Sunsets during the bush fires

These four photos were taken over a 30 minute period on the same evening ,we were sailing along the coast of Arnhem land in the Northern territories where some  bush fires were creating this bank of smoke.

Darwin, Northern Territory, Oz

Today is Northern Territory Day and all kind of celebrations are planned in Darwin today. We arrived in Darwin yesterday morning after about 30 hours of motoring in flat calm weather. The journey around Cape Don was quite easy in the calm weather and we had to fight an adverse tide for about three to four hours only. We are currently tied to the Cullen Bay Pontoon where we had an inspection done by the Dept of Fisheries which is required prior to entry into a marina for all foriegn boats. The inspection was a whole lot of nothing and took all of ten minutes once the guys showed. A diver went under the boat and squirted a disinfectant solution into the salt water intake so that it circulates through the main engine, generator and fridges. We then had to remain here for fourteen hours to wait for the solution to kill any strange molluscs that might hurt the local environment.
Anyway it was a quiet night and we are now waiting for the tide to flood a little more (they have some fierce tides in Darwin) so that we can get into the Tipperary Waters Marina which will be our home for the next 4 weeks.
Further info about duty free fuel etc. in a day or two, we are looking forward to the fireworks display tonight and wandering around Darwin.

Position Report Thursday 27 June

We are now anchored up in Somerville Bay on Croker Island after an uneventful 
day of mostly motoring from North Goulburn Island. The wind has been less than 
10 kts all day, not enough to sail down wind and not much predicted for 
tomorrow. We will leave early in the am and probably do an overnighter to Darwin 
as we have to do a quarantine inpsection prior to entering the marina on Sunday. 
Nice and calm here at anchor, next update from Darwin

Position report 26 June

We left Gove Harbour on Tuesday morning at dawn having spent five nights there. 
One more than planned due to the windy weather. Despite the breeze the anchorage 
was nice and quiet though the dinghy ride ashore was pretty wet. We had a fairly 
indifferent dinner at the Yacht Club on Saturday night (Anniversary Night) and 
met some more of the crews headed for Darwin. The days passed quickly and many 
of the fleet struggled in having suffered 25-30 kts in the Gulf.
The winds moderated today and we are on our way. 
There are numerous passes between islands on our way west and we chose one 
called Cumberland Straits rather than the famous Hole in the wall which is about 
a mile long and 100 meters wide. The tides can be fierce though there so we 
opted for a wider one. Even so the seas were very choppy at the eastern side 
despite arriving at slack tide. Once though, we have been on a nice beam to brad 
reach in 15kts of breeze and we should make it to our destination of North 
Golbourne Island by tomorrow afternoon. Still no fishing permitted
Current position at 1915H LT is 11 26.4S, 135 50.5E speed 8.0 kts course 270 M 
winds 17kts from the south, seas 4 1.2 meters 

Admiral's thoughts

P.S. to the blog A few thoughts from our last 2 weeks of sailing from Lizard island to Gove. We have been lucky to be able to sail mostly day hops these last two weeks,sometimes we seem to be in a convoy of a dozen other yachts heading north and other days we are alone. As you may have read from our Portland Roads posting we headed ashore for a walk and in search of a strong 3G connection ,but forgot to check the tides ! So we were high and dry for about 4 hrs,we had to trudge through knee high sludge bordering the mangroves until our dingy finally reached water ,thank goodness for our dingy wheels which have paid for themselves over and over again. The best part of the day though was the surprisingly good cafe ashore where we ended up having lunch and watching for the tide.All the food was homemade ,from home grown salads and bread with fresh locally caught seafood and cheesecake ,a definite highlight. I do need to stand on my soapbox for one paragraph,you may have noted a caption on the unsanitized photo of the trophy wahoo that there has been a ban on fishing on Callisto!This moratorium  is whilst I am aboard ,UNLESS the captain is starving! I am no longer going to watch the brutal gaffing of one of these spectacular creatures convulsing blood all over our deck prior to slaughter,it deeply saddens me also to watch the smiles of triumph on the captors after this agonizing ordeal. Changing the subject,we had a wonderful quiet and restful night anchored up the escape river near the pearl farms ,the previous night had been  in Shelbourne bay and it was rolly and uncomfortable,not conducive for sleeping. I decided to get the washer going and hang the decks with all the laundry,whilst doing this Rusty the pearl farm owner came over in his skiff and invited us over for morning tea. Again it is a highlight to meet the the locals and receive their gracious hospitality.We ate a freshly baked still warm ,delicious fruit bread with our tea ,thanks Bronwyn .After gaining local knowledge we are now acutely aware of our surroundings from here on into the northern territories,crocs are everywhere ,and they look like sticks and logs! I would not walk through the sludge again at Portland Roads now I have this knowledge! Next was getting the right timing to get over the sand bar at the entrance to escape river and timing the tides to go through the Albany passage ,which was spectacular,if only we could go at 10 knts on flat seas all the time! Somehow I was expecting Cape York to look more dramatic,being the most northern point of mainland Australia, but it was a low headland and not really worth a stop for. Now to cross the Gulf of Carpenteria,we set off on a tide that gave us a wonderful push for the first few hours, we were the only yacht crossing that day, it seemed liked the others were resting .Weather was spectacular as you can see on the  posted photo. The only excitement that day was a small red and white Australian coast guard plane dived over us at about a hundred feet to check us out and called us on the radio to check out our paperwork. Then the next 24 hours were rather uncomfortable, with muddled seas,finally they seemed to settle and we arrived mid- morning into Gove to a quiet anchorage.Next day, we hitched a ride ( thats what you do here)into town with Shirley,very friendly ,she was taking her dog to the vet ,but said she would take us to town first. Then our first excitement of the day, just as we said good bye to Shirley and she headed around the corner I realized I left my camera on her backseat! OMG think quick! There was a taxi nearby, I jumped in and it was 'follow that car'. The taxi guy managed to radio call to another oncoming taxi ahead of us and he flashed her down and we came to a stop, mission accomplished.Now back to find the Captain and Ron and resume food shopping and the local library for some books on the local tides and waters. Over the last 24 hours about 10 yachts have arrived into the harbour,the weather has changed ,it is now extremely windy and it seems they had a much bumpier sail over the Gulf than we did. We had our wedding anniversary dinner in the local yacht club last night listening to the tales of their passages. We are anchored a long way out from the YC so the journey to dinner was a water drenching dingy ride , whats new! luckily we wore foul weather gear ,so as to be dry when eating! Good job I didn't blow dry my hair! For our fellow yachties the Gove Yacht club is open for meals and drinks Thursday through Sunday only.3G connection is excellent here in the harbor.

Gove, Northern Territory, Oz

We arrived in Gove on Thursday morning after a passage of 2 days and 2 hours.  Most of the run was quite pleasant except for the first night when we had over 20 knots of breeze and quite lumpy seas. This settled down the following day and we had a nice beam reach all the way in. The anchorage is very calm despite the fact it is now blowing 20+ knots. We went ashore yesterday and visited the town of Gove. This took about 10 minutes for the grand tour. It is a small mining town with an adjacent indigenous village of Nhulumbuy but there are a few stores and we have replenished our supplies of fresh veggies. There is a small yacht club ashore which we will patronize this evening for our 34th wedding anniversary. No doubt a gourmet dinner will be served. We may be here a little longer than planned as the forecast is for over 30 kts for the next 48 hours at least. We should still be on time for arrival in Darwin by July 1st.

Position Report 20 June, 2012

We are on our way to Gove in the Northern Territories. We left yesterday morning 
and have made about 160 miles in 22 hours. We had a fast start with tide leaving 
Cape york and then despite a favourable forecast the wind went forward and light 
and we made poor progress for 6 hours. The wind came back later in the afternoon 
and we have been going well since. Seas are lumpy but this should settle down as 
we progress across the gulf. We should get into Gove tomorrow morning.
Current position 0615H June 20, 2012 is 11 15.6S, 139 55.3E speed 7.5 kts wind 
SE 15- 20 kts seas 6 feet mostly SE confused.

aption


 

Rusty from the pearl farm



10 foot Salt water crocodile sunning himself on the beach. The crafty buggers are good at camo and from a distance look just like a log. He is right next to the bird



the tidal rip at Albany Passage. the tide screams through here at between 2-5 knots. Best not to get your calculations wrong

flat water in Albany Passage

Speed over ground through Albany Passage

Possession Island, Cape York, Queensland

We are now anchored in the lee of Possession Island after a very fast passage from the Escape River through the Albany Passage and around Cape York. We covered the 38 miles in less than 4 hours thanks to a favourable tide and 20 knots of breeze. It really pays to get the tide right coming around the top end. This anchorage is comfortable even though it's blowing 15- 20 + kts.
We even have internet and radio stations!
The Escape River was also a wonderful place once you get through the bar into the river itself. We came in on the rising tide and had less than a metre under the keel at times. Inside, however, there is plenty of water but there is the need to dodge the numerous oyster nets, as in this area, there  is a pearl farm. Once inside and down river it was like glass and we spent two comfortable nights there.
The whole place was alive with sea life including the infamous salt water crocodiles. We went ashore to visit the pearl farm owned by Rusty and Bronwyn and we spent a pleasant morning enjoying morning tea and talking about the area. The are no roads worth speaking of there and the only way to get supplies is by boat, 30 kms to Bamaga. One has to enjoy the remoteness but they obviously do.
One of their dogs was called CB (short for croc bait) and he could have been. We saw some quite large specimens sunning themselves on the beach.
Photos to follow, tomorrow looks OK for the 350 mile run across the Bay of Carpenteria to the town of Gove in the Northern Territories

Position Report Saturday 16th June

We are at Shelbourne bay in northern Queensland and we will go 62 miles 
northeast to the Escape River where we will take a day or two off before 
rounding Cape York. It's a bit rainy today but there should be good breeze and 
internet tomorrow.

photos of the past few days

Flinders Island

40 lb. Wahoo. Fishing has now been banned by the vegetarians aboard

Morris Island. A few palm trees and a beach

Low tide at Portland Roads. Our dinghy is on the left. We had to wait for the tide to flood once more to get back to the boat

Sunset. Portland Roads

  

Portland Roads, Northern Queensland

Now anchored in Portland Roads about 150 miles south of Cape York. A little rolly but very pleasant and we have intermittant internet. We had a good day ashore but got trapped by the tide so we had a nice lunch in the local cafe while waiting until the tide flooded again. We plan on leaving again tomorrow and we will make at least one more stop before going around the top end. Forecast is for good breeze tomorrow.
Photos in a day or two

Tuesday, 12 June

We are now at a tiny islet called Morris Island. Not much here except a beach 
and a few palms trees and mangroves. It has a large surrounding reef so the 
anchorage is quite comfortable. The weather has stayed clear but the wind has 
gone light. We spent the day sailing and motor sailing in light and variable 
breezes. Tomorrow promises much the same thing, we have another 60 nautical 
miles to go to Portland Roads where there is apparently some civilization which 
I hope includes some internet as the Admiral has not been able to play "words 
with friend" for a few days now and is not pleased about this.
Fishing has been banned until further notice.

Sunday, 10 June

We are at a place called Flinders Island and this area to Cape York really is 
the back of beyond. There is no phone or internet or much of any thing. We are 
traveling up the northern coast of Queensland with five other boats. There is 
not much wind forecast for the next 36 hours so we will probably stay here 
tomorrow and explore the beach and set some crab traps. We had a very nice 35 
lb. Wahoo today so we won't need to fish for the rest of the trip.

lizard Island

mrs. watson's bay Lizard island

Lizard Island



Admiral and I Blue lagoon, Lizard Island



Iron man swimmers

Australian Navy escorting us out of Cairns



Moonrise, Low Islet

four foot reef sharks with attached remora

observing the tarnsit of venus

We left Cairns on the most perfect weather day,our first for a while! The Australian navy on one side of  us as we sailed down the channel and 2000+ triathlon swimmers on the other. Our first stopover was at Low Islets,these comprise of 2 islands, one mangrove and the other housing the lighthouse ,a couple of houses with some researchers who are stationed there.There was a good 3 G connection here. As we picked up one of the 3 public moorings the 4 foot sharks,turtles and some very large bat fish came to circle and shelter under Callisto. We had a good walk around the island and spoke to Jenny who is stationed there for 3 years ,she assured us the sharks were friendly,so the captain and young Ron went snorkeling. Leaving at first light we set off for Hope island,unfortunately we could see that the 2 moorings were already taken and the entrance into the reef was unclear with all the wind waves and white caps ,so we opted to continue on to Cooktown, and as already blogged the entrance was too shallow( not what the chart said), with goose eggs on the depth finder halfway up the channel the captain made a sharp about turn and we anchored just outside the red and green markers,rather rolly! But there was 3G for our Internet ! Setting off at first light ,finding our special glasses ( last used for the solar eclipse in  French Polynesia   in 2010)for the transit of venus along route, we think we saw a once in a lifetime event .Again we had a very quick sail to Lizard island, quite a united nations of world traveling yachts are in this anchorage flying   1 danish, 1 swiss, 1 swedish,3 Dutch,2 American ,4 Australian,2 new Zealand  ,1 german and our British red ensign.The water here is probably the clearest we have seen since New Caledonia. Our first afternoons entertainment was watching a fire creep up the hillside with the strong winds here,then later that evening a 100 foot cruise ship came in ,in the dark and picked up a mooring 2 boat lengths away! We had a lovely hike over to the blue lagoon on the other side of the island,the captain and young Ron needed a nap post walk. A note for yachties following us, we do have 3G here ,but we are anchored the furthest out in the bay. Today has been snorkeling, discovering giant clams ,live corals and cleaning under the boat. We also encountered  a friendly visit from the Oz customs officers who are patrolling these waters. We set off tomorrow for Howick island.

Cooktown, Queensland

This evening finds us anchored up just outside the seaway at  the entrance to the Endeavor River at Cooktown. We could not get across the bar despite the charts suggesting that the entarnce was dredged to 3.1 metres. At low spring tide there was less than  2 metres in tthe channel according to the coastguard so we are stuck outside bouncing about until tomorrow. The tide won't be full untill 2200H and I don't want to try to get in during the night. So we will probably go on Lizard Island either tonight or at dawn. Too bad really as I would like to have visited the Captain Cook museum in Cooktown. James Cook was here in 1770 for two months after putting his ship, the Endeavour, on Endeavour Reef. He jettisonned all of his cannon and left his kedging anchor there and they were found quite recently.
We have a very nice two days of sailing after leaving Cairns and the weather has been excellent. We spent the last two nights on Low Islets, with a full moon a very calm anchorage. We finally got do some snorkelling on the reef. Lots of healthy coral and reef sharks and turtles.
Photos to follow, looks like we will have to give Cooktown a miss and on to Lizard tommorrow where will spend a few days.

Cairns, Queensland, Oz



We have been in Cairns now for twelve days and it's just now stopped raining. Ron arrived two days ago and we have replaced the lower shrouds and repaired the leak in the watermaker. John left at noon today and a few hours after that the rain stopped and the sun came out. Draw your own conclusions! We are about ready to leave tomorrow for the final leg around the top end and on to Darwin. The annual iron man competition is due to start tomorrow with over 2000 competitors. The whole town is buzzing with activities, live bands and markets and the like. The weather looks like it is finally going to stay clear for a while, next bulletin is from Lizard Island in a few days

Ron, already at work in the engine room



the ironman competition starts tomorrow.these are the 2084 $10000 bikes belonging to the entrants

It's...........Monty Python's Flying Circus. A very strange old dude enjoying the music