Current Position: 10 35.560’S 142.14.585’E; Local Timezone: UTC+20 SOG: 0 kt COG: N/A; TWS: 21 kt; TWD: 219; Distance to Waypoint (Thursday Island): At anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 8820 nm; Engine Hours: 193; Estimate Fuel: 60+15+50;
Comments: At 17:00, I realized my anchor was dragging. I had been working below on the engine for many hours and when I came up for air I realized the boat had moved well outside its circumference. The anchor had held for several days, so it was puzzling why it suddenly give way. It took awhile to get it up because I was bucking a 2.5 it current and a headwind. When I did get it up it was obvious what had happened. The chain was wrapped around one of the flukes, and the combined current and wind had unset the anchor. A couple of days of twirling around with the variable currents was all it took. Never seen anything like it. I reset the anchor and it is holding, but it is unnerving to be surrounded by reefs in a 2 kt current and 20 kt winds and not be confident that the hook is going to hold. I changed the engine oil and filter. The engine knocks sometimes and still produces smoke, especially when cold. I spoke with a mechanic and we agree that the injectors need to be cleaned and calibrated. I will do that in Darwin. I filled up the Jerry cans on Horn Island. The boat is now at capacity. The store at Horn Island is actually quite nice … lots of fresh fruits and veggies and they back some very nice bread. I will be able to provision there. Water is available at the dock. I will fill my water tanks tomorrow morning (when the winds are not blowing like they are now). I needed to strengthen some of the stanchions by replacing some screws with bolts. At one time I had an extra long drill bit for this, but it was nowhere to be found, so so fabricated a bit out of 316 rod using the angle grinder. It easily went through wood and fiberglass. I may be able to finish my punch list tomorrow. I heard back from Darwin again and they have changed their minds about having to go through a full-blown biosecurity search. I needed to reinforce the attachment of the slug at the head of the mainsail. Unfortunately, I did not have webbing that was the right size, so I lashed it with some Dyneema cord. I have finished everything on my punch list except rerouting the fuel tank vent, topping off the water supply, topping off the dinghy gasoline tank, provisioning with fresh food, and organizing the cabin for the passage to Darwin. I am going to try to finish everything tomorrow except the provisioning and final organization. In principle, I could be ready to leave Friday (but probably Saturday), so I have begun plotting a course to Darwin. There are some general observations. 1) currents will probably be most favorable mid morning, 2) most routes go somewhat north, 3) they all take about a week, 4) there are no consistent trends in wind directions and speeds, 5) it is unlikely I will find a departure date that will give me strong winds the whole way (so I should just pick a day and go for it). PW shows me leaving the bay N, between Wednesday and Thursday Islands, directly to the shipping lanes. Navionics has me leaving W, between Prince of Wales and Thursday Island, the way Hellewell went. Given most of the routes are going N, and because it seems I will have more favorable current the first day, I believe the exit N from the bay makes most sense. Also, it seems I can leave about an hour early N than W, and that is important because I will want to be out of the shipping lanes by dark.
Comments: At 17:00, I realized my anchor was dragging. I had been working below on the engine for many hours and when I came up for air I realized the boat had moved well outside its circumference. The anchor had held for several days, so it was puzzling why it suddenly give way. It took awhile to get it up because I was bucking a 2.5 it current and a headwind. When I did get it up it was obvious what had happened. The chain was wrapped around one of the flukes, and the combined current and wind had unset the anchor. A couple of days of twirling around with the variable currents was all it took. Never seen anything like it. I reset the anchor and it is holding, but it is unnerving to be surrounded by reefs in a 2 kt current and 20 kt winds and not be confident that the hook is going to hold. I changed the engine oil and filter. The engine knocks sometimes and still produces smoke, especially when cold. I spoke with a mechanic and we agree that the injectors need to be cleaned and calibrated. I will do that in Darwin. I filled up the Jerry cans on Horn Island. The boat is now at capacity. The store at Horn Island is actually quite nice … lots of fresh fruits and veggies and they back some very nice bread. I will be able to provision there. Water is available at the dock. I will fill my water tanks tomorrow morning (when the winds are not blowing like they are now). I needed to strengthen some of the stanchions by replacing some screws with bolts. At one time I had an extra long drill bit for this, but it was nowhere to be found, so so fabricated a bit out of 316 rod using the angle grinder. It easily went through wood and fiberglass. I may be able to finish my punch list tomorrow. I heard back from Darwin again and they have changed their minds about having to go through a full-blown biosecurity search. I needed to reinforce the attachment of the slug at the head of the mainsail. Unfortunately, I did not have webbing that was the right size, so I lashed it with some Dyneema cord. I have finished everything on my punch list except rerouting the fuel tank vent, topping off the water supply, topping off the dinghy gasoline tank, provisioning with fresh food, and organizing the cabin for the passage to Darwin. I am going to try to finish everything tomorrow except the provisioning and final organization. In principle, I could be ready to leave Friday (but probably Saturday), so I have begun plotting a course to Darwin. There are some general observations. 1) currents will probably be most favorable mid morning, 2) most routes go somewhat north, 3) they all take about a week, 4) there are no consistent trends in wind directions and speeds, 5) it is unlikely I will find a departure date that will give me strong winds the whole way (so I should just pick a day and go for it). PW shows me leaving the bay N, between Wednesday and Thursday Islands, directly to the shipping lanes. Navionics has me leaving W, between Prince of Wales and Thursday Island, the way Hellewell went. Given most of the routes are going N, and because it seems I will have more favorable current the first day, I believe the exit N from the bay makes most sense. Also, it seems I can leave about an hour early N than W, and that is important because I will want to be out of the shipping lanes by dark.