Month: July 2025

Current Position: 10 46.887’S 133 34.122’E; Local Timezone: UTC+9.5 SOG: 4.5 kt COG: 336; TWS: 12 kt; TWD: 89; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 236): 188; Total Miles Sailed: 9347 nm; Engine Hours: 208; Estimate Fuel: 57+11+50;
Comments: I have been studying the passage around Melville Island, the last challenge of the passage. There are two narrow parts in the passage between the island and the mainland, the NE entrance and the narrow channels between the Vernon Islands in the middle of the passage. It is desirable to reach the NE entrance between slack tides during flooding (between low tide and high tide) and to reach the Vernon Islands between the slack tides of ebbing (between high tide and low tide. The distance between the NE entrance and the Vernon Islands about 55 nm. The time between low and high tide is about 7h. I would have to do 8 kt to cover that distance, which is possible with the help of the current, but I would not count on it. The maximum current at the NE entrance is about 2 kt, but at the Vernon Islands can be 4 kt. So, between the two, it is most desirable to reach the Vernon Islands at the optimum time. Worse case is I can hang out between the two narrows until the optimum time as the wide area in between has a current of less than 1 kt. Sunset was about 6:25. The windvane has worked great all day, ever since I fixed it. I will continue on the starboard tack until about 1:00 with a 1 kt current to my beam, then I will jibe for the mainland. I should have that strong current all day until I reach the mainland. The current will follow the mainland all Thursday night and Friday morning to the beginning of the Melville passage. I have noticed Ambler, a sailboat that passed me, is anchored at one of the last coves before the passage (Treping Bay) in about 36’ of water. I am going to keep that in mind if I the timing is not right to transverse the passage. At 20:30 a gas tanker showed up on the AIS 20 nm W. It will pass my stern in about 70m. I am moving less than 3 kt because I am fighting a 1 kt current. I expect the current to shift to my starboard beam, which will signal it is time to jibe. By 21:30 the wind had shifted to 120, driving me further N. At 23:30 the 43’ sailboat Krait appeared on the AIS 16 nm N of me. By midnight the current was almost on the beam … still 7 nm to go. I tacked at 2:00 to a beam reach in 10 kt wind to make 4.6 kt almost directly towards the northern entrance of the passage around Melville Island. There was a fishing vessel in my path about 30 nm, which I had seen earlier by long-range AIS, and it appeared to be anchored earlier, but was now underway at 9 kt going away from me, but on a similar course. At 3:00 I realize Krait has a buddy boat, a 43’ sailboat called Yamay. The two boat names sound familiar. I believe they were at TI. I was just falling back to sleep when I was awaken by the boat heeling in a 16 kt gusts that drove the boat to almost 7 kt. I had not been using a leecloth for several days, and I almost rolled out of my berth. It was nice to be moving again. I set a waypoint for New Year I, a tiny island with a lighthouse near the mainland, 70 nm away. I was awaken at 4:30 to a slatting jib. The boat had rounded up, the trace said over 0.5 nm. I may need to switch back to the smaller windvane in these stronger winds. At 5:00 I downloaded new long-range AIS data to confirm the fishing boat had indeed moved on. I noted that Ambler is still anchored in the cove outside the passage. I will be curious when she chooses to leave. She is 2-3h from the NE end of the passage and the window opened up about an hour ago. Sunrise should be about 6:50. Although I have enjoyed some relatively fast sailing, averaging over 5 kt, I have been added by a 0.7 kt tail-current. The current is now shifting, so I anticipate the boat will slow down. I put the fishing line back out. My experience has been that I catch most of the fish at dawn or dusk. Before I could finish typing the last sentence, I had a strike. The line had been in the water 5m. I couldn’t land the rush so I put the line out a second time. Before I could even set the bale on the reel, I had a second fish on. I landed it easily without slowing the boat down. it was about 15” long and looked like some species of bonito. I filleted the fish. The meat looks relatively light. Dinner! Clearly my homemade South African pot-metal lure did the trick. It is 7:40 and I am 50 nm from New Year I. I have travelled 20 nm in the last 4h, about 5 kt average, about half the distance I travelled in the preceding 24h. It is 8:30 and Ambler is perhaps 10-12 nm from her anchorage and is doing 6 kt. It looks like she left sometime between 5:30-6:30. I note the NE entrance to the passage is right now at the maximum of flood stage and the current is 2 kt. However, Ambler is perhaps 2h from that position. She will reach it perhaps 1h before slack (high) tide at 11:36. It will be interesting to see if she is planning to be at the Vernon Islands at ebb tide, 16:13. It is 9:00 and I just downloaded a new GRIB. I can anticipate sustained 20 kt winds starting tonight around midnight. I will need to check the rigging and reef the main before dark. In about 45 nm, I will be jibing for about 30 nm before jibbing again to make the final 55 nm approach to the channel. I have slowed download. Realistically, I will probably average 4 kt for the next 45 nm, meaning I will do the first jibe around 20:00. The wind will be picking up and I think I will have the current, so the second jibe will be about 1:00. I will have strong wind for the rest of the early morning, so I may be able to cover the last 55 nm in 10h or less. This would place me at the NE entrance around 11:00 on Saturday the 1st. Flooding will have been 9:35 and there would still be a positive 1 kt current. I would be facing 60 nm to the Vernon Islands. I would have a positive current going by the islands until about 19:30. So, I would have 10 h to cover the 60 nm. That is unrealistic, even if I motorsail, because there is always substantial less wind in the passage. I would have to wait until 3:00 on Sunday for the next window past the islands. The bottom line is I need at least 15h to make that 60 nm. To make the 3:00 window for the islands on Saturday, I need to be at the NE entrance around noon tomorrow (26 h from now). At noon I would have to a buck a slight negative current at the entrance. I would need to average 130/26=5 kt to get to the entrance. I could however reach the island passage as late as 8:00 on Saturday, meaning the cutoff for the 3:00-8:00 window is reaching the NE entrance by 17:00 tomorrow (31 h from now, 130/31=4.2 kt avg.). I think this is realistic given the forecast. Sunrise is at 7:00 on Saturday, so that is when I believe I should be at the Vernon Island passage. So my go/no go criterion will be if I can be at the NE entrance tomorrow by 15:00 (130/29=4.5 kt, to give myself some wiggle room), I will enter the passage. If I cannot be there by then, I will anchor Friday night at Trepang Bay and start the passage early Saturday morning. The tanker Sti Osceola is 28 nm off my bow and heading straight for me at 13 kt. I expect our paths to cross in 90m. Ambler is crossing the NE passage at 11:00 doing 5 kt). I spotted the tanker at 11:15 off the port now and 8 nm away. Our courses were sufficiently in conflict that I hand-steered the last 30m. We passed each other at 11:50, close enough that I could see people on the deck. The distance sailed towards Darwin in the last 24h was 256-188=68 nm. The total distance sailed was 9347-9256=91 nm (91/24=3.8 kt avg.).

Current Position: 10 46.887’S 133 34.122’E; Local Timezone: UTC+9.5 SOG: 4.5 kt COG: 336; TWS: 12 kt; TWD: 89; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 236): 188; Total Miles Sailed: 9347 nm; Engine Hours: 208; Estimate Fuel: 57+11+50;
Comments: I have been studying the passage around Melville Island, the last challenge of the passage. There are two narrow parts in the passage between the island and the mainland, the NE entrance and the narrow channels between the Vernon Islands in the middle of the passage. It is desirable to reach the NE entrance between slack tides during flooding (between low tide and high tide) and to reach the Vernon Islands between the slack tides of ebbing (between high tide and low tide. The distance between the NE entrance and the Vernon Islands about 55 nm. The time between low and high tide is about 7h. I would have to do 8 kt to cover that distance, which is possible with the help of the current, but I would not count on it. The maximum current at the NE entrance is about 2 kt, but at the Vernon Islands can be 4 kt. So, between the two, it is most desirable to reach the Vernon Islands at the optimum time. Worse case is I can hang out between the two narrows until the optimum time as the wide area in between has a current of less than 1 kt. Sunset was about 6:25. The windvane has worked great all day, ever since I fixed it. I will continue on the starboard tack until about 1:00 with a 1 kt current to my beam, then I will jibe for the mainland. I should have that strong current all day until I reach the mainland. The current will follow the mainland all Thursday night and Friday morning to the beginning of the Melville passage. I have noticed Ambler, a sailboat that passed me, is anchored at one of the last coves before the passage (Treping Bay) in about 36’ of water. I am going to keep that in mind if I the timing is not right to transverse the passage. At 20:30 a gas tanker showed up on the AIS 20 nm W. It will pass my stern in about 70m. I am moving less than 3 kt because I am fighting a 1 kt current. I expect the current to shift to my starboard beam, which will signal it is time to jibe. By 21:30 the wind had shifted to 120, driving me further N. At 23:30 the 43’ sailboat Krait appeared on the AIS 16 nm N of me. By midnight the current was almost on the beam … still 7 nm to go. I tacked at 2:00 to a beam reach in 10 kt wind to make 4.6 kt almost directly towards the northern entrance of the passage around Melville Island. There was a fishing vessel in my path about 30 nm, which I had seen earlier by long-range AIS, and it appeared to be anchored earlier, but was now underway at 9 kt going away from me, but on a similar course. At 3:00 I realize Krait has a buddy boat, a 43’ sailboat called Yamay. The two boat names sound familiar. I believe they were at TI. I was just falling back to sleep when I was awaken by the boat heeling in a 16 kt gusts that drove the boat to almost 7 kt. I had not been using a leecloth for several days, and I almost rolled out of my berth. It was nice to be moving again. I set a waypoint for New Year I, a tiny island with a lighthouse near the mainland, 70 nm away. I was awaken at 4:30 to a slatting jib. The boat had rounded up, the trace said over 0.5 nm. I may need to switch back to the smaller windvane in these stronger winds. At 5:00 I downloaded new long-range AIS data to confirm the fishing boat had indeed moved on. I noted that Ambler is still anchored in the cove outside the passage. I will be curious when she chooses to leave. She is 2-3h from the NE end of the passage and the window opened up about an hour ago. Sunrise should be about 6:50. Although I have enjoyed some relatively fast sailing, averaging over 5 kt, I have been added by a 0.7 kt tail-current. The current is now shifting, so I anticipate the boat will slow down. I put the fishing line back out. My experience has been that I catch most of the fish at dawn or dusk. Before I could finish typing the last sentence, I had a strike. The line had been in the water 5m. I couldn’t land the rush so I put the line out a second time. Before I could even set the bale on the reel, I had a second fish on. I landed it easily without slowing the boat down. it was about 15” long and looked like some species of bonito. I filleted the fish. The meat looks relatively light. Dinner! Clearly my homemade South African pot-metal lure did the trick. It is 7:40 and I am 50 nm from New Year I. I have travelled 20 nm in the last 4h, about 5 kt average, about half the distance I travelled in the preceding 24h. It is 8:30 and Ambler is perhaps 10-12 nm from her anchorage and is doing 6 kt. It looks like she left sometime between 5:30-6:30. I note the NE entrance to the passage is right now at the maximum of flood stage and the current is 2 kt. However, Ambler is perhaps 2h from that position. She will reach it perhaps 1h before slack (high) tide at 11:36. It will be interesting to see if she is planning to be at the Vernon Islands at ebb tide, 16:13. It is 9:00 and I just downloaded a new GRIB. I can anticipate sustained 20 kt winds starting tonight around midnight. I will need to check the rigging and reef the main before dark. In about 45 nm, I will be jibing for about 30 nm before jibbing again to make the final 55 nm approach to the channel. I have slowed download. Realistically, I will probably average 4 kt for the next 45 nm, meaning I will do the first jibe around 20:00. The wind will be picking up and I think I will have the current, so the second jibe will be about 1:00. I will have strong wind for the rest of the early morning, so I may be able to cover the last 55 nm in 10h or less. This would place me at the NE entrance around 11:00 on Saturday the 1st. Flooding will have been 9:35 and there would still be a positive 1 kt current. I would be facing 60 nm to the Vernon Islands. I would have a positive current going by the islands until about 19:30. So, I would have 10 h to cover the 60 nm. That is unrealistic, even if I motorsail, because there is always substantial less wind in the passage. I would have to wait until 3:00 on Sunday for the next window past the islands. The bottom line is I need at least 15h to make that 60 nm. To make the 3:00 window for the islands on Saturday, I need to be at the NE entrance around noon tomorrow (26 h from now). At noon I would have to a buck a slight negative current at the entrance. I would need to average 130/26=5 kt to get to the entrance. I could however reach the island passage as late as 8:00 on Saturday, meaning the cutoff for the 3:00-8:00 window is reaching the NE entrance by 17:00 tomorrow (31 h from now, 130/31=4.2 kt avg.). I think this is realistic given the forecast. Sunrise is at 7:00 on Saturday, so that is when I believe I should be at the Vernon Island passage. So my go/no go criterion will be if I can be at the NE entrance tomorrow by 15:00 (130/29=4.5 kt, to give myself some wiggle room), I will enter the passage. If I cannot be there by then, I will anchor Friday night at Trepang Bay and start the passage early Saturday morning. The tanker Sti Osceola is 28 nm off my bow and heading straight for me at 13 kt. I expect our paths to cross in 90m. Ambler is crossing the NE passage at 11:00 doing 5 kt). I spotted the tanker at 11:15 off the port now and 8 nm away. Our courses were sufficiently in conflict that I hand-steered the last 30m. We passed each other at 11:50, close enough that I could see people on the deck. The distance sailed towards Darwin in the last 24h was 256-188=68 nm. The total distance sailed was 9347-9256=91 nm (91/24=3.8 kt avg.).

Current Position: 10 46.172’S 134. 50.107’E; Local Timezone: UTC+9.5 SOG: 4.0 kt COG: 305; TWS: 15 kt; TWD: 95; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 244): 256; Total Miles Sailed: 9256 nm; Engine Hours: 207; Estimate Fuel: 57+12+50;
Comments: It is 17:00 and some dark clouds are building upwind. I’m hoping they bring a breeze. By 18:00, just before dark, the wind was up to 9 kt, more than I had seen all day. Unfortunately, the TWD was now 125, driving me further N than I had expected . I no longer had the assistance of a current, it was 0.5 kt on the starboard beam, so I was only making 2 kt SOG. It was a spectacular sunset at 18:22 in the rain clouds. It has been awhile since I have seen a nice sunset. I don’t normally drink when I sail, but I am not really sailing, so I enjoyed a glass of wine as I watched the sunset change. There are worse places to be becalmed. Finally, at 19:00, just as the last of the daylight was extinguished, I started seeing double-digit winds and boat speeds of 3 kt. The current had moved to the starboard bow, simultaneously slowing the SOG and rotating the boat less N (about 320). I woke up at 21:30, 90m after going to sleep, because the boat was heeled the wrong way. Yes, heeled. I had 15 kt of wind and one of the windvane control lines had pulled free, because I had forgotten to put a knot on it. Once fixed, I made 3.4 kt against a current of 0.5 kt. I should have been able to do 5 kt at a TWA of 160, but the sail made flat by the whisker pole was now working against me. Nonetheless, I was not tempted to take it down in the dark and went back to sleep. I woke up with an alarm at 2:00. I had been sleeping hard. The boat was moving fast. It was headed due N at 5.5 kt. The windvane had become overwhelmed by a simultaneous chance in wind direction (now 90) and current direction (about 120). The trace suggested this had not been going on very long. Once corrected, the new course was 308 and speed was about 4 kt. It is 3:30, 12 h after my last report, and I have sailed a total of 30 nm (2.5 kt avg.). However, most of that has been in the last 7 h. The TWS is back down to 10, but there is a favorable current, so I am making almost 4 kt. I will continue on this course as long as I have that current, but I expect it to turn to favor a port tack soon. It is 4:20 and the boat has headed up again for the fourth time. I cannot figure out why. Perhaps when it is light something will become apparent. The wind is light and the current is flowing exactly in the same direction, so maybe this renders the watervane ineffective. It is 5:58, exactly 1h before sunrise, and I have gotten up to fix the windvane again. I am reminded that since the windvane was damaged in Hiva Oa, it has always had more trouble with starboard tacks than port tacks. Perhaps I am just noticing the problem now because I am rarely on a starboard tack and I have not had winds as light as these in some time. The GRIB was out of date, so I downloaded a new one. It looks like I am finally going to get some wind starting tonight. I took down the whisker pole and jibed at sunrise. This now aligns the current to my stern. According to PW, I sail on this port tack for about 22 nm before jibing again. Right now, I am averaging 3.6 kt, so around midday. However, that course is expected to put me against the current most of the night, to take advantage later of stronger winds and favorable currents. I am going to have my tea and breakfast (last of the bananas) and then break out the sewing machine and fix the asymmetric spinnaker. By 9:30, the current was on the starboard beam and no longer making a positive contribution to the SOG. As I suspected, PW recommended that I jibe 65 nm, in other words, 15 nm early. On the port tack, I was only making 2.5 kt against a 1 kt current. However, the Mercator model suggests the current should lighten up soon. I suspect I won’t make half the 65 nm before PW recommends I jibe again. My boat just does not run as well in light air as the model predicts it should, so I fall behind as the current shifts, necessitating an early course change. However, if the wind increases this evening as predicted from 9 w. 12 gusts to 13 w. 17 gusts, then I might made more distance than I expect, particularly if the current I am fighting is not as strong. The windvane continued to struggle on the port tack, rounding up several times, but I may have figured out what the problem is, one of the guides was twisted, causing more friction when the tiller moved to starboard than to port. It is 12:20 and the windvane has been working perfectly for 3h, ever since I adjusted the guide. It continues to amaze me how sensitive the windvane is to the slightest perturbation. I brought my fishing line in at 12.30 and the lure was gone. The line was broken at the monofilament, not at the wire leader as before. I was using the spinning rod and reel for the first time in a long time, I I think I had the drag set to tight. I replaced the lure with one of my “lucky” home-made pot metal South African lures, after scraping it up to make it shine. I am really trying to target a smaller fish as I do not have the capacity to store the meat from a large tuna. The SOG at 13:00 is close to 4 kt, due in part to the predicted increase in wind, 14 kt, and a decrease in the current I am fighting, 0.5 kt down from 1 kt, which was also predicted. Eventually, I expect the direction of the current to change, hitting my starboard beam. With a TWD of about 80, I am able to make a heading of about 290, which is closer to a COG of 285 after the effect if the current, which is slightly off the starboard bow. I have been studying discrepancies between the Total Miles Sailed, as recorded by the chart plotter, and what I believe I have sailed. I believe the chart plotter measures the distance using Boat Speed (as measured by the impeller) and does not include the effects of current (as SOG does). It is 13:00 and like yesterday some clouds have moved in that look like they could produce rain. There is nothing threatening though. At 13:30 the passed through a very large patch of red tide. I reeled in my line as no fish caught here would be safe to eat. The distance sailed towards Darwin in the last 24h was 295-256=39 nm. The total distance sailed was 9256-9154=102 nm (102/24=4.3 kt avg.).

Current Position: 11 19.038’S 135 42.060’E; Local Timezone: UTC+9.5 SOG: 2.1 kt COG: 305; TWS: 6 kt; TWD: 87; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 253): 295; Total Miles Sailed: 9154 nm; Engine Hours: 206; Estimate Fuel: 57+13+50;
Comments: Beginning with this report, the time zone will be UTC+9.5 (Darwin time). I have been back in contact with the authorities in Darwin. It turns out I must make two appointments at the Cullen Bay Pontoon. When I arrive I must make an appointment with biosecurity and when I depart I must make one with the ABF. At 16:30, 6.5 nm away, I finally observed Cape Wessel and its lighthouse.it has a very low elevation. I now have a 1.3 kt current helping a bit, giving me a SOG of 4.5 as I round Capye Wessel. I cleared the cape about 16:50. PW would have me dash down to the coast and take advantage of offshore winds to make my way, but that would mean 4d of coastal sailing in light winds … not much opportunity to sleep. Instead, I have set a course due E (260), which should keep me open water until Wednesday afternoon (next two days). After that I will need to negotiate the area around Melville Island. At dusk there were fish leaping out of the water like the one I rescued off my deck last night. It is 18:30 and almost dark. There is a boat ahead of me that is not on AIS, perhaps a fishing boat. I will sail within a couple of hundred yards of it. The water is almost glassy smooth on the leeward side of the Wessel islands. There is only 8 kt of wind, but the boat is going about 5 kt, thanks to a 2 kt current. Lights are showing up all over the place now. Boats without AIS. I turned on the RADAR. I only see two boats in the 36 nm radius, the two boats I see lights on, one about 1/4” nm away (and getting closer) and the other about 5 nm away (and out of my path). Both seem to be anchored in the 150’ water. The closer one has a look of a fishing boat. I woke at 17:30. Sunrise is at 6:44, but it is 6:10 and already starting to get light. There were single-digit winds all night giving boat speeds of about 2.5, but with the added current, SOG of about 3.5 kt. The course has been set to take advantage of the current. Since there is almost no swell on the other side of the Wessel Islands, I am going to try wing-on-wing this morning. The wind direction vs. the current direction may not favor wing-on-wing, but it may help to pole out the jib. At 8:00, I rigged the whisker pole and it seems to help quite a bit. I am now making 4-4.5 kt in 9 kt of wind with 0.8 kt current to my stern. At 9:00 I put a fishing line out with a small rubber jig and weighted hook. I put the larger windvane on the Monitor and it works much better in the light air. The current is on my starboard beam now, so I am only making 2.5 kt in 8 kt of wind. I am going to have to jibe NW in about 35 nm, to avoid the shallows surrounding the island called North West Crocodile I. At 4 kt, that is about 9h from now, or right at dusk. That is good because I will need to furl the jib and move the whisker pole to the port side, something I don’t like doing in the dark. Although the course will not be perfectly aligned with the currents, I will probably maintain that starboard tack until morning, as it ensures I will be moving away from the coastline. It is 15:15 and I have only made 10 nm all day. Winds have been in the order of 6 kt most of the day, often with a counter current. 6 kt and a TWA will not move the boat with the Yankee. I need the asymm. I just downloaded a new GRIB and it recommends jibing, a starboard tack of about 320. There is apparently more wind further away from the Wessel Islands. There is also a favorable 0.7 kt current going 320. So, I jibed and rerigged the whisker pole, an operation that takes 30m single-handed, by the time I furl the jib, take down the pole, reroute the fore and aft preventers, raise the pole, move the preventer on the main, unfurl the the jib, and retune the windvane. All that And I’m making 2.4 kt towards 320 instead of 1.3 kt towards the waypoint at 253. But, if it gets me some wind down the way, it’s worth it. PW has me going -bout 20 nm before jibing down to the Crocodile Islands for 20 nm, jibing again to 320 for 20 nm, then jibing for the northern coast. The problem with that is it’s going to take me 8h to make the first leg (unless the wind picks up), meaning I’d have to reset the pole at midnight, then again at dawn. The other problem with that plan is it has me doing all this near the shallows of the Crocodile Islands. Instead, I am going to keep the course of 320 overnight 15-16h, during which time I hope to make 45 nm. Around 35 nm I am supposed to get a counter-current that curves S, so I am hoping the helps me make progress towards the waypoint. In any case, this is safer. The distance sailed towards Darwin in the last 24.5 h was 367-295=72 nm (must be a typo). The total distance sailed was 9210-9154=56 nm (56/24.5=2.3 kt avg.).

Current Position: 10 57.291’S 138 25.371’E; Local Timezone: UTC+20 SOG: 3.7 kt COG: 245; TWS: 10 kt; TWD: 123; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 252): 367; Total Miles Sailed: 9154 nm; Engine Hours: 205; Estimate Fuel: 57+14+50;
Comments: At 16:30 I jibed. I had traveled N to 10 55’S. I heard a large fish leap on the deck and flop around at 19:15. I went on the deck and found a 1.5’ fish, a species I had never seen before flopping around and threw it over. The boat traveled pretty much due E all night at 4-4.5 kt, sometimes a little N and sometimes a little S, depending on the currents. It is 5:00 and I am 50 nm from Cape Wessel. The latest PW shows the wind backing to the E this morning. Combining with currents from the N will make it more difficult to clear the cape without jibing N. I may try to go wing on wing. Sunrise should be about 7:15 and sunset about 6:40. I should reach Cape Wessel in about 11h, 16:30. I woke up at 6:30. The boat was doing 5.7 kt in 15 kt of wind with a favorable 1.1 kt current and I was actually make way N with 40 nm to the cape, so I didn’t change the sail configuration. I will wait until the current changes. I will note the PW Mercator current model, which is usually pretty accurate, is predicting a current from the N rather than the E. It is 8:00 and some storm clouds have moved in, but nothing threatening. At 11:20, 18 nm from the cape, I jibed on a heading of 325, because the current was no longer productive and was pushing me further S (I was at 11 2’S). At 13:49 I jibbed again and made about 252. The current was still against me, but was net pushing me N now, so at 10 53’ S, I should clear the cape. I am 17 nm away. Looks like sunset will be about 18:20, and I am about 8 nm away from clearing the cape (but I still do not see any land), so I should be clear about the time it gets dark. The distance sailed towards Darwin in the last 24h was 455-367=88 nm. The total distance sailed was 9154-9059=95 nm (95/24=4.0 kt avg.).

Current Position: 10 57.291’S 138 25.371’E; Local Timezone: UTC+20 SOG: 4.2 kt COG: 358; TWS: 13 kt; TWD: 128; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 255): 455; Total Miles Sailed: 9059 nm; Engine Hours: 209; Estimate Fuel: 60+9+50;
Comments: it is sunset, 18:30, and the winds have dropped to single digits with not much current to help. The boat has slowed to less than 3 kt SOG. Unfortunately, ai can expect to see quite a bit of this during the remainder of the passage. I will break out the whisker pole in the morning. It is 19:00. I have been struggling the last 30m to get the windvane to work in the light winds. The wind shifted to 85, so I jibed to a port tack, then it shifted to 120, so I had to jib back. It seems to have settled on 105. The windvane is not working well, so I had to focus on trimming the sails to get the course I wanted, but a shift in the wind speed or direction throws things off. I’m only doing 2.5 kt. There is no significant increase in wind expected until next Friday, so I will need to live with it. I may try wing on wing tomorrow. I averaged less than 3 kt overnight, but as predicted, the wind picked up to 14 kt and veered to 125 about 4:30, and I started to make 4-4.5 against a 0.5 kt current. The Wessel Islands, about 125 nm away, are a series of thin islands that run N/S. There are four ways around them. The cape is at 10 58’S, the Cumberland Strait at 11 38’S, the Gugari Rip (Hole in the Wall) at 11 33’S, and the Brown Strait at 11 42’ S. I am currently at 11 16’ S. The Gugari Rip is deep, but in places only 100’ wide. My chances of hitting it at slack tide are zero. The Brown Strait is very wide, it slants SE to NW, and would require tacks in the channel. The Cumberland Strait looks most promising, but currents up to 17 kt are observed. There is a strong current the runs from the S on the E side of the islands. It looks like the current through the passage would be favorable about the time I should reach Cumberland. At present, my course would take me around the cape, which is fine because that would give me a good angle on the wind on the W side of the islands, but it is hard to hold this course unless the winds are blowing at least 125, so my back up is Cumberland. It is 6:00 and I am averaging 3.8 kt at 275. Sunrise should be in about an hour. I am thinking about either going wing on wing or breaking out the asymmetrical spinnaker. Wing on wing would probably mean a commitment for the cape. At 6:30 I downloaded a new GRIB. The wind is predicted to be light the rest of the passage. I’m breaking out the asymmetrical spinnaker. But, I will need to splice a Dyneema spacer for the top-down furler first. The one I was using was a bit too short. Before I do that I’m having my tea and enjoying the sunrise. It is not as cloudy this morning as the past two mornings. I expect it to burn off to yield another cloudless day. By the time the sun had broken through the clouds, I had spliced a pendant out of Dyneema for the asymm. I waited for two showers to pass before trying to launch the asymm at 7:30. Launching the asymm was a disaster. First the sheet and the sail seemed to be twisted in opposite directions, so it took an hour for me to get them untangled and for the sail to fly right. Then, as soon as it launched the sail separated from the furler, The furler came unclamped from the swivel. There is a pin that locks the two pieces. I don’t know if it wasn’t completely set or if it somehow failed, but the sail was flying free, only attached at the head and clew. I sheeted it as far as I could by lowering the halyard and winching in the sheet. It took 90m to douse the sail by shadowing it by the main and handover hand dragging in the foot to get to the tack. The rack was swinging the swivel, which was quite dangerous. In fact, it poked a hole in the sail. Once I got a line on the tack, I was able to winch it in and begin lashing the sail with anything I could find within arms reach. By the time I had cleared the deck of the lashed sail, stuffed it down below, and unfurled the jib, 3h had passed and I was exhausted. Since the sail was wet, I left it unbagged below to dry. I will disconnect it from the torsion cable and fold it when I get a chance. I will repair it in Darwin and respool it when there isn’t any wind. What a mess. Funny thing is the boat was doing 5.5 kt with the jib and one reef in the main, so it probably wasn’t necessary to launch the asymm. I have decided to go around the cape. The wind angle will be better later. I jibed at 11:30. I figure I need to go N 20-25 nm. Around 11S. The distance sailed towards Darwin in the last 24h was 519-4564 nm, which is better than I expected. The total distance sailed was 9059-8990=69 nm (69/24=2.9 kt avg.). This may be the worst day sailing yet, at least with respect to the distance covered. Of course, part of the problem is I wasn’t sailing 3/24h. Sunset will be about 6:30, 2.5h from now. I am going to sail N 1h more, then jibe and sail E. As I approach the Wessel Islands tomorrow, I will need to overcome a strong S current. It is noteworthy that for the first time PW is unable to compute a course using any of its models due to the strong currents.

Current Position: 10 57.291’S 138 25.371’E; Local Timezone: UTC+20 SOG: 4.2 kt COG: 358; TWS: 13 kt; TWD: 128; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 255): 455; Total Miles Sailed: 9059 nm; Engine Hours: 209; Estimate Fuel: 60+9+50;
Comments: it is sunset, 18:30, and the winds have dropped to single digits with not much current to help. The boat has slowed to less than 3 kt SOG. Unfortunately, ai can expect to see quite a bit of this during the remainder of the passage. I will break out the whisker pole in the morning. It is 19:00. I have been struggling the last 30m to get the windvane to work in the light winds. The wind shifted to 85, so I jibed to a port tack, then it shifted to 120, so I had to jib back. It seems to have settled on 105. The windvane is not working well, so I had to focus on trimming the sails to get the course I wanted, but a shift in the wind speed or direction throws things off. I’m only doing 2.5 kt. There is no significant increase in wind expected until next Friday, so I will need to live with it. I may try wing on wing tomorrow. I averaged less than 3 kt overnight, but as predicted, the wind picked up to 14 kt and veered to 125 about 4:30, and I started to make 4-4.5 against a 0.5 kt current. The Wessel Islands, about 125 nm away, are a series of thin islands that run N/S. There are four ways around them. The cape is at 10 58’S, the Cumberland Strait at 11 38’S, the Gugari Rip (Hole in the Wall) at 11 33’S, and the Brown Strait at 11 42’ S. I am currently at 11 16’ S. The Gugari Rip is deep, but in places only 100’ wide. My chances of hitting it at slack tide are zero. The Brown Strait is very wide, it slants SE to NW, and would require tacks in the channel. The Cumberland Strait looks most promising, but currents up to 17 kt are observed. There is a strong current the runs from the S on the E side of the islands. It looks like the current through the passage would be favorable about the time I should reach Cumberland. At present, my course would take me around the cape, which is fine because that would give me a good angle on the wind on the W side of the islands, but it is hard to hold this course unless the winds are blowing at least 125, so my back up is Cumberland. It is 6:00 and I am averaging 3.8 kt at 275. Sunrise should be in about an hour. I am thinking about either going wing on wing or breaking out the asymmetrical spinnaker. Wing on wing would probably mean a commitment for the cape. At 6:30 I downloaded a new GRIB. The wind is predicted to be light the rest of the passage. I’m breaking out the asymmetrical spinnaker. But, I will need to splice a Dyneema spacer for the top-down furler first. The one I was using was a bit too short. Before I do that I’m having my tea and enjoying the sunrise. It is not as cloudy this morning as the past two mornings. I expect it to burn off to yield another cloudless day. By the time the sun had broken through the clouds, I had spliced a pendant out of Dyneema for the asymm. I waited for two showers to pass before trying to launch the asymm at 7:30. Launching the asymm was a disaster. First the sheet and the sail seemed to be twisted in opposite directions, so it took an hour for me to get them untangled and for the sail to fly right. Then, as soon as it launched the sail separated from the furler, The furler came unclamped from the swivel. There is a pin that locks the two pieces. I don’t know if it wasn’t completely set or if it somehow failed, but the sail was flying free, only attached at the head and clew. I sheeted it as far as I could by lowering the halyard and winching in the sheet. It took 90m to douse the sail by shadowing it by the main and handover hand dragging in the foot to get to the tack. The rack was swinging the swivel, which was quite dangerous. In fact, it poked a hole in the sail. Once I got a line on the tack, I was able to winch it in and begin lashing the sail with anything I could find within arms reach. By the time I had cleared the deck of the lashed sail, stuffed it down below, and unfurled the jib, 3h had passed and I was exhausted. Since the sail was wet, I left it unbagged below to dry. I will disconnect it from the torsion cable and fold it when I get a chance. I will repair it in Darwin and respool it when there isn’t any wind. What a mess. Funny thing is the boat was doing 5.5 kt with the jib and one reef in the main, so it probably wasn’t necessary to launch the asymm. I have decided to go around the cape. The wind angle will be better later. I jibed at 11:30. I figure I need to go N 20-25 nm. Around 11S. The distance sailed towards Darwin in the last 24h was 519-4564 nm, which is better than I expected. The total distance sailed was 9059-8990=69 nm (69/24=2.9 kt avg.). This may be the worst day sailing yet, at least with respect to the distance covered. Of course, part of the problem is I wasn’t sailing 3/24h. Sunset will be about 6:30, 2.5h from now. I am going to sail N 1h more, then jibe and sail E. As I approach the Wessel Islands tomorrow, I will need to overcome a strong S current. It is noteworthy that for the first time PW is unable to compute a course using any of its models due to the strong currents.

Current Position: 11 07.263’S 139 34.979’E; Local Timezone: UTC+20 SOG: 3.8 kt COG: 235; TWS: 15 kt; TWD: 84; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 257): 519; Total Miles Sailed: 8990 nm; Engine Hours: 201; Estimate Fuel: 60+11+50;
Comments: The ocean Titan passed me about 16:45. Sunset was at 18:28. I went to sleep at 19:15 and woke up 2h later to an alarm. A ship would pass 6 nm N of me in 25m. The 36’ sailboat Ambler was 18 nm behind me. I’d seen it on AIS before. My course had been curving N and the boat speed increasing, no doubt due to changing currents. I went back to sleep. It is 1:00 and the only boat on AIS is Ambler, 17 nm behind me. The depth has steadily increased from 50’ yesterday to 150’, which I think has contributed to less chap and a smoother ride. Looks like I can expect 150-200’ for most of the rest of the passage. When it was 50’, the water was all turquoise, and the shadows of clouds looked like reefs, making for some confusing navigation. Now that it is deeper, the water is darker, not quite blue like the Pacific, but more of a dark green, and the clouds do not cast noticeable shadows. It is 2:45 and the ship Emmanouil is going to pass very close to me in about 30 m. It was going to come within 100 yards of me, but changed course and will be 1 nm in 10m at 3:05. At 6:00, sunrise is in about an hour. I slept well last night. I am running with a 1 kt current right now in 18 kt wind and making about 6 kt. I’ve averaged about 5.5 kt on since leaving TI, which is better than I expected. It is 6:15 and starting to get light. There are more clouds today … some rain clouds. Ambler is still 16 nm to the NE of me. We have been going exactly the same speed. A proper swell is developing, presumable because the fetch is now sufficient from the shoals of the Torres Strait. I put out a fishing line yesterday and forgot to bring it in last night. Fortunately, there was nothing on the line. I suspect the squid lure I am using isn’t appropriate for these shallow waters. The way the line was trailing the boat suggested a problem and indeed the lure was missing … bitten off. I didn’t put the line out again, figuring I actually have 4-5 days of food prepared. I will fish again when I am closer to Darwin. There is a downpour off my starboard quarter, but it looks like it is clearing upwind. I ran the engine for 30m at 8:30, mainly so I could run the watermaker and clean it out. The boat is doing over 7 kt SOG, helped by a 1.4 kt current. It’s 10:20 and I am running against the tide again. I am going to need to make a decision before tomorrow night, either go through the Cumberland Strait or go around Cape Wessel. The problem with the strait is currents up to 17 kt are possible, while the cape takes me out of the way. PW has me going through the Strait. Right now, it looks like I’d go through the strait in the early morning hours of Monday, in the dark. That does not seem very appealing. On the other hand, going around the cape might prevent shadowing by the land masses and a better wind angle on the other side. The Chemtex Hunter showed up on AIS at 11:00, 26 nm off my starboard bow and headed straight for me. It is supposed to pass in about 90m I spotted it 7 nm away at 22:10. It is clear it will pass several nm behind me. However, the China Energy is behind it 3h. China Energy passed my bow by several nm at 2:15. I don’t see any more commercial traffic near me for the next 12h. The distance sailed towards Darwin in the last 24h was 640-519=121 nm, which is better than I expected. The total distance sailed was 8990-8864=126 nm (126/24=5.3 kt avg.). I am bucking a 1.1 kt current, hence the SOG of less than 4 kt.

Current Position: 10 35.560’S 142.14.585’E; Local Timezone: UTC+20 SOG: 4.5 kt COG: 255; TWS: 18 kt; TWD: 86; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 255): 640; Total Miles Sailed: 8864 nm; Engine Hours: 200; Estimate Fuel: 60+12+50;
Comments: I took the 16:10 ferry back to Horn. I spoke with Dominic at the Darwin Sailing Club (+61 8 8981 1700). Temporary membership is available (showers, laundry, Mail Drop, etc.). At 16:15, the boats anchored at Horn were facing E. I went to the local pub with Robert (S/V Lena Rae) and had a huge rib dinner. I feel fortified. I got back to the boat just went it got dark an brought the dinghy onboard. It is 19:00 and the current is flowing strong from the N. I woke up at 4:30. The current was still coming from the S. I have had problems connecting to SL the last few days. I have just received confirmation that it is not a problem in my end. The SL app now states there is an outage in my area. I am hoping it comes up soon because I have business to conduct in the internet before I leave. It is 6:40. The southerly current is relatively light. There is a strong wind from the east. I should pop out of this bay like a cork once the tide turns. 7:40 and the current is visibly slowing down. 8:20 and the boat is beginning to rotate into the wind as slack tide approaches. I weighed anchor at 8:30. By 9:00 I had left the bay. As I entered the channel, I unfurled the Yankee. I had a 0.5 kt easterly current. A sea turtle greeted me as I left. As I moved into the channel the current suddenly picked up to 2 kt and the boat was doing 7.5 kt. I stopped the engine and the boat was still doing 6.5 kt. The boat picked up speed, reaching 8 kt, as I went further into the channel. I could see cargo ships in the shipping lanes ahead. By 9:30 I had passed Hammond Island. I was in open ocean and in the shipping lanes ahead by 9:45 averaging 7.5 kt in a 1.7 kt E current. Darwin is 675 nm away. The is a shoal area just S of me, the Larbent Bank, that I need to clear. There are some parts of it that are basically as deep as the draft of my boat. The wind is blowing parallel to it, making it hard to stay N of the hazards, and I don’t want to tack or I will be crossing the shipping lanes. It is about 6 nm long, so I should be past it in an hour. In the meantime, I need to hand steer to optimize the course. The good news is the only cargo ship in the area is ahead of me. It is 11:00 and I am halfway past the Larbent Bank. There are two remaining obstacles before I leave the shipping lanes and enter open water, Babda Rock and Booby Island. These should be cleared in 8 nm, 1.5h. However, since the average depth between here and Darwin is perhaps 75’, I will encounter many shallow obstacles along the way. Halfway between here and Darwin, I will pass through another time zone going from UTC+10 to UTC+9.5. I will wait to change the time zone in my log until I reach Darwin. It is 11:40 and there is a ship 9 mm behind me going 5.5 kt. I expect it to speed up once clear of the islands. Booby Island was passed about noon. It looks like the next hazard is Proudfoot Shoal, about 30 nm away. I should reach it in about 5h. After I passed the last marker for the shipping lanes, I raised the main with a double reef to better stabilize the boat from rolling and set a course for about 235. The point (Darwin) is 255. The boat was averaging 5.5 with a cross current of about 1 kt. With no obvious hazards for 50 nm (two cargo ships that do not appear to be on my path), I laid down for a nap. I dozed for 15-30m at a time, checking on the now three cargo ships in the area. At 14:50 I spotted the Ocean Titan 4 nm off my starboard quarter. It was going to pass me by a nm or so. I am sandwiched between a second cargo ships 10 nm off my port bow.it is 15:30. A 1.3 kt current is now against me, so I am only making 4 kt SOG. 6 nm away, I spot the Gladstone. Gladstone passed me at 16:00. Ocean Titan will pass me in about 30m.