svbeachhouse

Category: By Date Blog

  • Komodo to Lombok

    12 – 15 August 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    Dear F&F,

    When we left Komodo, we had a nice sail across the channel to Palau Sumbawa Island. As we arrived we caught up to an old guy named Don from North Carolina. He\’s an expat whose been living on his boat based out of Bali for the last 20 years. He told us about the lack of anchorages along the 150 mile stretch of this island. We pressed on to Teluk Sanggar (Sanggar Bay). We knew we\’d arrive after dark which I hate to do in an unknown location, but the waypoint/guide info seemed pretty good. When we entered the bay, we came upon 30 of the trimaran type fishing boats commonly seen here in Indonesia. They were like a floating mine field. Some all lit up and others, no lights at all. After negotiating this traffic, we came into the anchorage. Adding to the fun it was absolutely pitch black with no lights on shore and the charts aren\’t exactly right!

    First, we got in shallow water, down to 15 feet and back tracked out. We went around the reef which helped orient us, but as the water went from 500 ++ feet to 20 feet in about 30 seconds, it was a bit disconcerting.

    We got to where I thought would be a good spot but apparently it wasn\’t to be. We anchored, all was well. The wind was only 10 knots. At midnight (why is it always at midnight!???…:-) The wind started to blow hard from the beach. 25 with gusts to 30 knots. I watched the depth sounder and after about 5 minutes of this, it was clear that our anchor fell off the plateau and was hanging straight down in space. We had 150 feet of chain out and when Nikki went to up the anchor, it would barely move. I thought it was the chain stripper stuck again so I removed it. I then tried the windlass again making sure the chain wouldn\’t get jammed without the stripper. The windlass barely moved and the motor was getting hot.

    All along, Nikki is trying to keep the boat head to wind and away from reef and fishing boats bobbing about. Fortunately, the wind event died off as quickly as it arrived and after about 25 minutes, I was able to coax the anchor and chain back up to the deck.

    My summarization is that the motor didn\’t have the power to lift the combined weight of about 250 lbs. which it very definitely should. As we could not depend on another deep anchor attempt (we might miss the plateau), we decided to set the main with one reef and slowly sail toward Lombok, our next destination and about 110 miles away. We did this taking night watches and felt pretty tired as we\’d been moving without too much of a break for days.

    We arrived at Gili Lewang Island just off the northeast coast of Lombok the next late afternoon and were glad to anchor in a nice sandy shallow spot at 25 feet. This morning, I\’d neglected to put the chain stripper back on the windlass and when I went to raise the anchor it jammed immediately. Nikki and I played mechanic and got it back in shape pretty quickly. I may have found the chain stripper problem? Time will tell. The windlass worked perfectly and off we went. Next stop, Medang Marina in Lombok right off the famous tourist island, Gili Air.

    The internet is very good here and when next we write I hope to be tied up to a dock. We\’ll have several days to tour here before heading off the last 60 miles or so to Bali.

    KIT, write anytime, Scott and Nikki

  • Komodo to Lombok

    12 – 15 August 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    Dear F&F,

    When we left Komodo, we had a nice sail across the channel to Palau Sumbawa Island. As we arrived we caught up to an old guy named Don from North Carolina. He\’s an expat whose been living on his boat based out of Bali for the last 20 years. He told us about the lack of anchorages along the 150 mile stretch of this island. We pressed on to Teluk Sanggar (Sanggar Bay). We knew we\’d arrive after dark which I hate to do in an unknown location, but the waypoint/guide info seemed pretty good. When we entered the bay, we came upon 30 of the trimaran type fishing boats commonly seen here in Indonesia. They were like a floating mine field. Some all lit up and others, no lights at all. After negotiating this traffic, we came into the anchorage. Adding to the fun it was absolutely pitch black with no lights on shore and the charts aren\’t exactly right!

    First, we got in shallow water, down to 15 feet and back tracked out. We went around the reef which helped orient us, but as the water went from 500 ++ feet to 20 feet in about 30 seconds, it was a bit disconcerting.

    We got to where I thought would be a good spot but apparently it wasn\’t to be. We anchored, all was well. The wind was only 10 knots. At midnight (why is it always at midnight!???…:-) The wind started to blow hard from the beach. 25 with gusts to 30 knots. I watched the depth sounder and after about 5 minutes of this, it was clear that our anchor fell off the plateau and was hanging straight down in space. We had 150 feet of chain out and when Nikki went to up the anchor, it would barely move. I thought it was the chain stripper stuck again so I removed it. I then tried the windlass again making sure the chain wouldn\’t get jammed without the stripper. The windlass barely moved and the motor was getting hot.

    All along, Nikki is trying to keep the boat head to wind and away from reef and fishing boats bobbing about. Fortunately, the wind event died off as quickly as it arrived and after about 25 minutes, I was able to coax the anchor and chain back up to the deck.

    My summarization is that the motor didn\’t have the power to lift the combined weight of about 250 lbs. which it very definitely should. As we could not depend on another deep anchor attempt (we might miss the plateau), we decided to set the main with one reef and slowly sail toward Lombok, our next destination and about 110 miles away. We did this taking night watches and felt pretty tired as we\’d been moving without too much of a break for days.

    We arrived at Gili Lewang Island just off the northeast coast of Lombok the next late afternoon and were glad to anchor in a nice sandy shallow spot at 25 feet. This morning, I\’d neglected to put the chain stripper back on the windlass and when I went to raise the anchor it jammed immediately. Nikki and I played mechanic and got it back in shape pretty quickly. I may have found the chain stripper problem? Time will tell. The windlass worked perfectly and off we went. Next stop, Medang Marina in Lombok right off the famous tourist island, Gili Air.

    The internet is very good here and when next we write I hope to be tied up to a dock. We\’ll have several days to tour here before heading off the last 60 miles or so to Bali.

    KIT, write anytime, Scott and Nikki

  • Flores Island to Komodo National Park

    07-11 August 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    Dear F&F,

    The wind on the north side of the Indonesian Archipelago is very light for the most part. In between the islands, we feel the effects of the SE Trade Winds, but other than that, it\’s pretty light. Motoring is more common than sailing.

    We stopped at the island of Flores in four different anchorages. Again, the friendly fisherman and locals, but nothing of great interest ashore. Virtually no one speaks any English outside of the big cites and our Indonesian is about as good. So lots of waves and smiles. I\’m sure there is good diving along this coast, but it\’s just not what I\’m about at this time.

    We arrived at Rindja (pronounced Rincha) Island in a very protected anchorage at one of the two main park offices where guided tours are offered to see the famed \”Komodo Dragons\”. When we arrived, there were about 8 large tour boats which were at the dock or anchored nearby. Nikki and I went ashore to check it out, planning on doing our tour the next morning.

    We were told the fees which amounted to around $40.00 for the two of for three days; most reasonable. They could take our trash, always a good thing and all the guides spoke pretty good English.

    The next morning, we went in early as the \”Dragons\” are more active before it gets too hot. A Komodo Dragon is really a monitor lizard; the largest lizard on earth. They are strictly carnivorous and have been attributed to 9 human fatalities (known) over the last 35 years. For the most part, they are quite lethargic. Our guides carry 6 foot long forked sticks, \”Just In Case\”!

    Their hunting style is to ambush a local deer, water buffalo, bush turkey or monkey, all of which are plentiful on Rindja, Komodo and a few other islands in the park. They apparently have a mild toxin and their saliva is laced with very aggressive bacteria. If the animal is small, they will kill it with their long serrated teeth and eat it on the spot. If the animal is large, they only try to wound it and wait till it\’s dies of infection, following it for up to 4 days. Larger animals are eaten by many \”dragons\” which consume the entire animal, bones and all. They only eat once/month and can wolf down up to 80% of their body weight. The largest of the lizards get up to 3.5 meters and about 150 kg (11.5 feet, 330 lbs.). There are about 1300 on Rindja, 2000 on Komodo and another 1500 scattered about the area. Do not leave your dog or your child in their presents! No Joke!

    We saw Komodo nests which are reused year after year where up to 30 eggs are laid. The small dragons often live at the top of tree where the adults cannot eat them.

    While we were here we met several tourists and two other sail boats arrived. As the experience was good, we decided to head for Komodo Island are repeat the tour.

    About 12 miles away, we motored through the strong currents and arrived at the day anchorage for the island. We had a similar tour and experience, the highlight of which was watching an apparently lethargic dragon only 10 feet away from seemingly unsuspecting deer. No attack was witnessed, but our guide told us in the two years that he has worked at the park, he\’s seen several. Again, the photos (if I ever get to it, say it all).

    After departing the day anchorage, we went around to the north side of the island and anchored for the night. For the first time, we started to see a lot of dive boats.

    The next leg of the trip seemed the most daunting as the island of Palau Sumbawa has very few anchorages along it\’s north coast. Stay tuned,

    KIT, Scott and Nikki

  • Lembatta to Lombok

    03 – 06 August 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    Dear F&F,

    We left Kupang mid morning and motored up the Timor coast to anchor over night. This would break the trip up into two manageable day trips rather than having to sail north across the Sulu Sea all night in the shipping lanes. We found a small village that had a 20 foot depth not too close to the shore which was ideal for anchoring. The coast here is VERY deep. Sometimes it\’s 600 feet deep only a few hundred feet offshore. The reason is that these are geologically very young islands and have several active volcanoes throughout the entire archipelago.

    The villagers waved and were all smiles and friendly. You can easily see (a theme which we would see over the next two weeks), the poverty and very rudimentary facilities along the shore side towns. Ironically, wireless phone and internet is widely available. Before the advent of mobile phones, the infrastructure for telephone lines would have been cost prohibitive. With the advent of wireless, most people can afford a mobile phone even in the remotest areas.

    It is also a common theme here to see Christian churches near Muslim Mosques. The call to prayer is often heard in the small villages at dawn and dusk.

    We said our goodbyes to the Sail Indonesia Rally and were now going off the beaten path on our own. We arrived in Lembata with hopes of a nicer looking but smaller Kupang. Well, it was smaller! Again, the incredible \”shack\” town along the water front was something to behold. If I ever get to photos, you\’ll see what I mean. We found a fairly comfortable anchorage and briefly went ashore. The liter was everywhere, it was not appealing. The people were however, very friendly. Our dinghy line was caught by a young boy who could not have been more than 11-12 years old with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. We really didn\’t like the vibe and the walk to town was going to be quite a distance. Interestingly, motorcycles would pull up to us and ask us if we wanted a ride to town. These were basically large mopeds. There is no way the three of us could have ridden on it…..or so we thought. A few minutes later, the same type of \”bikes\” were zooming past us with three and four people on them. This was sight to behold.

    We left that afternoon for what looked to be a nice anchorage, quiet and secluded from the big town and en-route we came up \”Relapse\”, \”Uliad\”, \”Utopia II\” and \”Myriam\”. All of us from the rally went to the same anchorage. The theme was kids. All the other boats had kids aboard and were hanging out together for the obvious reasons. The anchorage was quite lovely. Everyone went swimming in the finally clean, clear water. It was reminiscent of Fiji last year.

    Nikki and I of course had to \”get\” to Bali for her daughter Hollie\’s wedding on the 25th, so off we went.

    More soon! Scott and Nikki

  • Kupang, Indonesia

    August 1-3, 2012, Eastern Hemisphere

    Dear F&F,

    We arrived at Kupang in the middle of the night and after adjusting our watches to the new time zone, were able to get a good nights sleep. The next day was quite the experience as checking into Indonesia is quite complex. The main reason I chose to do the rally was to ease the hassle of entering this very officious nation.

    First, I had to pick up the customs and quarantine officials with the dinghy. One of them couldn\’t swim and was afraid. Only one spoke English, but that was fine. The young lady from quarantine for some reason wanted to assure me that this was a more Christian part of Indonesia than Muslim. I wasn\’t really sure why she felt that was necessary?

    Both influences are quite visible here including hearing the daily calls to prayer from the local Mosque over the loud speakers. As Nikki had lived extensively in Arabic countries, this seemed almost natural to her. It was actually fascinating to listen too.

    Back to checking in! After lots of paper work filled out, we were told that we had to take one piece of paper ashore and meet customs in a special set up area for the arriving boats. Long story short, we needed to go back to the boat to get LOTS more documents and had to visit 5 different sets of officials, blessedly all in the same place. Had we come in as a single vessel, this process would have taken at least two or three days! You must do the steps in exact order and the offices are all driving distance from each other. So, the rally paid off for sure in this regard. Essentially, we looked at Sail Indonesia as our \”agent\” to check in.

    The first night there was a welcome dinner for the boats, about half of whom had arrived at this point. Lots of speeches by local Mayor\’s and Governor\’s and some dancing entertainment. A good time was had by all.

    The next day, I found a local mechanic refereed by the rally who spoke English and he cleaned the carburetor out on the dinghy motor which had been acting up. We got 100 liters of diesel fuel (which is the dirtiest I\’ve ever seen), and we will filter it extensively before adding it to our tanks. Again, a dinner was to be attended on the second night (now about 85% of the boats were here) and it was more of the same, speeches, entertainment and dinner. Nikki and I didn\’t stay for the dinner, we heard they ran out of food. Probably expecting the same number of boaties they had the night before!…

    To keep the dinghy safe, we all had to pay $4.00/day to insure they were watched….. The water was the dirtiest I\’ve ever seen. Plastic is floating everywhere, the beach was filthy, lots of broken glass and no one seemed to care. Welcome to a different part of the world…….

    We were anxious to move on to cleaner waters and motored up the coast 47 miles to anchor for the night before crossing the Sulu Sea to Lembata. Stay tuned!

    KIT, Scott and Nikki

  • Kupang, Indonesia

    August 1-3, 2012, Eastern Hemisphere

    Dear F&F,

    We arrived at Kupang in the middle of the night and after adjusting our watches to the new time zone, were able to get a good nights sleep. The next day was quite the experience as checking into Indonesia is quite complex. The main reason I chose to do the rally was to ease the hassle of entering this very officious nation.

    First, I had to pick up the customs and quarantine officials with the dinghy. One of them couldn\’t swim and was afraid. Only one spoke English, but that was fine. The young lady from quarantine for some reason wanted to assure me that this was a more Christian part of Indonesia than Muslim. I wasn\’t really sure why she felt that was necessary?

    Both influences are quite visible here including hearing the daily calls to prayer from the local Mosque over the loud speakers. As Nikki had lived extensively in Arabic countries, this seemed almost natural to her. It was actually fascinating to listen too.

    Back to checking in! After lots of paper work filled out, we were told that we had to take one piece of paper ashore and meet customs in a special set up area for the arriving boats. Long story short, we needed to go back to the boat to get LOTS more documents and had to visit 5 different sets of officials, blessedly all in the same place. Had we come in as a single vessel, this process would have taken at least two or three days! You must do the steps in exact order and the offices are all driving distance from each other. So, the rally paid off for sure in this regard. Essentially, we looked at Sail Indonesia as our \”agent\” to check in.

    The first night there was a welcome dinner for the boats, about half of whom had arrived at this point. Lots of speeches by local Mayor\’s and Governor\’s and some dancing entertainment. A good time was had by all.

    The next day, I found a local mechanic refereed by the rally who spoke English and he cleaned the carburetor out on the dinghy motor which had been acting up. We got 100 liters of diesel fuel (which is the dirtiest I\’ve ever seen), and we will filter it extensively before adding it to our tanks. Again, a dinner was to be attended on the second night (now about 85% of the boats were here) and it was more of the same, speeches, entertainment and dinner. Nikki and I didn\’t stay for the dinner, we heard they ran out of food. Probably expecting the same number of boaties they had the night before!…

    To keep the dinghy safe, we all had to pay $4.00/day to insure they were watched….. The water was the dirtiest I\’ve ever seen. Plastic is floating everywhere, the beach was filthy, lots of broken glass and no one seemed to care. Welcome to a different part of the world…….

    We were anxious to move on to cleaner waters and motored up the coast 47 miles to anchor for the night before crossing the Sulu Sea to Lembata. Stay tuned!

    KIT, Scott and Nikki

  • Sail Indonesia Rally – Darwin to Kupang

    28 – 31 July 2012, Eastern Hemisphere

    Dear F&F,

    We left our anchorage for the busy starting area about an hour before the event was to begin. Several boats had left hours earlier or the day before to insure their arrival with \”the fleet\”. There were about 110 boats in the starting area and it was anything but organized. We left about 11:10 when it was clear that no formal start was to really take place.

    Soon after we got going, the fleet separated into two as about 30 of the boats were heading to the alternate destination; Samulaki, Indonesia.

    We hoisted the full main and spinnaker and were soon in the front with about 7 other boats. About 4:30 pm the wind completely quit and we all motored for anywhere between and hour and a half to three hours. We actually motored 84 minutes which was less than anyone around us. One boat who was next to us, ended up five miles ahead when the wind came back and everyone started to sail again.

    I could tell from the predicted weather, it would be advantageous to be on the more western side of the course. That first night, it stated to blow and we briefly saw winds around 30 knots. With a full main and genoa poled out to windward on our port side, we steadily stayed left of the fleet and quickly got back into the front 5 boats. The second day was a bit of a washing machine as to the seas, so we didn\’t push our speed (we could have flown the spinnaker for 20 hours that we didn\’t!) and still managed to keep near the front. The second night was much more comfortable and on the third morning, we gybed the main, hoisted the spinnaker and were off.

    We quickly realized by noon that due to our tactic of staying to the west side of the course, we were in the lead! We have a trans-ponding device aboard Beach House which shows us the speed, name and position of other boats similarly equipped. So it was fun to watch the video game on the chart plotter as the lead 5 boats all had this equipment. We had to gybe the spinnaker twice. Once after dark and in 23 knots of wind and building. Nikki did great for a spinnaker handling novice and we managed to reach the turning point at Timor Island about 7.5 miles ahead of the next boat, old friends, \”Pakia Mist\” who had steadily passed from about 7th place to second. 10 miles behind was \”Miss Beehaven\”, followed by \”Relapse\” and \”Sea Mist\”. The boats behind us were 50-56 feet long and mostly monohull flyers.

    The last trick was to negotiate the approximately 100 fishing boats, improperly lit, and zigzagging everywhere amongst the arriving boats. It was like running a gauntlet. We all survived….:-)

    We were the only boat that sailed almost to the anchorage and finally went to bed at 3:30 a.m. enjoying the results of our spirited competition amongst the 85 boats who sailed to Kupang.

    Next – culture shock in Kupang!

    KIT, Scott and Nikki

  • Darwin

    28 July 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    Dear F&F,

    We left the anchorage at Alcara (last we wrote), and made the trip in 11 hours, going 96 miles. This average speed was enhanced, retarded and again enhanced by the large tides in the Van Diemen Gulf and the Dundas Strait approaching Darwin. At one time while the boat was going 8.5 knots through the water, we saw a head current slow us to 6.5 knots and a following current speed us up to 12.5 knots!

    We anchored in Fanny Bay with about 125 boats. The Darwin Sailing Club is here and the dinghy landings are quite the experience as the height of the tide can move 22+ feet!

    The new dinghy wheels were a huge help. We checked in with the Sail Indonesia Rally and found out we could move into the \”Duck Pond\” (Commercial Marina) here in Darwin.

    There are four marinas all of which have lock systems due to the extreme tides. We were the ONLY recreational boat in the entire \”Pond\”. Mostly fishing vessels, pilot vessels and work boats were all around us. We had some mechanical and electrical work to attend to, so this was a big help. Getting fuel and shopping was aided by having a rental car which we used constantly.

    The big projects were replacing the broken bolt on the port engine. Replacing the impeller on that engine which turned out to require rebuilding the water pump and refreshing our sail drive (transmission) fluids. Lots of other jobs were also accomplished and Nikki is the \”domestic diva\”!….:-)

    We took an overnight trip to the town of Katherine and a two hour cruise along it\’s gorge system on the river. We were able to see some Aboriginal rock art, beautiful views and lots and lots OF FIRES!

    These fires are intentionally set by the local communities to keep the brush (spinafex grass) down during the dry season.

    We had a chance to meet and catch up with some old friends (about 10) who would be participating on the rally.

    Yesterday, \”Mr. John VI\” left a day early as he thought he\’d otherwise finish a day behind everyone else.

    Today, the wind has come up at 15-20 knots exactly from where we want it. This is the first day this has happened since we arrived 18 days ago and hopefully a good omen!

    We cleared out of Australia yesterday \”en mass\” and received our Indonesian visas as well. We\’re all packed up and ready to go. I\’ll start putting out position reports again today!

    The rally departs in 90 minutes, just us and 110 of our closest friends! See: www.sailindonesia.net for details.

    Enjoy and KIT, Scott and Nikki…..

  • North Goulbourn Island to Coral Bay, Coubourg Peninsula on to Darwin…..

    08 -10, July 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    Dear F&F,

    When we woke up in Mullet Bay at North Goulbourn Island, we saw that new friends \”Silver Girl\” had just arrived and went to sleep. They, and \”Mr. John VI\” did a day/night/day passage from Howard Island where we\’d left them three days earlier. We enjoyed our day sails! They both had a pretty rough night, so we\’re glad despite the tide problems and not so great anchorages that we were able to get good night sleeps!

    We actually sailed toward Malay Bay and caught up to Mr. John where we found anchorage in Mount Norris Bay was best due to the wind shifting to the East. The smoke from the burn offs at the Aboriginal communities was quite thick. We even had ash on our decks the next morning.

    We heard as we arrived from \”Georgia J\” (Tiburon, California), that they could smell the smoke 50+ miles offshore.

    The challenge of today was sailing through the Bowen Strait. The strait is not really charted and we used our guide books and a literal photocopy of a chart they put in the guide as our \”guide\”. Fortunately, it all went well, but we did have to move out of the main channel for a commercial barge (June Virgo) and almost ran aground. The water got down to 7 feet! (2.1 meters). Once back in the channel, it was easy from there.

    There was no wind today and the predictions are for less tomorrow and the next day. We are anchored in lovely Coral Bay where delightfully, the resort radioed us and asked if we\’d like to come to dinner tonight. As a treat, we\’re going ashore as will \”Georgia J\”. \”Mr. John VI\” won\’t be in for a few hours, so they\’re likely to just relax aboard for the evening.

    This the first anchorage on the \”NT\” coast that has looked anything like the Pacific Islands. Shallow, pretty and picturesque.

    Nikki is threatening to learn how to use the sextant and try her hand at celestial navigation. She\’s into it! With modern GPS, celestial has gone the way of the horse and buggy, but it\’s still really cool to know how to do.

    Tomorrow, we\’ll most likely head the 30 miles to Alcaro Bay and then jump to Adams Bay just East of Darwin. Darwin the next day (our Wednesday) to Fannie Bay.

    We left the anchorage at Alcara (last we wrote), and made the trip in 11 hours, going 96 miles. This average speed was enhanced, retarded and again enhanced by the large tides in the Van Diemen Gulf and the Dundas Strait approaching Darwin. At one time while the boat was going 8.5 knots through the water, we saw a head current slow us to 6.5 knots and a following current speed us up to 12.5 knots!

    We anchored in Fanny Bay with about 125 boats. The Darwin Sailing Club is here and the dinghy landings are quite the experience as the height of the tide can move 22+ feet!

    The new dinghy wheels were a huge help. We checked in with the Sail Indonesia Rally and found out we could move into the “Duck Pond” (Commercial Marina) here in Darwin.

    KIT, Scott and Nikki

  • Mlingimbi Inlet to North Goulbourn Island and assorted other stuff!

    06 July 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

    Dear F&F,

    Last I wrote, we\’d anchored at Yabooma Island and I\’d gone over the whole big tide math to make sure that at \”O Dark Thirty\” we didn\’t visit the muddy bottom of the Yabooma Esturary. WELL…. I got nervous after my own lecture and figured it would be too close for comfort (aka: a good nights sleep).

    So, before it got dark, we picked up the anchor with our new engine impeller working great and re-anchored in deeper water at the bottom of Boojaragi Island in the estuary. The depth was good and I had to make sure we were not too close to the reef system which at low tide stuck out of the water like razor blades. A bit windy and the current was 2.5 knots during the flood, but we got a good nights sleep and moved on early the next morning.

    We\’d heard that barges plied these estuary\’s as it\’s easier to supply the Aboriginal Communities by boat/ship than by truck as half the year the roads are closed anyway. As we were leaving the estuary, we passed \”M/V Victora Tujhua\” who was making his twice weekly visit to the Mlingimbi community that was several miles further up river than we went. As it was, it took us over an hour just to get out of the estuary and back on the track toward our next anchorage. Adding to the fun was the fact that many of the areas here say, \”Unsurveyd\”. This means, there is NO CHART and sailor beware. It was easy enough to skirt these areas, so no big deal, but it lets you know how far afield we truly are. Adding to the eeriness of it all is the pea soup green water that runs out of the various river estuaries along the \”NT\” coast.

    The problem with this coast is that it is featureless. The land is no more than 20 feet high and it\’s that way for hundreds of miles along the coast and quite far inland. There is also no real \”welcome mat\” for the boats to visit the Aboriginal Communities (indeed it requires a permit which is a big deal to get) and, there are no facilities and nothing we can really do off boat except explore by dinghy. No swimming because of the crocodiles and the water is muddy anyway. Hence, not a lot of boats come along the \”shore route\”. There is no quality guide book materials, you are truly on your own.

    The wind has been very strong offshore and because of this, the twenty of so boats behind us en-route to Darwin for the rally are stuck (99% of them are doing the offshore route to Darwin). As such, we figured we might be the only boat actually making progress toward Darwin as the winds were thirty knots offshore. They were down to a pedestrian 18-25 for us, but directly astern and small seas as we were close to land.

    We still needed to find one more anchorage to avoid a night sail and we thought about several of the poor options. We opted for Rolling Bay. Yep, that\’s the name and boy did it roll! Very safe, no white caps even in 25 knots of wind, but the swell wrapped around the corner and around 11 pm we were rocked and rolled for about 2 hours. The wind dropped down and reasonable sleep was had. The next morning, the wind was up yet again. The phenomenon is that the huge high pressure systems that come up the East Coast of OZ from the Southern Ocean get accelerated due to the cooling of the continental land mass at night. This cold air \”falls\” into the Arafura Sea like a rock displacing the tropically warmed air over the water here near the equator. As the land heats during the day, the wind drops significantly as the temperature gradient disappears.

    We had yet another great sail en-route to our next stop, a really comfortable anchorage, North Goulbourn Island. As the crow flies, we\’re 160 miles from Darwin and have covered over 2000 miles since we left Brisbane 7 weeks ago. We\’ve 200 sailing miles to go as we must go around the Coburg Peninsula just to the East of Darwin. The anchorages from here to there should finally all be nice ones. As we approached South Goulbourn Island, we noticed that a quarter of the island seemed to be on fire! Indeed, it was. We read that the Aboriginal communities burn the dry spinifex grass to hunt amongst other things and apparently it is good for the diversity of the plant life. They hunt a certain lizard for food, but again, we read this on the internet and are not positive. We noticed several land areas along the northern coast with fires burning including the Mlingimbi Community area at Yabooma Island Esturary. We shall investigate further…..

    I hadn\’t mentioned this before, but our generator main circuit breaker went out on us several days ago. The good news was that the shore power breaker is identical to it and I just swapped them out. At first it didn\’t work. Nikki said (she\’s a certified electrician btw!) that the relay coil wasn\’t activating. I took it apart, re-assymbled and we\’re now back in the generator business.

    Tomorrow, we\’ll be off to Malay Bay on the Cobourg Peninsula which has some sorted history of it\’s own…. More later, stay tuned!

    KIT, Scott and Nikki

    Happy Birthday Robert Sheinbein. Robert for those of you who don\’t know him, was my oldest childhood friend!