Author: mtashby

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.).

Current Position: 10 57.291’S 138 25.371’E; Local Timezone: UTC+20 SOG: 3.7 kt COG: 245; TWS: 10 kt; TWD: 123; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 252): 367; Total Miles Sailed: 9154 nm; Engine Hours: 205; Estimate Fuel: 57+14+50;
Comments: At 16:30 I jibed. I had traveled N to 10 55’S. I heard a large fish leap on the deck and flop around at 19:15. I went on the deck and found a 1.5’ fish, a species I had never seen before flopping around and threw it over. The boat traveled pretty much due E all night at 4-4.5 kt, sometimes a little N and sometimes a little S, depending on the currents. It is 5:00 and I am 50 nm from Cape Wessel. The latest PW shows the wind backing to the E this morning. Combining with currents from the N will make it more difficult to clear the cape without jibing N. I may try to go wing on wing. Sunrise should be about 7:15 and sunset about 6:40. I should reach Cape Wessel in about 11h, 16:30. I woke up at 6:30. The boat was doing 5.7 kt in 15 kt of wind with a favorable 1.1 kt current and I was actually make way N with 40 nm to the cape, so I didn’t change the sail configuration. I will wait until the current changes. I will note the PW Mercator current model, which is usually pretty accurate, is predicting a current from the N rather than the E. It is 8:00 and some storm clouds have moved in, but nothing threatening. At 11:20, 18 nm from the cape, I jibed on a heading of 325, because the current was no longer productive and was pushing me further S (I was at 11 2’S). At 13:49 I jibbed again and made about 252. The current was still against me, but was net pushing me N now, so at 10 53’ S, I should clear the cape. I am 17 nm away. Looks like sunset will be about 18:20, and I am about 8 nm away from clearing the cape (but I still do not see any land), so I should be clear about the time it gets dark. The distance sailed towards Darwin in the last 24h was 455-367=88 nm. The total distance sailed was 9154-9059=95 nm (95/24=4.0 kt avg.).

Current Position: 10 57.291’S 138 25.371’E; Local Timezone: UTC+20 SOG: 4.2 kt COG: 358; TWS: 13 kt; TWD: 128; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 255): 455; Total Miles Sailed: 9059 nm; Engine Hours: 209; Estimate Fuel: 60+9+50;
Comments: it is sunset, 18:30, and the winds have dropped to single digits with not much current to help. The boat has slowed to less than 3 kt SOG. Unfortunately, ai can expect to see quite a bit of this during the remainder of the passage. I will break out the whisker pole in the morning. It is 19:00. I have been struggling the last 30m to get the windvane to work in the light winds. The wind shifted to 85, so I jibed to a port tack, then it shifted to 120, so I had to jib back. It seems to have settled on 105. The windvane is not working well, so I had to focus on trimming the sails to get the course I wanted, but a shift in the wind speed or direction throws things off. I’m only doing 2.5 kt. There is no significant increase in wind expected until next Friday, so I will need to live with it. I may try wing on wing tomorrow. I averaged less than 3 kt overnight, but as predicted, the wind picked up to 14 kt and veered to 125 about 4:30, and I started to make 4-4.5 against a 0.5 kt current. The Wessel Islands, about 125 nm away, are a series of thin islands that run N/S. There are four ways around them. The cape is at 10 58’S, the Cumberland Strait at 11 38’S, the Gugari Rip (Hole in the Wall) at 11 33’S, and the Brown Strait at 11 42’ S. I am currently at 11 16’ S. The Gugari Rip is deep, but in places only 100’ wide. My chances of hitting it at slack tide are zero. The Brown Strait is very wide, it slants SE to NW, and would require tacks in the channel. The Cumberland Strait looks most promising, but currents up to 17 kt are observed. There is a strong current the runs from the S on the E side of the islands. It looks like the current through the passage would be favorable about the time I should reach Cumberland. At present, my course would take me around the cape, which is fine because that would give me a good angle on the wind on the W side of the islands, but it is hard to hold this course unless the winds are blowing at least 125, so my back up is Cumberland. It is 6:00 and I am averaging 3.8 kt at 275. Sunrise should be in about an hour. I am thinking about either going wing on wing or breaking out the asymmetrical spinnaker. Wing on wing would probably mean a commitment for the cape. At 6:30 I downloaded a new GRIB. The wind is predicted to be light the rest of the passage. I’m breaking out the asymmetrical spinnaker. But, I will need to splice a Dyneema spacer for the top-down furler first. The one I was using was a bit too short. Before I do that I’m having my tea and enjoying the sunrise. It is not as cloudy this morning as the past two mornings. I expect it to burn off to yield another cloudless day. By the time the sun had broken through the clouds, I had spliced a pendant out of Dyneema for the asymm. I waited for two showers to pass before trying to launch the asymm at 7:30. Launching the asymm was a disaster. First the sheet and the sail seemed to be twisted in opposite directions, so it took an hour for me to get them untangled and for the sail to fly right. Then, as soon as it launched the sail separated from the furler, The furler came unclamped from the swivel. There is a pin that locks the two pieces. I don’t know if it wasn’t completely set or if it somehow failed, but the sail was flying free, only attached at the head and clew. I sheeted it as far as I could by lowering the halyard and winching in the sheet. It took 90m to douse the sail by shadowing it by the main and handover hand dragging in the foot to get to the tack. The rack was swinging the swivel, which was quite dangerous. In fact, it poked a hole in the sail. Once I got a line on the tack, I was able to winch it in and begin lashing the sail with anything I could find within arms reach. By the time I had cleared the deck of the lashed sail, stuffed it down below, and unfurled the jib, 3h had passed and I was exhausted. Since the sail was wet, I left it unbagged below to dry. I will disconnect it from the torsion cable and fold it when I get a chance. I will repair it in Darwin and respool it when there isn’t any wind. What a mess. Funny thing is the boat was doing 5.5 kt with the jib and one reef in the main, so it probably wasn’t necessary to launch the asymm. I have decided to go around the cape. The wind angle will be better later. I jibed at 11:30. I figure I need to go N 20-25 nm. Around 11S. The distance sailed towards Darwin in the last 24h was 519-4564 nm, which is better than I expected. The total distance sailed was 9059-8990=69 nm (69/24=2.9 kt avg.). This may be the worst day sailing yet, at least with respect to the distance covered. Of course, part of the problem is I wasn’t sailing 3/24h. Sunset will be about 6:30, 2.5h from now. I am going to sail N 1h more, then jibe and sail E. As I approach the Wessel Islands tomorrow, I will need to overcome a strong S current. It is noteworthy that for the first time PW is unable to compute a course using any of its models due to the strong currents.

Current Position: 10 57.291’S 138 25.371’E; Local Timezone: UTC+20 SOG: 4.2 kt COG: 358; TWS: 13 kt; TWD: 128; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 255): 455; Total Miles Sailed: 9059 nm; Engine Hours: 209; Estimate Fuel: 60+9+50;
Comments: it is sunset, 18:30, and the winds have dropped to single digits with not much current to help. The boat has slowed to less than 3 kt SOG. Unfortunately, ai can expect to see quite a bit of this during the remainder of the passage. I will break out the whisker pole in the morning. It is 19:00. I have been struggling the last 30m to get the windvane to work in the light winds. The wind shifted to 85, so I jibed to a port tack, then it shifted to 120, so I had to jib back. It seems to have settled on 105. The windvane is not working well, so I had to focus on trimming the sails to get the course I wanted, but a shift in the wind speed or direction throws things off. I’m only doing 2.5 kt. There is no significant increase in wind expected until next Friday, so I will need to live with it. I may try wing on wing tomorrow. I averaged less than 3 kt overnight, but as predicted, the wind picked up to 14 kt and veered to 125 about 4:30, and I started to make 4-4.5 against a 0.5 kt current. The Wessel Islands, about 125 nm away, are a series of thin islands that run N/S. There are four ways around them. The cape is at 10 58’S, the Cumberland Strait at 11 38’S, the Gugari Rip (Hole in the Wall) at 11 33’S, and the Brown Strait at 11 42’ S. I am currently at 11 16’ S. The Gugari Rip is deep, but in places only 100’ wide. My chances of hitting it at slack tide are zero. The Brown Strait is very wide, it slants SE to NW, and would require tacks in the channel. The Cumberland Strait looks most promising, but currents up to 17 kt are observed. There is a strong current the runs from the S on the E side of the islands. It looks like the current through the passage would be favorable about the time I should reach Cumberland. At present, my course would take me around the cape, which is fine because that would give me a good angle on the wind on the W side of the islands, but it is hard to hold this course unless the winds are blowing at least 125, so my back up is Cumberland. It is 6:00 and I am averaging 3.8 kt at 275. Sunrise should be in about an hour. I am thinking about either going wing on wing or breaking out the asymmetrical spinnaker. Wing on wing would probably mean a commitment for the cape. At 6:30 I downloaded a new GRIB. The wind is predicted to be light the rest of the passage. I’m breaking out the asymmetrical spinnaker. But, I will need to splice a Dyneema spacer for the top-down furler first. The one I was using was a bit too short. Before I do that I’m having my tea and enjoying the sunrise. It is not as cloudy this morning as the past two mornings. I expect it to burn off to yield another cloudless day. By the time the sun had broken through the clouds, I had spliced a pendant out of Dyneema for the asymm. I waited for two showers to pass before trying to launch the asymm at 7:30. Launching the asymm was a disaster. First the sheet and the sail seemed to be twisted in opposite directions, so it took an hour for me to get them untangled and for the sail to fly right. Then, as soon as it launched the sail separated from the furler, The furler came unclamped from the swivel. There is a pin that locks the two pieces. I don’t know if it wasn’t completely set or if it somehow failed, but the sail was flying free, only attached at the head and clew. I sheeted it as far as I could by lowering the halyard and winching in the sheet. It took 90m to douse the sail by shadowing it by the main and handover hand dragging in the foot to get to the tack. The rack was swinging the swivel, which was quite dangerous. In fact, it poked a hole in the sail. Once I got a line on the tack, I was able to winch it in and begin lashing the sail with anything I could find within arms reach. By the time I had cleared the deck of the lashed sail, stuffed it down below, and unfurled the jib, 3h had passed and I was exhausted. Since the sail was wet, I left it unbagged below to dry. I will disconnect it from the torsion cable and fold it when I get a chance. I will repair it in Darwin and respool it when there isn’t any wind. What a mess. Funny thing is the boat was doing 5.5 kt with the jib and one reef in the main, so it probably wasn’t necessary to launch the asymm. I have decided to go around the cape. The wind angle will be better later. I jibed at 11:30. I figure I need to go N 20-25 nm. Around 11S. The distance sailed towards Darwin in the last 24h was 519-4564 nm, which is better than I expected. The total distance sailed was 9059-8990=69 nm (69/24=2.9 kt avg.). This may be the worst day sailing yet, at least with respect to the distance covered. Of course, part of the problem is I wasn’t sailing 3/24h. Sunset will be about 6:30, 2.5h from now. I am going to sail N 1h more, then jibe and sail E. As I approach the Wessel Islands tomorrow, I will need to overcome a strong S current. It is noteworthy that for the first time PW is unable to compute a course using any of its models due to the strong currents.

Current Position: 11 07.263’S 139 34.979’E; Local Timezone: UTC+20 SOG: 3.8 kt COG: 235; TWS: 15 kt; TWD: 84; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, 257): 519; Total Miles Sailed: 8990 nm; Engine Hours: 201; Estimate Fuel: 60+11+50;
Comments: The ocean Titan passed me about 16:45. Sunset was at 18:28. I went to sleep at 19:15 and woke up 2h later to an alarm. A ship would pass 6 nm N of me in 25m. The 36’ sailboat Ambler was 18 nm behind me. I’d seen it on AIS before. My course had been curving N and the boat speed increasing, no doubt due to changing currents. I went back to sleep. It is 1:00 and the only boat on AIS is Ambler, 17 nm behind me. The depth has steadily increased from 50’ yesterday to 150’, which I think has contributed to less chap and a smoother ride. Looks like I can expect 150-200’ for most of the rest of the passage. When it was 50’, the water was all turquoise, and the shadows of clouds looked like reefs, making for some confusing navigation. Now that it is deeper, the water is darker, not quite blue like the Pacific, but more of a dark green, and the clouds do not cast noticeable shadows. It is 2:45 and the ship Emmanouil is going to pass very close to me in about 30 m. It was going to come within 100 yards of me, but changed course and will be 1 nm in 10m at 3:05. At 6:00, sunrise is in about an hour. I slept well last night. I am running with a 1 kt current right now in 18 kt wind and making about 6 kt. I’ve averaged about 5.5 kt on since leaving TI, which is better than I expected. It is 6:15 and starting to get light. There are more clouds today … some rain clouds. Ambler is still 16 nm to the NE of me. We have been going exactly the same speed. A proper swell is developing, presumable because the fetch is now sufficient from the shoals of the Torres Strait. I put out a fishing line yesterday and forgot to bring it in last night. Fortunately, there was nothing on the line. I suspect the squid lure I am using isn’t appropriate for these shallow waters. The way the line was trailing the boat suggested a problem and indeed the lure was missing … bitten off. I didn’t put the line out again, figuring I actually have 4-5 days of food prepared. I will fish again when I am closer to Darwin. There is a downpour off my starboard quarter, but it looks like it is clearing upwind. I ran the engine for 30m at 8:30, mainly so I could run the watermaker and clean it out. The boat is doing over 7 kt SOG, helped by a 1.4 kt current. It’s 10:20 and I am running against the tide again. I am going to need to make a decision before tomorrow night, either go through the Cumberland Strait or go around Cape Wessel. The problem with the strait is currents up to 17 kt are possible, while the cape takes me out of the way. PW has me going through the Strait. Right now, it looks like I’d go through the strait in the early morning hours of Monday, in the dark. That does not seem very appealing. On the other hand, going around the cape might prevent shadowing by the land masses and a better wind angle on the other side. The Chemtex Hunter showed up on AIS at 11:00, 26 nm off my starboard bow and headed straight for me. It is supposed to pass in about 90m I spotted it 7 nm away at 22:10. It is clear it will pass several nm behind me. However, the China Energy is behind it 3h. China Energy passed my bow by several nm at 2:15. I don’t see any more commercial traffic near me for the next 12h. The distance sailed towards Darwin in the last 24h was 640-519=121 nm, which is better than I expected. The total distance sailed was 8990-8864=126 nm (126/24=5.3 kt avg.). I am bucking a 1.1 kt current, hence the SOG of less than 4 kt.

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.

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.

Current Position: 10 35.560’S 142.14.585’E; Local Timezone: UTC+20 SOG: 0 kt COG: N/A; TWS: 11 kt; TWD: 84; Distance to Waypoint (Thursday Island): At anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 8820 nm; Engine Hours: 193; Estimate Fuel: 60+14+35;
Comments: I have noticed that the strap that holds the head of the mainsail to its slug has worn through. What was a double strap is now a single strap. I need to repair it before leaving TI. I have been thinking about the fuel injectors. They are of course not very old and have less than 200h in them, so they don’t need to be replaced, but rather just cleaned. I have been reading how to do that. I have been studying the relationships between the tides and currents in the area. In general, low to high is associated with westerly currents (water flowing from the Coral Sea to the Arafura Sea), whereas high to low is associated with an easterly flow of water. However, exactly when the tides change direction and how fast the current will be depends on the difference between tide heights. In other words, a particularly low tide followed by a particularly high tide with eventually result in a faster current. The timing is also affected by the time difference between the tidal changes and the relative difference in the tides. Consequently, the timing is complicated and I have found it to be difficult to predict. For example, a difference of 3.8’ was observed between the 6:30 low and 12:07 high tide today, and the tide change directions from E to W at 7:00 (0.5 after) and W to E at 14:00 (2h after). Whereas, the difference between the 17:31 low and 23:43 high is 7.6’ (twice as much), and the tide change directions by E to W at 21:00 (3.5h after) and W to E at 2:00 (2h after). I took the dinghy from Horn to Thursday and met with the biosafety officer to complete our business, then ai did some laundry and returned to the boat. The trip in the dinghy to Horn was a lot rougher. I jury-rigged a way to transfer the fuel from the day tank to the main tank. There was just enough room, suggesting my record keeping of fuel Consumption was fairly accurate. I drained the fuel from the engine and replaced the oil filter. The oil filter had evidence of corrosion. I replaced it in Tahiti, albeit with a cheap knockoff. Nonetheless, this suggests saltwater can in contact with it. I filled the day tank with 15 gallons of fuel from Jerry cans filtered with a Baja filter. After bleeding the fuel lines, the engine started. It ran rough initially and spewed white smoke before settling down. There seems to be less smoke. I ran the engine for about 30m with the clean fuel. I will replace the oil and oil filter tomorrow. I called Nautical Supplies in Darwin today. They are going to investigate the availability of a half dozen items for me. I have also exchanged e-mails with the Northern Territory ABF/Biosecurity. I will need to go through secondary inspection there at the Cullen Bay Pontoon, which is located one bay S of where I will anchor at Fannie Bay.

Current Position: 10 35.560’S 142.14.585’E; Local Timezone: UTC+20 SOG: 0 kt COG: N/A; TWS: 11 kt; TWD: 84; Distance to Waypoint (Thursday Island): At anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 8820 nm; Engine Hours: 193; Estimate Fuel: 49+12+50;
Comments: I have been watching boats come back and forth between TI and HI. It seems like everyone takes the designated channel, which is convoluted and out-of-the-way. I cannot help but thing a dinghy could take a more direct path. It is 15:30, the tide is +4’, low tide is in an hour (+3.7’), and very little of the reef is showing. I would need to leave at 9:30 in the morning for my 10:30 appointment, and the tide is going to be +9.2’. It is 16:00. I turned on my instruments because I am watching stuff float by. Sure enough, my boat speed is 2 kt (while at anchor) and my SOG is 0 kt (duh, because I’m at anchor). I woke up at 4:30. Not sure why except it was remarkable quiet. The water was like glass. At 9:00 I took the dinghy over to the Horn Island dock and caught a ferry across to Thursday Island. I attended the 10:30 appointment with the ABF. I was interviewed by two officers for about 30m. After that I was interviewed by the biosafety officer for 15m. I agreed to meet the biosafety officer at 10:00 tomorrow to transfer the food that needs to be disposed of. The interview process was friendly, but very in-depth. I then did some laundry, got a few groceries, and got a meal. Everything is very expensive. When I returned to my boat I was working below when I was hailed in VHF 16 by an ABF patrol boat. I was boarded by three ATF officers. Two went below and rifled through the cabin while a third interviewed me. Again, very thorough, very professional, and very friendly. In preparation for my eventual departure, I have been trying to understand the relationship between the tides and currents and so far no luck. This morning, near low tide, the current was 1 kt from the N while this afternoon near low tide I have a 2 kt current from the S. Perhaps by the end of the week there will be some pattern. I noticed some black soot near the exhaust port. This suggests incomplete burning of the diesel and is consistent with the fumes I have smelled recently. Prior to this I have seen white smoke, indicating water in the fuel. My best guess is I have gotten seawater in the day tank from the vent. I have seen the water and there is a correlation between finding water in the Rocor filter and how much the boat has been heeled over to the starboard (where the vent is in the side of the boat. This salt water has probably partially clogged the injectors. So, I need to do three things: 1) fix the source of the problem by rerouting the hose to the vent, 2) drain the day tank completely into the main tank (by rerouting the delivery hose temporarily), and 3) replace the injectors. I have onboard what I need to do these things, except perhaps the hose. To avoid damaging the engine, I feel like I need to do these things while at TI.