Current Position: 12 25.753’S 130 48.795’E; Local Timezone: UTC+9.5 SOG: At Anchor. COG: N/A; TWS: 14 kt; TWD: 158; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, Fannie Bay): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 9567 nm; Engine Hours: 220; Estimate Fuel: 49+8+50;
Comments: I fell asleep last night about 21:00 and woke at 6:00. I don’t think I would have waken up but I was cold. It’s 65 … everything is relative. I don’t think I stirred all night. Unfortunately, I left SL and the fridge on overnight and the batteries are down. The first thing I did after checking for anchor drag (pattern is weird because of the huge tides) is check the depth … 28’ (I anchored in 32’ last night), then the tide tables. LT was an hour ago (+12.6’). HT will be 10:53 (+17.0’). Mixed tide here. The next LT is 18:16 (+8.4’). That is the lowest through Tuesday. Right now the tide is +13.5, which means zero where I am anchored is 14’. I’m good. It’s getting light. I am curious about my surroundings. I am anchored directly off the Darwin Sailing Club, 1.3 nm by dinghy. Before I even leave the berth, I am planning my day. I check my inventory and locate the spare injectors in the bin strapped to the V-berth. That’s what I am doing today. Also, I check the weather … 3 kt wind this evening … I need to unfurl the jib, drop the sails, and will figure out what is wrong with the furler tomorrow. I go topside. There are no boats anchored within 0.5 nm of me. The closest is Bilgola, the one that is anchored where I intended to. The one without an AIS between Bilgola, the one that I saw on RADAR that I had to go around last night is gone. The voices I heard as I anchored must have been them getting ready to go out with the tide. I got to work right away. I contacted Biosecurity to schedule an appointment, the tried ego replace the injectors. It is not as simple as putting a deep 22mm socket on them, because the socket is too thick and there is no room for a wrench. Some bolts need to be loosened, wires harnessess removed, etc. everything was going fine until I tried to remove one of the nuts the hold the fuel return line to the injectors. Betamarine insists on covering their engines with a thick coat of red paint before they leave the factory, and they had glued the nut and the manifold) in place. While trying to loosen it, the manifold broke. Later, in after I had removed the injector, I tried to remove the nut and I had to use a breaker bar and all my weight. There was no wariness going to get the relatively fragile manifold off in one piece. I have almost enough spare parts to build a new engine, but do not have a spare manifold, so I will have to find one in Darwin. But, this is the reason I put a Kubota engine in the boat … it is relatively easy to find parts. There is a Kubota service department in Darwin. the V1505 is a very common engine, so I am relatively confident they will have the part or can get one in short order. “It is always the bolt/nut/screw/manifold that you need that you don’t have.” Around 14:00, I launched the dinghy and went to shore to check out the Darwin Sailing Club. I was hoping to check in with the office (for my complimentary membership … read showers) and get a meal. Unfortunately, the restaurant didn’t open until 17:00 and the office is closed on Sunday. I nursed a couple beers and had a meal, but I didn’t linger as I needed to be back to the boat before dark … not sure I would ever find it in the dark. While at the club, I learned tomorrow is a holiday in Darwin because of a horse race … the Darwin Cup. This is why nothing will be open tomorrow. I am going to try to go to the race. I made it back to the boat about 6:15, in time to see a nice sunset.
Comments: I fell asleep last night about 21:00 and woke at 6:00. I don’t think I would have waken up but I was cold. It’s 65 … everything is relative. I don’t think I stirred all night. Unfortunately, I left SL and the fridge on overnight and the batteries are down. The first thing I did after checking for anchor drag (pattern is weird because of the huge tides) is check the depth … 28’ (I anchored in 32’ last night), then the tide tables. LT was an hour ago (+12.6’). HT will be 10:53 (+17.0’). Mixed tide here. The next LT is 18:16 (+8.4’). That is the lowest through Tuesday. Right now the tide is +13.5, which means zero where I am anchored is 14’. I’m good. It’s getting light. I am curious about my surroundings. I am anchored directly off the Darwin Sailing Club, 1.3 nm by dinghy. Before I even leave the berth, I am planning my day. I check my inventory and locate the spare injectors in the bin strapped to the V-berth. That’s what I am doing today. Also, I check the weather … 3 kt wind this evening … I need to unfurl the jib, drop the sails, and will figure out what is wrong with the furler tomorrow. I go topside. There are no boats anchored within 0.5 nm of me. The closest is Bilgola, the one that is anchored where I intended to. The one without an AIS between Bilgola, the one that I saw on RADAR that I had to go around last night is gone. The voices I heard as I anchored must have been them getting ready to go out with the tide. I got to work right away. I contacted Biosecurity to schedule an appointment, the tried ego replace the injectors. It is not as simple as putting a deep 22mm socket on them, because the socket is too thick and there is no room for a wrench. Some bolts need to be loosened, wires harnessess removed, etc. everything was going fine until I tried to remove one of the nuts the hold the fuel return line to the injectors. Betamarine insists on covering their engines with a thick coat of red paint before they leave the factory, and they had glued the nut and the manifold) in place. While trying to loosen it, the manifold broke. Later, in after I had removed the injector, I tried to remove the nut and I had to use a breaker bar and all my weight. There was no wariness going to get the relatively fragile manifold off in one piece. I have almost enough spare parts to build a new engine, but do not have a spare manifold, so I will have to find one in Darwin. But, this is the reason I put a Kubota engine in the boat … it is relatively easy to find parts. There is a Kubota service department in Darwin. the V1505 is a very common engine, so I am relatively confident they will have the part or can get one in short order. “It is always the bolt/nut/screw/manifold that you need that you don’t have.” Around 14:00, I launched the dinghy and went to shore to check out the Darwin Sailing Club. I was hoping to check in with the office (for my complimentary membership … read showers) and get a meal. Unfortunately, the restaurant didn’t open until 17:00 and the office is closed on Sunday. I nursed a couple beers and had a meal, but I didn’t linger as I needed to be back to the boat before dark … not sure I would ever find it in the dark. While at the club, I learned tomorrow is a holiday in Darwin because of a horse race … the Darwin Cup. This is why nothing will be open tomorrow. I am going to try to go to the race. I made it back to the boat about 6:15, in time to see a nice sunset.