July 29 - Underway to Indonesia

Position: S11deg44.80min/E128deg16.68min We departed yesterday from Darwin and experienced varying wind conditions for most of the day. By evening, the fleet had separated, and the AIS unit displayed our nearest neighbors. We're now in the Timor Sea, and the first Sail Indonesia Rally stop is in Kupang, Indonesia, where arrangements have been made to clear all the boats in and festivities have been planned.
Pic: Leaving Darwin behind.

July 27

We cleared out of Australia this morning in a very well organized effort by Customs, and also received our official Indonesian CAIT, which is the Indonesian Cruising Permit. After going downtown for last minute provisioning, we returned to Infini for final departure preparations. Amongst other things, we've hauled the dinghy back on deck, organized lines, ran the engine and watermaker, and Sue's been busy making some easy to prepare meals while underway. We have sooo much cruising information about cruising Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, it's information overload. The official start of the Sail Indonesia Rally is 1100 hours tomorrow morning, and weather forecasts predict 20-30 knots from the southeast, pretty much behind us. We're keeping in touch with a few close friends via a daily HF Radio check-in, and all the other boat crews we talked to are, like us, a bit anxious to get underway. Update: Sue's uploaded some more photo albums of our Australian adventures - enjoy!
Pic: Our last sunset pic. from our Cullen Bay anchorage....low tide--the sandbar is exposed!

July 23 -Litchfield National Park

Litchfield Dreams (http://litchfieldtours.com.au/) picked us up at 0700; the full day tour by mini bus to the Adelaide River and Litchfield National Park was a welcome change to our routine. We first went for a boat ride and met some crocodiles...close-up. One of the boat crew held a piece of meat on a long pole and enticed the crocs, after a bit of teasing and leading them on, to propel themselves straight up out of the water to get it. When we looked down the gullet of a 500 kg, 15' croc....let's just say that nobody wanted to fall into the water....The Adelaide River was a chocolate brown color and there was no visibility at all. The many crocodiles that inhabit the river just roam around and do whatever they want....I'm not sure they've changed for the last 100 million years! After our boat ride, we went to the Litchfield National Park. Our bus driver gave a nice commentary of the various points of interest, and we stopped at the Wangi Falls, the Florence Falls and Burley Rock Hole, three popular swimming holes in the park. We also saw the Cathedral Termite Mounds, and had many photo ops. It was about a 12 hour day, and we returned to the boat at sunset.

July 7 - Darwin happenings

June 29 - Trip Summary - Bundaberg to Darwin

For predeparture planning, we estimated 2000 nm for total milage; our actual mileage traveled was 1988 nm by ship's log. This was an eventful series of short and longer hops and one that, in total, we'd do again, wishing we had more time to spend in many of the areas we hurried thru during our seven week trip. Overall, we really enjoyed the diversity of the coastal areas, the isolation, the few populated towns we stopped in to visit, the history, and the daily navigational challenges we encountered. Just this one NE section of the Australian coast is so beautiful; the length of the entire coastline is beyond immediate thought. By comparison, if one were to travel the eastern and western coastlines of the USA, it's approximately 2400 nm; so it's as if we (just about) traveled both coasts of the USA in seven weeks.... For those following in our path, a strong boat and its components are mandatory. Opportunities to purchase boat parts and supplies, as well as obtain repairs, become few in these more remote areas. Shipping parts is possible but very expensive and time consuming; carrying extra spares aboard is a worthwhile consideration. Be prepared for strong currents and leave enough time to wait for an appropriate weather window. Although this is the dry season and winds are predictably from the SE, we encountered winds from S thru E, with an occasional morning NW breeze as well. Using the reaching/spinnaker pole is necessary many days as the wind goes aft of 150 degrees. Days are short this time of year and there are many reefs to avoid, so reaching anchorages during daylight, and having alternative choices available, is necessary. This has been a wonderful leg in Infini's travels, and we look forward to more adventures!
Picture of Infini sailing off Morris Island courtesy of sv Sea Dragon

June 27 - Team Infini is safely anchored in Fannie Bay, Darwin

Position: S12deg25.58min/E130deg49.03min We decided to leave Alcaro Bay yesterday afternoon after a few hours rest. The area was hazy and the anchorage rolly. We had the times and tides right for the Dundas Strait; we just didn't expect a southerly wind! Of course, it wasn't forecast, so we had to tack way over in the Van Diemen Gulf, and by the time we tacked back the tide had changed! We motored at 1-2 knots against the strong adverse current, and thought we'd never get anywhere. We finally made it back to our rhumb line (of sorts), and the wind had come up with just a bit of easterly in it, allowing us to sail; what a novelty! We actually did really well, and sailed all day until the last hour of the Beagle Channel when the winds died and we ended up motoring the last 30 nm to Darwin. We anchored at sunset in Fannie Bay! What a trip; more later....suffice it to say we're very happy to have the anchor down, not be motoring or hand steering, and we're ready to get on with other things in preparation for Sail Indonesia.
Picture: The anchorage is crowded. The sailing club is quite active, with all kinds of sailing lessons.

June 26 - Alcaro Bay

Position: S11deg17.216/E131deg47.696 We had a beautiful sail from Black Point today, arriving Alcaro Bay in the early afternoon and anchoring in 21' of sand. The Cape Don lighthouse is visible from our cockpit and the surrounding aquamarine water color reminds us of the Gulf of Mexico. It's been really hazy due to (we think) slash burns that take place all thru these Aboriginal lands. We're planning departure tomorrow morning thru the Dundas Straits for Darwin, about a 95 nm run.
Picture: It's so smoky you can't even see Cape Don. We anchored for a brief rest and departed for Darwin.

June 25 - Quality time in the Arafura Sea

Position: S11deg08.88min/E132deg08.33min We're anchored in 32' off Black Point in Port Essington in the Cobourg Peninsula. The two day trip was boisterous, with the first day seeing winds of 25-30 knots and seas 10-12'. I put out our 50 square foot storm jib rather than the roller furling yankee, and we ran our double reefed main. The Arafura Sea is so shallow (200 feet and below) that the wave sets are close together, and of course, coming from several different directions. By the second day, the winds had settled down a bit, and we enjoyed completing this 285 nm passage in good speed, averaging 5.94 knots overall. Days here are quite short, with sunrise about 0730 hours, sunset at 1900 hours, and there's a new moon now, so making landfall during daylight is a priority for us; not so easy on these long runs with tricky currents. We'll rest up here a couple of days before continuing on to Cape Don, our last stop before reaching Darwin.
Picture: Our anchorage off Black Pt., Port Essington. The smoke (smog) from slash burns along the coast are no fun if the wind is directing it to you. You can see the haze along the horizon.