Darwin, NT, Australia >Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia: Day 1 (2015-07-28 - 03:30 UTC - 11:38.5S 127:59.6E) - DTF 304nm

Aquamante
Vries Peter Pons
Tue 28 Jul 2015 04:30

Left Cullen Bay Marina, Darwin, Australia at 11.45h LT yesterday morning through the lock and set off to Indonesia after having spent some 8 months in Australia. Great country and fun people, but it is vast and we have seen too little of it, having been bogged down by boat jobs and all. We’ll definitely have to visit it again sometime, but that’ll be by car or camper, as it is a vast country best seen over land. We had hoped to do a bit of sightseeing in and around Darwin, but the 2 weeks we spent there were completely consumed by the last preparations for our departure and the magic word “boat jobs”.  

 

Not only have we left Australia, but we also said goodbye to the Pacific Ocean after 4 years and are now sailing into the Indian Ocean.

 

Another first is to leave together with another boat on a longer passage to the same destination. Alex and Iris of SY Alaeris sail with us, as well as Christoph and Dagmar of SY Flomaida. Both boats also participate in the SailIndonesia Rally, which formal start was on Saturday 25/7. A number of boats decided to leave one or two days later though, as there was no wind. That was even the case for the first part of our trip, as wwe had to motor 11 hrs before the wind picked up. With the calm seas due to the protection of land it was quite comfy, and it allowed Daph to have a relaxed view of the final of Masterchef Australia 2015, a programme on Aussie TV we followed regularly and to our amazement we could still see some 20nm offshore. Towards the end of the programme we had to slow down for half an hour, as reception was becoming poor, but she did see Billy take the title home! The rest of the night was quite rolly due a swell and no pressure in the sails to keep us steady. Early this morning the wind increased to 20-25 kn, so no more motoring, but all the more rolly, as we get pushed by short steep windwaves on the stern, probably due to the shallow depths we’re passing.

 

ETA Kupang Thursday 30/7 around mid morning. The SailIndonesia Rally organisers are supposed to have taken care of inward clearance, the main reason for us to have joined the rally, as this can be a nightmare with Indonesian bureaucracy. Very much looking forward to a different cultural experience again after all this time in a Western country.