First Day Out
04 August 2006 | 65 Miles West of Darwin
Julie
After a busy morning, we left Darwin at about noon. Our first order of business was riding into town at 5:30am to call the US to get a fraudulent charge on our credit card reversed. Never easy, but especially challenging in a foreign country. After about an hour on the phone, it was finally resolved. We spent the rest of the morning taking care of last minute items - final load of laundry, packing things away, collecting Duty Free, washing down the boat, etc.
Because of the huge tidal swing in Darwin, all of the marinas use locks, so we had to time our departure at high tide, 11am, to "lock out" and head over to the fuel dock. We tied up to a somewhat precarious commercial wharf and took on 100+ gallons of diesel and filled our propane tank, as this is the last time we will be able to refuel for about 4,000 miles. Customs met us there to give us our clearance to Cocos Keeling and we were on our way by about noon. It all went so smoothly that we still can't believe it.
The wind was pretty light all day and we ghosted along at about 3-4 knots. But the seas were calm and it was easy sailing, always nice on the first day of a passage. We had grilled lamb kebabs and couscous for dinner and watched a couple episodes of Blue Planet, a great BBC series on (appropriately) the ocean. Movies are one of the great luxuries out here. We take turns popping our head up to look around every 15 minutes or so and the time flies.
It's now midnight and I am on watch. The wind has picked up somewhat and we're averaging about 7 knots, seas still calm. The moon is almost full and it's a gorgeous night. Warm too! I'm exhausted from the day and look forward to sitting up on deck and enjoying the peace and quiet of the night.