spots. He used to own the surf shop at Kiribilli, but was bought out by billabong and has now just been sailing around surfing, not a bad life for an old codger.

20090615 – 20090617 (Seisia)

Seisia is the coastal port for the Aboriginal settlement of Bamaga and was our stop for a couple of nights after a few long days of sailing. Having never have been to the far north and only really knowing of the media representation of the aboriginal people and those on Brunswick St of their faces I am impressed. Seisia is a small town with a big four square (where we reprovisioned) a fishing club and a camp ground and unlike Melbourne aboriginal people work in the shops, where integrated and seemed to me to make up the majority of the population. Even just reading back it’s the other way around, us whiteys are integrated. Not that all my education comes from the Simpsons but I have only seen one Cane Toad frog on the street, it was dead.

There was a wreck in the bay of an old fishing boat, it was quite interesting looking with the rust colours in the early morning light. It’s a shame that cameras don’t seem to do the things you are taking photos of justice.

A day of maintenance, I mostly finished of the other side of the deck polishing and was up the mast to fix the horn which the contacts had become eroded and a couple of runs to the gas stations to get 240 L of diesel into jerry cans with Daryl.

We keep seeing signs which say no to swimming but as we left Seisia we saw an aboriginal family net fishing off the beach, perhaps the crocs only know to eat whiteys.

Yes, the heat has started now that we have rounded the cape. Gulp.

20090613 – 20090615 (Portland Road, Margaret Bay {Cape Grenville}, Escape River and Cape York)

The next few days we need to get a few miles under the keels so off we push in to the yonder after deciding to leave late morning in a convoy of boats we wake to an empty bay and a horizon of other boaties.

Up and atom, atom ant and we are off, we caught all off the monohull boats up by lunch time and left the behind into the afternoon. All the other boats stopped at Morris Island, it’s a small island with a single coconut tree and a few grave sites of pearl divers which came from Thursday Island up the line a bit. They used to be away for months on end pearl diving, any deaths were dealt with and graves dug where ever necessary.

There were of Japanese people among the pearl divers back in the day, they make up a few of the graves further around through the Albany passage to Cape York. I’m not sure of the island or where but during the bombings of WW2 apparently the Japanese wouldn’t bomb a certain island because a descendant of Japanese royalty was buried there. So I hear.

Most of the islands we have passed including Morris have at least one coconut tree, back in the day they outer islands where all planted with coconuts by British Admiralty so that in the case of shipwreck the crew could survive until rescue. The Australians have removed them from a few places where they compete with the natives plants.

We continued on through to the evening arriving under the cover of darkness to Portland Roads and shared an anchorage with a big motorboat and a fishing boat. We set off early to Margaret Bay / Cape Grenville, as we arrived and snooped on a conversation on the VHF Radio (Its like porn for boaties) we learnt that the fishing boat in the bay was a prawn trawler and sold them over the side. Say hello to a freezer full of 7.5 kg of green prawns for $60. Throw another shrimp on the barbie maaaate.

We invited another boat over for sun downers when we arrived in the bay, as they had a couple of small children we went and met them on theirs, they had caught a Tuna on the way into the bay and offered us some. Off course I was glad to help out by taking a couple of Tuna steaks of their hands for them. Oh and some interesting photos of sand pooing crabs in crocodile country.

I thought of a new invention today, a full body hair net for the man with a high count of hair producing follicles because shit I am a hairy man. Being a white boat let’s just say I leave my calling card in every little nook and cranny.

Just caught another fish to fill up the freezer and I smell like fish, another good size Spanish mackerel, such a delicious eating fish. Now we have a freezer full of Tuna, Spanish mackerel and Tuna. It’s eating time.

We have just been over flown by the Australian Coast Guard to make sure we are not boat people fleeing to the Promised Land. “Because there are no cats in America.” As part of entry into Australia, Daryl and Laryl have to notify Customs every 3 months of their planned itinerary, apparently there is a higher customs presence the further around the top we get. They are all business though, one Australian boat asked about the result between Richmond and Perth to no avail.

As we head up the coast towards Escape River it’s not been uncommon to see dolphins, turtles and buckets of fish. I want to make it a task to get a good picture of a Turtle before I leave, bloody little things are fairly nimble in the water though.

Motoring into Escape River you can see the commercial reality of Pearl Farming in the present time compared to previously mentioned graves of divers from decompression and crocodiles. Hundreds of lines of pearls are strung across the river and only leaving enough space each side for boats to come in, the decompression issue has been removed but crocs are still in force.

So I have been on the boat for a couple of weeks now and I think I have cracked to unspoken secret to a Cruisers life style and day to day comings and goings. Although if I tell you may be sworn to secrecy or be killed by some unique boatie guild headed up by Gilligan and Popeye and silent partner Neptune. No undies, simple as that, saves on water and everything else can be re-used. Commando sailors cruising the seas, there could be a definite tangent here about the governator and how he would feel about this but will leave that alone. Kindergarten Cop on the high seas?

I have probably said too much now and have to keep it clean, may regret writing that if my Nana get’s a copy somehow. It’s all opinion no facts or confirmed sightings. Shudder.

Through Albany Passage we sail, a few more graves and Pearl farms and around Cape York to start a new light house tour, I learnt that the Australian dream is now not only to own a house with a backyard and a lemon tree but also to catch a fish at the northern part of Australia. After letting a tour bus load of people waltz around the cape ashore I went for a look around, there are huge termite nests, like literally (and actually) higher than me. They look to be made of sand but are hard.

Oh the sailing all up this part of the coast has been amazing, flat seas from the shielding from the reef and anywhere between 10~15 knots mainly from behind to over the side. Great spinnaker weather. Can’t remember if I already said that though.

20090609 – 20090612 (Flinders Group)

An early morning to depart Lizard island a 5am wakeup call to pull up the anchor and then back to bed while Daryl had the first shift. It was amazing heading up the coast was a part of Australia not often seen by land in particular some amazing rock formations look like a pile of pebbles on the coast but some of the pebbles were 20m in diameter.

On the voyage we put a lure out and caught a Spanish Mackeral, big bloody fish but good eating. Lunch and Dinner and a freezer full for later. Last time Daryl caught one he put the lure back out while cleaning and gutting the first one and got a massive sword fish, he said it look him best part of an hour to clean.

I was on watch between 11 am and 2 pm spinnaker was up with about 12 ~ 31 knot from behind. Made for some nice sailing and nothing un-manageable, Flinders group is a small set of islands which some aboriginal significance, it’s a shame you can’t swim here because of crocs.

The weather forecast for our next anchorage is rubbish so we spent a couple of extra days at the Flinders group. I spent a morning polishing the gel coat on the decking of half the boat while these little bloody flys try to suck the blood / life out of me (perhaps i should get a hat with caulks, not bloody likely. After a small walk on the island I have come to the conclusion that Australia really is horrible, everything either wants to suck your blood, bite you or eat you. Not good at all.

Found my niche card game uka, have managed to win a couple of games and am slowly making my way back up the gaming ladder on the boat.

We found out from some people who have been here before and passed on through generations of yachties some aboriginal caves have been found. So off we went in the mother ship across to an island called Denham and walked along the coast to Howard bluff. The rock formations and the overhangs where amazing. There was a slit cave about 4m up which had aboriginal paintings in them. One looked like a submarine, we wondered if that was drawn around the time of World War 2.

I walked back along the coast while Daryl and Laurel went across in the dinghy. Ended up walking through mud flats, groves, spider webs and ant nests where the ants have green bodies Refer to previous mention of bittey things.

On another island called Stanley island there is a loop track around Castle Peaks which also has several aboriginal drawings in the caves and caverns around the island, there are no ferrys and the only people which visit these islands are cruisers and as such they are relatively untouched although slightly more trodden than Denham island with signs, steps and board walks.

Apparently all the islands are named after the people who surveyed them, oh and almost did a Steve Irwin and stepped on a string ray while walking the dinghy out after the tide went out. Too soon? perhaps not.

We depart Flinders group of islands at 7am at the tail of 6 other boats, by the end of my watch at 9 we are level with the first boat. Perfect spinnaker weather with 10 ~ 18 knots and a top speed of 9.9 knots, other watches will be 1pm – 3pm and 7pm 8pm as we make our way to Portland Road.

A catamaran has pulled into the bay with 4 young people on it and almost all the boats here are on the rally (Darwin – Indonesia – Singapore and Singapore - Thailand). Would be a choice thing to do with mates, buy a boat and sail around it could be done relatively cheaply once the boat is bought. Anyone, anyone? I hear a good way to do it is buy ex Charter boats from Florida sail them back to NZ and sell them for 2/3 more again which would pay for a sailing holiday. Convinced yet?

Oh and apparently the reason a lot of boats are on the rally is because if you are to head through Indonesia not on the rally the government wants 40% of the boat in cash when you enter and then when you clear out at the other end you get it back. This is waived for the Rally participants. Word on the street is that 30~40% boats will enter with the rally and then make their own way through indo and not follow the route just to waive the 40%. Fair enough.

Oh and my beard watch has been reset, time to start a fresh. Too hot and my mask wasn’t sealing properly.

20090602 – 20090609 (Cairns & Lizard Island)

I flew into Cairns on Tuesday after a wait in Sydney airport for a couple of hours and met Daryl and Laurel on their boat Cool Bananas. It’s a 50 ft Admiral (Catamaran) made in South Africa. My berth is in the starboard hull and is forward. I have a double bed and my own shower bathroom, it’s a bit flasher than Muir st was. It has the internet, washing machine, electric flush toilets and a Hookah (No not a pro, a dive compressor so you don’t need to dive with tanks)

Seems the cruisers have a floating neighbourhood and have been meeting the other cruisers, everyone seems to be of an older vintage and also a couple of families with young children.

Spent two nights in Cairns re stocking the boat and getting supplies, it seems a well laid out city and is laid back. Unfortunately due to stingers and salt water crocodiles or “Salties” everyone is not able to swim in the sea.

Along the water front of Cairns there is a man made lagoon which easy on the eye bikini clad back packers flock too, it’s also setup well with free BBQ’s and plenty of grass area. The main tourist attractions there are the islands and the diving so just used the days to go for a couple of runs and look around the city as I figured am on a boat and there will be no shortage of opportunities to get in the water.

On Friday we left to head to Lizard Island which is apparently one of the last good anchorages between Cairns and Darwin, it’s was a 120 mile voyage and we left on Friday morning and travelling through the night. Lost internet and phone reception, me thinks it will be back further up the coast towards Darwin.

I was on watch between 5pm and 8pm and then again between 2am and 5am, we travelled along a major shipping channel so I saw some big cargo vessels, fishing trawlers and cruise ships. We had to motor until midnight and then the wind picked and we managed to get along at 7~8 knots under sail with the wind at our tail arriving at Lizard island early on Saturday morning.

I walked up to Cooks look out which is the highest point on the island, it was where Captain Cook ventured to try and find a safe passage out of the reef which surrounds the island. (I think it was on the mainland back in the day), he named it Lizard island because of the thousands of Lizards which inhabit the island, every step there was a lizard running off the path, apparently they can get up to one metre long.

I have been for a couple of dives at Lizard Island and 3 out at the outer reefs called Cod Hole and Trixiey Bomby. (~1.5 hours away) The fish life and the coral are amazing we had perfect weather and stunning visibility at the reef, out came the hookah and away we went. Saw a pod of 12 dolphins on the way back to lizard, such awesome animals and although we couldn’t get them to jump out of the water they stayed riding the bow wave for 15 minutes. I think I could get used to this life although there are plenty of fish below the water we seem not to be able to bring any back up to the boat for dinner.

Have played and lost at numerous games of asshole and rummikub I think I need to pick up my game or I will be the dish pig for the next 4 months. Who am I kidding it that’s what I have to do to stay on the boat then it’s definitely well worth it.

There is a resort on Lizard island, one of the other cruisers asked how much it was to stay, the cheapest rooms where 2700 for two nights. Not sure what you get for that but we still managed to dump of rubbish there for a dollar, dive the same water and look at the same view so all good. Funny that everyone has waste just some people pay a crap load to do it. Pun-ny?