Sunday September 8^th   2013, Gulf of Carpentaria,  North of Australia   10.38.5S  139:58.4E  

Today's Blog by David (Time zone BST +9.00; UTC +10.00)

G’day.

This morning we passed a point I confess that, from time to time over the last year or so,  I had wondered whether we ever would get to – Cape York, the northernmost tip of Australia.  [And having done so we are now pretty much committed to carry on through the Indian Ocean to South Africa, pirates or (preferably) no pirates. Hmmmm.]

The last few days have been challenging cruising – sailing during the day and anchoring at night in 23-35 knots of wind and squally showers.   It wasn’t particularly dangerous but sailing in strong winds is stressful, it needs care to avoid expensive mistakes. Anchoring is also a concern because you are never sure that your anchor is firmly dug in so you  fear dragging (and even more expensive mistake if you drag too far!)  and thus one is up and down regularly during  night.  If that coincides with one’s normal body rhythms, that is fortuitous, otherwise it just  ‘does you in’.

Terry’s 60^th birthday party was a great success ………………….–even if the exposure in  the “Official Photograph” was not:

The crew had even lashed out on a birthday card (far right)!

The problem with that kind of cruising though is that  we covered perhaps 75 miles each day on average and when you have got 1300 miles to cover to Darwin,  progress towards your destination is slow. It was interesting though.

The east coast is littered with  historical, nostalgic references.   The waters inside the Great Barrier Reef are reef strewn. It is where Captain Cook ran aground on a reef, one now known as Endurance Reef, (it could have been Cook Reef but he had already hit that in Fiji).  It is where he “struck his Top Hamper” (cut off any encumbrance above the deck) and jettisoned his guns to get clear.  AND …. it is as well he did for otherwise it is likely that the world now would be dominated by the French  - for the Crown was not likely  to have financed another expedition had Cook not returned. Vive le struck Top Hamper!   

There are references to his journey all along the coast. Not just Stokes Bay - the site of the Big Birthday Celebration -  but Weymouth and Portland Roads, and also Cape Flattery – so named by Cook because it was close to there that his Officers flattered themselves that they had found a way back out through the reef into open water only to discover Endurance Reef.

There are so many Islands as well as reefs, so many that they were running out of names;  for example: From Twin Islands going west you run past Tuesday Island, Wednesday Island,  Thursday Island and ,you guessed, it Friday Island.  These are in the  Torres Strait - a very tricky,  shallow stretch  of water between North Australia and Papua New Guinea with lots more  reefs (!)  and islands; it is the area through which the Australians are having so much stress with economic migrant immigration from New Guinea and Indonesia.  

We decided we had had enough day sailing, upped anchor and set off yesterday for Darwin. We sailed round Cape York early this morning then north of Thursday Island and through the Prince of Wales Channel – the primary shipping route through the Torres Strait.

I was VERY hot today – stiflingly so -  but it cooled down when it clouded over this afternoon.

Right now we are about 120 miles out from Thursday Island, in the  Gulf of Carpentaria. Wind is 20-25 knots from our port quarter, poled out head sail , 8-9 knots; true blue water sailing.

Where we stop next is a mystery to us all – we will probably have to stop to get the tides right into Darwin (via the Van Diemen Gulf) but if we happen to arrive there when the tidal gate is ‘open’, we will probably go straight on.

No worries, Cobber …… All Good here!