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.
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.