The Governor's Gala Dinner

The first dinner was held on Friday 29th July. Happy 30th birthday, Emily. We listened to speeches by the Governor's representative and were entertained by traditional dancers. Indonesian food was served buffet style to 100 or more hungry sailors. Afterwards there was Western music and disco dancing until late.

Kupang

This is the new modern side of Kupang. We arrived safely at 3.30am on our fourth night at sea. It was scary coming into the harbour at night especially as the route was lined with lots of brightly lit fishing boats, beyond which we could see nothing.



This is the old Kupang. You might be able to see a man climbing in through his window. It's been a huge culture shock for us getting used to a new language, a new currency and much hot and spicy food. We're learning fast.

Start at Darwin

And we are off. We may have been first over the line - who knows, but there were about 60 boats so it was difficult especially with sneaky fast cats.

All the best to our readers as we sail out of internet range. XXX

The Northern Territory

We were given lots of useful information about anchorages in the Northern Territory and in Darwin by locals, Carole and Kevin on "Chantilly". Then we met Canadians, Carmen and Robert on "Caminata", who were leaving Gove the same day as us. This photo shows the dust created when the bauxite is loaded by conveyor belt into the hold of ships at the wharf. We were glad we were going the other way - upwind.
The first hazard (apart from ships) was a tidal passage between the mainland and an island. It was a bit rough on the approach but otherwise deep and straight, leading to a calm stretch of sea called Malay Roads. A few miles ahead was another tidal passage between islands with a dog leg turn in it. Both yachts passed through without incident and anchored for the night in a bay close by.

We needed to have the tide with us when we went through the "Hole in the Wall" (pictured) the next morning. Jeremy was keen to go through at night and had no worries about the concealed entrance, the narrow passage, the cliffs on both sides and the fact the tide ran at 9 knots at springs. He bowed to pressure from Carmen, Robert and me. We approached at exactly the right time and had no problems. Our journey continued for two days and nights. We had reasonable winds, a bit light at times, but Sal Darago sailed well with two headsails poled out to either side. Each night the Australian Maritime Patrol aircraft would call us on VHF radio and check our position, home port, last port and destination. We've heard that the Northern Territory has been a target for those who smuggle people, drugs and alcohol.

The next time we saw "Caminata" was in the anchorage in Coral Bay. They had arrived before us but they had motored for 9 hours, so we consider ourselves first for once. Like most of the Northern Territory, you could not go ashore unless you had a permit as the land is managed by the Aboriginal people. There was a resort ashore but we decided not to pay $25 each to land and
$47 each for dinner.

Our next anchorage was meant to be Popham Bay near Cape Don. We entered in thick, choking smoke. There was a bush fire on the hillside. We turned around pretty quickly and anchored in Alcore Bay further west with 5 other yachts. Next morning at 6.00am only two of us were left in the bay. We rounded Cape Don in a fresh to strong breeze and found ourselves making 12knots with the fast flowing tide. By the afternoon there was no wind and we had to motor to the anchorage at Cape Hotham. Our final obstacle was the Vernon Islands where strong tides have to be taken at the right time or you go nowhere. Those that sail in Morecambe Bay are very familiar with this. All went well and by taking a few short cuts across the sandbanks we made it into Fannie Bay, Darwin, 30 minutes after sunset.
Now we're trying to learn as much as we can about sailing in Indonesia having checked in with the Sail Indonesia Rally, the Indonesian Consulate and Australian Customs.
We leave for Kupang on 23 July. We do not expect to be able to access email, write blogs or communicate by mobile phone while we are in Indonesia... so if you don't hear from us, you'll know why.

On Top of Australia

We left Lizard Island and the Barrier Reef closed with the coast of Australia. Big ships shared a narrow passage and this led to some uncomfortable squeezes in the tight spots between the reefs. Sal Darago rounded Cape Melville which was composed of massive boulders. The whole mountainous area was also made up of these huge boulders. We stopped at the delightfully deserted Morris Island, but did not have time for a walk as it is dark by 6.30 pm and we were up at 5 am nearly every day to cram in 60 to 70 nautical miles.

We got in with a bad crowd of yachts. They were all bigger than us and despite us leaving early, they just sailed right through us and we were last into the anchoage at night. Rounding Cape Grenville (last again) we snuck through a dodgy passage betwixt the Home Islands and nearly beat the British 43 foot Oyster called Trenelly. "SAN - E - T", an Australian catamaran called up on the radio and as we turned our eyes in the direction indicated we saw a living, moving, hungry CROCODILE! Kathy and decided not to swim that evening or any other evening since. They don't half look mean. (The yachts were very friendly and helpful really;)

Onwards and upwards, to Escape River where on our escape (groan!) the kickstrut ripped out of the bottom of the mast. A quick repair and we were okay to approach and round Cape York. Goodbye Pacific, hello the Gulf of Carpentaria. After a couple of nights at Seisia, where we ate a huge pasta dish at a camp site; filled up with diesel, water and nosh, we set off on the 360nm trip to Gove. It was quite rough with 20 to 30 knots of wind all the way. We arrived in the morning on Sunday 260611, and were amazed at the size of the Bauxite Processing Plant. Still, it is the only reason Gove exists.

Lizard Island

James Cook and Joseph Banks climbed this hill to try to find a way out to sea through the maze of reefs. The cairn at the top is called Cook's Look. We gazed at the same view and, thanks to a handy plaque, we identified Cook Passage in the haze below us. The climb was quite arduous at times but worth the effort. Cook named the island Lizard Island because he saw a variety of lizards while he was there. We saw a tiny one and that was all.


At the bottom of the hill Jeremy found hidden treasure. Here he is leafing through an old accounts book which also served as a visitors' book. You'll have to guess what else is in the barrel. We left it for others to find.

We did some snorkelling in the bay later and saw giant clams with shells as wide as my outstretched arms. Fantastic. Later still, at a beach party for all the yotties organised by the yotties, we learned that there was a crocodile on Lizard Island, but it was timid. PHEW!

Cooktown

We had waited for a week in Cairns for a package from the UK. We decided to leave and on a Wednesday morning we walked (again) to the Post Office to have our package redirected. Fortunately it was waiting for us. We had enjoyed our 6.6km walk in the Botantical Garden's Rain Forest, despite its proximity to the LOUD airport. Three days later we arrived in Cooktown to join in with the annual re enactment of Cook's landing there.

This re enactment took place over three days and was most colourful. It included the landing from both English and Aboriginal perspectives. It marked the first meeting of the Aboriginal people with whites (Well the first recorded one where no one was eaten).
Jeremy was fortunate enough to join in some of the Aboriginal Dances. (And they wonder where Simon got it from?) We met quite a few boaties and had a meal out where we were entertained by belly dancers. There were fire eaters, a military band and we attended a talk about Reconciliation given by Willie Gordon, a Guugu Yimithirr story teller. The whole show had a fabulous firework display over the water and we were most impressed. The next day we set sail for Lizard Island.