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: I woke up at 3:30 this morning and got to work by rerouting the fuel tank vent line. I wanted to go it before the engine room got too hot. Getting to the vent is almost impossible, but I managed to squeeze in and do it. I had to stretch for 30m afterwards to get the kinks out of my body. It is now 5:30. I have competed all of the mechanical repairs on the boat and can finally start putting things away and tidy up the cabin. It is 6:30. Sunrise is at 6:49. I am enjoying my chai tea in the cockpit. I have topped off the water in the main tank. I used about 25 gal, about 10 gal/week out of the main 40 gal tank. I then took all the empty water containers to the dock and filled them. The boat’s water is now at capacity. It is 8:00 and I have finished all my chores except cleaning the cabin. I have time to provision, cook some meals, and leave for Darwin tomorrow. I am going ashore now to provision. I will cook some meals this afternoon. The total bill was $108 AU, about $70 US. It is interesting that they subtract 20% as a “freight supplement.” The government subsidizes the cost of shipping to the islands because it is so expensive. I cooked food for the passage about 11:00, a vegetarian curried lentil dish with potatoes, carrots, onions, and tomatoes. I have been in contact with Southern Seas Marine, A6, 58 Waterway Drive, Coomera QLD 4209 (07 5502 9666, https://southernseasmarine.com.au ) and they are going to ship two Lofrans 600018 windlass control boxes (one as a spare) and a TP32 TillerPilot. Both will be in Darwin in two weeks. I will leave via the westerly route tomorrow. From the perspective of the currents, it looks like the best time to haul the anchor is 8:30 tomorrow. I saw a boat leave this morning about 9:00 via the westerly route. Between 9:00 and 15:00 today there were strong easterly currents in the channel. It is 9:40 and the current is still strong from the N in front of Horn. According to PW, the current is supposed to go from N to S between 15:00 and 16:00 this afternoon. I am going to keep an eye on it. I need a 22mm deep socket to remove the injectors when I get to Darwin. I saw one at the hardware store on Thursday Island. While a hassle, I took the 14:15 ferry over to buy one, figuring that would be easier than searching for one when I get to Darwin. Low tide is at 8:28 in the morning and is +2.0’. There is a raise in the tide to +4.5’ at 13:00, then the tide remains fairly steady until about 19:00, when it rises sharply to +11.0’ at 1:05. These currents will help me clear the shadows of the islands.