Thursday, July 25, 2013

Bundaberg, Queensland to Darwin, Northern Territorities, Australia (May to July 2013)



Darwin - arrived on Wednesday July 17

Port Essington, Berkeley Bay (Sunday, July 14 to Tuesday, July 16)

Rest at last!  We needed to get Dennis to anchorage for some R&R from the high seas, so we spent an extra day here before our final leg to Darwin with the great company of Mystic and Sir Swagman.  They were both very concerned and agreed to stay an extra day and follow us into Darwin.  These cruisers are really wonderful people!

Rested up and spent time with our friends and even cruised up the Caitman River – beautiful mangroves and bird life – sure that the croc’s were sleeping as we had no crocodile siting.

Passage from Guruwuru Island to Berkeley Bay, Port Essington (Friday, July 12 to Sunday July 14)

Well Dennis’ lower back injury and sciatic nerve did not get better but at least the winds let up a little to 20 to 25 knots.  Unfortunately the seas did not and it was a very uncomfortable passage for all of us, but mostly for Dennis as he was in a lot of pain.

Randy (Mystic) offered to single hand and to let Jenny accompany us to Port Essington.  It was such a relief to have extra crew and a wonderful friend help us – this really was the nicest thing that any cruiser could do to help in a time of need!  I was pretty anxious about making this leg with Dennis in such pain.  With Jenny on board, Dennis was able to get more rest – too bad the seas were so lumpy.

Guruliya Bay, Guruwuru Island (Sunday, July 7 to Friday, July 12)

Perfect shelter in strong wind conditions – extremely calm.  We waited here with Mystic (USA), Sir Swagman (Australia), Bonair (England), Elizabeth Jane II (Australia), and Solstice (USA) for the gusty SE trade winds to calm down from 30 knots to 25 knots– we cruisers sure know how to have fun while waiting – beach barbecues, walks and bocce ball!

Hole in the Wall (Sunday, July 8)

We timed our passage just right with the morning slack and proceeded through with a parade of yachts (Mystic, Bonair, Sternchen, Solstice, Elizabeth Jane II) in this very remote location.  We cruised at 8 knots through this awesome narrow passage between two islands with pre-historic rock formations on either side of us.  Turned left to continue to Guruliya Bay, Guruwuru Island.

Wigram Island, Northern Territory (Friday, July 6 and Saturday, July 7)

Great anchorage and very beautiful but no swimming here as there were crocodiles on the beach!  Nice to rest up after the passage.

Crossing the Gulf of Carpenteria350 miles (Wed, July 4 to Friday, July 6)

We waited several days for the winds to calm down before heading off to cross the gulf.  This is a very shallow gulf so if winds are strong it can get pretty nasty in these shallow waters.  Our friends who shot off ahead of us got very seasick!

Day 1:  Light wind, roily conditions but tolerable.

Day 2 and 3:  Light winds continued making the passage pleasant.  Too bad that the current was against us most of the trip and caused us to arrive at night at Wigram Island.  Mystic was there and they aided us on our night arrival.  Passage time was 67 hours.

Seisha (Saturday, June 29 to Wednesday, July 3)

Seisha took its name from a family of Saibai Islanders who settled here in 1947.  Its name is derived from the first letter of the names of six brothers.  Seisha is a very popular destination for 4WD traffic reaching the end of its trek up the Cape York peninsula.  There’s a campground with showers, laundry and cafĂ© open to cruisers.  There’s also a grocery store and gas station but the prices are high!

Seisha is also the last stop in Queensland for cruisers enroute to Darwin.  Lots of cruisers in the harbor waiting for a weather window to cross the Gulf of Carpenteria known for its choppy waters.  The anchorage is terrific – extremely calm and sheltered – we got our first good night sleep in a very long time after so many roily anchorages along the east coast of Australia.

Unfortunately, the local teenage boys steal the dinghies for a joyride and to sniff gas fumes.  Our dinghy along with 4 other cruisers had theirs stolen; the good news was that Fredy on Micromegas chased after the boys and retrieved our dinghy unharmed.  So if you go to Seisha, do not leave your dinghy unattended on the beach.

Mount Adolphus (Friday, (June 28)

Approximately 25 miles from Escape River.  15-25 knots and choppy conditions.  Hike along the shore and visited with friends on Mystic.

Escape River (Thursday, June 27)

Be sure to anchor near pearl farm company – we anchored at mouth of the river and it was very unpleasant due to extreme tides.  Oh well, we were off early the next morning and skipped the pearl farm.

Macarthur Island (Wednesday, June 26)

Small pretty sand cay island (national park).  Anchored between reef and cay – hard to pull anchor in the morning due to reef.  Sternchen also anchored here overnight and enjoyed a cuppa with us.

Cape Grenville, Margaret Bay (Tuesday, June 25, 2013)

This was one of my favorite stops!  Wished we could have stayed but the forecast was very good so we continued on to take advantage of the weather window.  Anchorage was very calm and lots of Aussie boats here.  We anchored overnight with Sir Swagman and Sternchen.  Of note, we passed the resort located in Home Islands - couldn’t believe that there could be a resort so far away from civilization.  15-25 knots.

Portland Roads (Monday, June 24, 2013)

We set out for another long passage of 15 to 25 knots winds – this time 56 miles to Portland Roads.  Getting up early and long sailing days are starting to get tiring but worth doing the day hops instead of night passages navigating through the Great Barrier Reef.  Portland Roads has a restaurant, some homes, a gravel road to an airstrip and provides some limited services for fishing trawlers (and cruisers too) – nice to have some civilization but unfortunately the cook was out on a shopping trip so we couldn’t have dinner at the restaurant – just as well as we were too tired to get off the boat.  Also, another roily anchorage.

Morris Island (Sunday, June 23, 2013)

Very light winds for about half of the trip, we even read “00” knots of wind so we gave in and turned on the iron wind.  We were reluctant to use the motor as there are not many places to fuel up between Cairns and Darwin.  Also, we were starting to get worried about arriving at dark but the wind picked up rather quickly and suddenly – at times it peaked to 25 knots and Lardo was flying at over 8 knots!  We were so happy for this wind and we completed our 60 mile passage before dark!  Jenny and Randy were waiting for us at the anchorage with homemade bread and homemade pumpkin soup – YUMMY!
Pretty little island mostly sand and two palm trees; also very roily at high tide.

Stokes Bay, Stanley Island, Flinders Group (Friday, June 22 – Sunday, June 23, 2013)

We anchored at Stokes Bay with another bevy of boats working their way up to Darwin.  Generally on most of the islands that we stop at there are usually shrimpers and fishing trawlers that anchor for the day to sleep.  While anchored here, the mother ship arrived - these ships work up and down the coast servicing the fishing fleet and providing them with water, fuel and other supplies; they also pick up the “catch” while making these stops.

Dennis thought that it might be a good idea to see if they have any prawns for sale so he contacted the mother ship who said to come on by after they anchored.  The crew of the mother ship was delighted to see us – mostly Aussies and one Torres Strait Islander.  They sold us 9 kilos for $70 (or about $6 per person).  We had a “prawn” feast on Swiss boat Micromegas along with Sir Swagman (Australian), Pichon (French), Jackster (English) and Footloose (Australian) – prawns and company were excellent.

Next day, most of the sailboats left but we stayed along with Sir Swagman to explore the island.    We searched for the cultural trail that led to Aboriginal art but had no luck – we found out that it was on the other side of the island (Owen Channel).    All in all, just a fun kick back day plus we were pleasantly surprised when Mystic (USA) and Sternchen (Manuela and George from Germany) appeared!

Ninian Bay, Thursday, June 21, 2013

Ninian Bay is a comfortable day sail from Lizard – we departed early and arrived about 3:00 p.m.  Good protection but pretty roily in this bay due to shallow depths.  We survived and somehow managed to get some sleep.

Lizard Island (Tuesday, June 18 – Thursday, June 20, 2013)

We absolutely loved Lizard Island for its beauty, snorkeling and nice walking trails.  The island is home to a marine research center and a resort.  Liam Zarri (Henry’s grandson) did an internship a year ago and we arrived the weekend that he graduated from UCSC in marine biology.  We talked to the research center and passed along his good wishes to them.  This island is also a favorite amongst the cruising community – must have been at least a dozen sailboats along with a tour ship.

Lizard Island has an interesting history.  Captain Cook named this island – upon arrival, he immediately climbed to the top of the island, only to see miles and miles of reef; he thought initially that he was trapped and that he would have to sail back to Botany Bay (Sydney).  Fortunately, for all of us, he preserved and found his way through this maze of reefs.

A hundred years later, Lizard Island was settled by hardy folks.  Of particular interest is the story of Mrs. Mary Watson who was stalked by Aborigines living on the island.  One her servants mysteriously disappeared and then another was speared.  Mary along with her wounded servant and another servant escaped from the island in a large tub.  The winds and currents carried them to a nearby island.  Unfortunately the three perished from thirst and were discovered by an Aboriginal member of a passing schooner.  They were interred in Cooktown and Mary’s diary was sent to the Brisbane Museum.

Cape Flattery (Monday, June 17, 2013)

Quick stopover at Cape Flattery on the way to Lizard Island – anchorage was very comfortable.  Wished we could have stayed longer for a hike as the beaches and coastal area looked quite interesting.  There were several homes, possibly abandoned in the bay that we anchored and on either side of the cape were jetties for the silica sand operation.

Hope Island (Sunday, June 16, 2013)

We departed Low at 7:15 a.m. with sails raised for a 39 mile jaunt to Hope Islands.  Early in the day we had very light wind from the east/southeast and we sailed wing to wing with an average speed ranging from 4.5 knots up to 6.5 knots.  Then the trades picked up later in the morning (about 15 to 22 knots) and we flew the rest of the way to Hope Islands with our boat speed topping 8 knots.

We were pooped by the time that we got to Hope Island, just as well as it was blowing 26 knots – too rough to go to shore (and I think that’s what the other boats anchored thought as well).  In the anchorage there were two fishing trawlers, two sailboats and a power boat.  S/V Sir Swagman is also working his way up to Darwin to catch a rally up to SE Asia.

Most of these anchorages are national parks with a few mooring balls – very sturdy but we never seem to get in early enough to grab one.

Low Islets (Saturday, June 15, 2013)

Jeff Herbert came down to help us with our docklines at our slip and catch them at the fueling dock.  We fueled up in Cairns because there will not be too many more opportunities to get fuel between Cairns and Darwin.  We left a little after 10 a.m. and arrived at Low around 5 p.m.; approximately 40 miles.  We had a terrific sailing day with about 10 to 15 knots of wind from the southeast!

We only spent one night here and were off to Hope Island early the next morning.  Of interest was a quaint lighthouse built in November 1878 with cottages for the light house keepers.

There were nearly a dozen yachts tucked away in this anchorage, mostly foreign sailboats enroute to Darwin.  The next morning five sail boats departed early, some for Cooktown and the others for Hope Island.

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