Across the Top and into Darwin

We had a nice trip around the top of Australia and bypassed famous Thursday Island for the aboriginal town of Seisia. We went ashore and found a well-stocked grocery store and added a few fresh things for the galley. We had a calm crossing of the Gulf of Carpentaria which we were told could be like a washing machine. We had 10-15 knots of following wind and seas less than about 1.5 meters and we all enjoyed the calm conditions. So we rounded the tip of the Wessels and anchored for two nights at Two-Island bay. Again it was glassy smooth there and we explored the beach. We found armies of small crabs that emerged from the beach at low tide and marched by the hundreds across the sand. We have pictures and videos, but poor internet availability on the boat prevents posting pictures in this country.

We made a few more stops on the way to Darwin and were flushed around Cape Don at 10 knots by the 24 foot tides here. Our passages definitely required some tide and current planning to keep our 6 knot boat moving forward.

Darwin was OK although we almost did not make it into the locked (they use locks to keep the water in) marinas because of a requirement for $10 million of liability insurance (which we were shy of). After being refused entry by two of the four marinas, we were allowed entry into Bayswater Marina at $60 per night. The good part was a great lockmaster that loaned us his own car for 5 of the 9 days we spent there and the ability to run our A/Cs non-stop to battle the 96 degree temperature.

We made good use of the car to gather bits and pieces and to do a major food provisioning for Indonesia. We had been introduced to an Operations manager at one of the boatyards and he reworked some of the repairs to the dingy that were inadequately done in Mackay and he also helped me locate some engine filters and oil. But even with "the best guy" doing the work, not all was done properly and my running lights that were disconnected are now not working; one more thing for the captain to fix in Indonesia. Overall, we found the prices and workmanship in New Zealand to be far better than Australia.

We did catch up with cruising friends (on Elixer) that we had met crossing the pacific and now have a lovely home on Cullen bay with their boat docked just off their house. They invited us to dinner and Emily got to play again with their children, Hugo and Ethan. It just happened that our dinner invitation was one day before Emily's 11th birthday, so Dad bought a birthday cake and Emily got to blow out candles and make her wish on solid ground for a change.

We made a day trip to Crocodilia Park where Emily got to hold another croc and we saw some monsters leaping out of the water for a piece of lamb. Dad and Emily actually got to feed them with a raw piece of lamb on a "fishing pole". Although we never saw any crocs in the wild while cruising, the sight of the 15 foot monsters and the speed of their attack made us thankful of that! We understand that there are also saltwater crocs in Indonesia, but they are not as numerous as here in Oz.

I write this blog on anchor in Francis Bay. We have full fuel tanks and an appointment with customs in the morning to check out and will start our 3-day passage to Kupang in Indonesia right away. I think that I have all our permits and visas in order to make a simple entry into that country…we shall see.

Tom