07/27/2012, Leaving Darwin
Michael and I couldn't be more excited to be heading the nose of Paikea Mist to Indonesia! We just cleared out of the locks at Tipperary Marina, and are filing out in a long slew of boats who are with the Indo Rally. We are expecting a great sail to Kupang, Indonesia, about 450 nm from Darwin, with winds from the SE at 20 knots to push us along.
We've had an altogether too hectic time getting Paikea Mist ready for an extended period in SE Asia! It's been pedal to the medal since getting back from our camping trip. We are a well stocked boat, and if we don't have it now, well, we will have to make do without! It feels great to be off the dock, although are stay at Tipperary Marina was ideal place, with lots of other cruisers to socialize with. If you are thinking of going to Tipperary, you might want to ask for the main dock, as it is close to all the amenities!
We expect we will cover the passage to Kupang in 2 1/2 to 3 days! When we next set the anchor down we will be in entering our 12th country. Indonesia is the first Muslim country Michael and I have visited, and we look forward to learning more about the islands of Indonesia, their people and culture. As always, we will keep you posted as to our progress!
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Comments [2]
07/24/2012, Tipperary Marina, Darwin, Australia
"Psst - Did you hear Paikea Mist is getting ready to sail to Indonesia?
We are in the last push of preparation for our Indonesia Odyssey! We have 'shopped til we dropped' to provision for 3 months in remote areas, gone over Paikea Mist top to bottom, attended Sail Indonesia Barbeque and Rally meetings, and are ALMOST ready to set sail for Kupang, 450 nm from Darwin! We leave on Saturday and it looks like the Rally might actually have some decent winds from the SE starting by Sunday.
We have been warned to expect a 'different' grasshopper in Indonesia, where we are told that the 'sum it all up saying' is "That is impossible. But it can be done!". We are also told to smile and nod a lot, barter for items like we did in Mexico, to take off our wristwatches and realize that in the Indonesian language there is no such word for 'manana'. Sam, our friendly Indonesian spokesperson for the rally has thought deep and long on this translation of 'manana', and tells us that there is no such word that transmits that type of urgency in his language! Well Indonesia- this sounds just fine to us- we look forward to exploring your islands and your culture.
Darwin has been a blast and very busy time, especially with all the socializing cruisers love to do! For us it's been fun catching up with the fleet that crossed the Pacific the same year as we did, but continued on to Australia ahead of us. We had a chance to catch up with Simon and Jane (S/V Elixir) and their two lovely kids at their gorgeous water front home here. We first met Simon and Jane when they sailed across the Pacific with their two precious little cargos, Hugo and Ethan. Jane is now expecting their 3rd, and we wish them all the best in this new dimension of family life!
We've also been happy to have had the opportunity to spend time with our friends Gordon and Sherry on SV Serenity, hopefully our paths will continue to cross often in more places up ahead.
Once we get into Indonesian waters our internet connections will be slow and awkward- so it is unlikely that we will be able to post as many photos as we have here lately, but will keep our fingers crossed!
In the meantime, check out our new photos in our Photo Gallery! Enjoy!
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07/20/2012, Darwin
"Look at that reef!" Kai and Megan enthusiastically enjoying our new view at Cod Hole Dive, Great Barrier Reef on the public mooring
They are off! Kai and Megan are off on their next adventure to Indonesia aboard the Danish boat Orbit. We want to wish them smooth sailing and loads of adventures along the way! We will miss you guys!
Kai and Megan joined us in Luganville and sailed across the Coral Sea to Cairns, staying aboard on our journey northwest up the Australian coast all the way to Darwin. They have been tremendously great company and completely easy to have aboard. They seemed to glide effortlessly into our routines aboard Paikea Mist. Together, Kai and Megan make a strong and dynamic couple who stay positive through difficult times are just plain fun to be with. They share the same enthusiasm for family, friends and life adventures as we do.
Both Kai and Megan are competent on a solo watch AND are exceptionally fine cooks! Now that's a combination that is hard to beat! Several of the areas we navigated were intensely reef stricken, and some of these areas we traveled through at night. We had no issue trusting Kai and Megan at the helm while navigating through these areas, they both made careful and astute observations on our behalf.
I have to thank Kai especially for increasing my knowledge bank with regards to fishing. (Okay, so that's not so hard to do considering how little I know about fishing!) Kai on the other hand, is an avid fisherman, and a exceptionally skilled and keen at free diving to spear his selected fish. Kai does the whole deal from catching, cleaning, filleting to preparing the fish for a meal. Always a deliciously inventive meal- Yum! Thanks so much Kai!
Kai and Megan left us with a new hand reel set up to catch Spanish Makarel, complete with a steel leader. These were the allusively hard to catch fish that chomped through several lures and sometimes took the entire thing in one clean swipe. Although we never were able to hook a Spanish Makerell we had much better luck in the Tuna department. We sure hope we can keep up the fish quota with the new gear! Thanks for the fish, the lures and the memories!
I have to finish by saying that Michael and I can't really think of Kai and Megan as simply "crew". We have shared our fair share of adventures together from exploring the Millineum Caves in Vanuatu to diving on the outer reefs at Great Barrirer in Australia. They have become lifelong friends that we will cherish forever, and we wish them the best of luck in everything that they tackle together.
Au Revoir, Aufweidersehen, Until we meet again!
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07/16/2012, Top of Australia
Well, sorry for the interruption folks. We arrived in Darwin safe and sound on July 10th. I posted an update through our sailmail, but it seems it didn't arrive to the blog!
Darwin is a modern and fabulous small sized city with 'heaps' of festivals, markets and a nice tourist buzz at this time of the year. Darwin is modern because in 1974 it was totally flattened by Cyclone Tracey, which arrived on Christmas Day to wreak havoc on the 48,000 people living here at that time. On our first day in Darwin we visited the Northern Territory Museum with our friends Gordon and Sherry which has a great display of the cyclone.
Paikea Mist is tucked up nicely in Tipperary Marina. The tides at Darwin are huge, so going into marina involves going through a lock system, which was our first experience with this. Before we were allowed to go into the marina we had to have a hull inspection which involved a diver jumping into the crocodile infested waters and pumping some solution through our intake valves. Now, truth be told we didn't see any crocodiles, but they reported that they usually see 5-6 a season. Hmmm...We've heard that you'll never 'see' the crocodile that attacks you- their reflexes are 33 times faster than ours. Must be a well paid job!
Darwin is a great biking town and we've pedaled from one side to the other on mostly flattish terrain. Thursdays night in Darwin we rode out to the Mindil Beach Market. The market is a bustling mix of food stalls and local arts and crafts and imported items. At sunset the market empties and about 1000 people sit on the beach and watch the sunset! On our way back to the boat we stopped at Shannagins- the Irish Pub and enjoyed a table shared with the crew from the Italian flagged SV Chloe. I have to say Italians are lotsa fun!
As I write this update I am sitting in our "Eurovan" camper which we rented for 5 days to explore the nearby Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks. Its dawn and we are camped about 1/2 km from a huge billabong (yes this is a real word, not just a line of teen wear-it comes from the aboriginal word meaning still water) at Yellow Water River. Michael just opened the door for 5 minutes too long and I am typing and slapping mozzies at the same time. Both National Parks are gems - as usual we are really glad we ventured inland.
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07/07/2012, Arafua Sea, Top of Australia
Yesterday morning we left our snug anchorage behind Cotton Island and made our way to The Hole in the Wall. We are very familiar with our own "hole in the wall' in the Pacific Northwest,,north of Desolation Sound. Transiting passes like this is SO much easier when you know what to expect ahead of time! Both channels make for interesting navigating through narrow places. Here in the southern hemisphere, the islands that separate to make the slot we were aiming for are quite low, maybe 50 feet elevation max. As we approached, we could see the small gap we were shooting for from the distance. At least we knew it was there! Otherwise we may not have believed the charts. We had to navigate around some shallows on the port side of the entrance. This made for an interesting approach, as the "gap" disappears altogether for the final 1/2 nm or so. With wind gusting to 25 knots, the seas were making it a dramatic entrance. Behind us, the Japanese boat "Harmony 6" followed. He was relying on us for interpretation of the tides and currents in the area to make a safe transit. The three hardy Japanese guys, all in their retirement years are finishing their 3 year circumnavigation in Thailand later this year!
The Hole in the Wall down under is one of those on the 'must do' list. It's not for the faint-hearted, but if you hit it at slack, or just before (as we did) the pass is easily navigable. And stunning! We timed the pass to arrive at high tide; arriving a little early we had a slight current against us of a knot or two. The water floods here opposite to the passages we went through the previous day, just 20 nm away! The Hole in the Wall slices through the islands, and water and weather has worn the channel into gorgeous stacks of horizontal, but jagged slabs, some of them making long inroads exactly perpendicular to the gap. It is a shame you have to look where you are going, as all eyes really just want to take in the surroundings!
Once through the hole, we decided to keep going to Crocker Island, an overnight sail. We are now about 80 nm from our next anchorage, in the lee of Crocker Island. We've had an easy leg of fast downwind sailing in moderate seas. Got to love that. From Crocker Island we will make one or two more stops before one last longer passage to Darwin. We expect to arrive in Darwin early hours of July 12th. Our friends on Harmony 6 plan to sail straight through to Darwin, so may arrive there ahead of us!
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Harbour view of Gove, with bauxite refinery in background- luckily the wind blows away from the bay!
We are tucked up quite nicely in the Gove Harbour, while outside the wind howls as a huge high pressure system sitting off the Australian bight creates super charged winds on the top side of Australia. Boats coming in yesterday faced 38 knots of wind and huge steep seas. Glad to be in Gove,but Michael maybe isn't so sure!
The aboriginal settlements are alcohol and kava restricted!
Going for a swim is also out of the question:
We went for a walk in the dusty wind through the outback, termite mounds, ant balls and birds abounded. And did I mention dust?
narrowest part of the road-surrounded by water and wind
We found a private airstrip and then turned around!
But there was the big screen 'footy' (Australian Rugby) party at the Gove Yacht Club,
so Michael was happy again!
Wind will die in the next 24 hours, so we hope to leave tomorrow for our last few jumps to Darwin!
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