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.).
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.).