A Warm Welcome - Francis Bay, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Thu 22 Jul 2010 23:47
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12:28.262S 130:51.244E
After one night of breathing easy while anchored in
Fannie Bay on the west side of Darwin, we motored around to Francis
Bay on the south side of Darwin. Here we were greeted by two
things: two huge US navy ships tied up at the Australian navy wharf,
and a diver hired by the Australian Fisheries Department to inspect
and disinfect all of our water intakes for marine bugs. Because of
the extreme tidal range, all the marinas in Darwin can only be accessed
through a lock. As a result, the water temperature in the marinas
tends to be higher than that of the
surrounding seawater. The higher temperature can act as a growth
catalyst for certain types of marine critters and there have been problems in
the past with marine critter infestation of boat engines resulting in major
mayhem. Hence the need to inspect and disinfect the water intakes on
all boats destined for a marina in Darwin. The procedure only took about
10 minutes to complete, but we were required to remain anchored in Francis Bay
for at least 14 hours before running the engine again.
We had been hoping to get into the marina that
night since it was June 29th and our 14th wedding anniversary. But instead
we spent the night at anchor with the US navy ships watching over
us. We did at least take the dinghy to shore for a much deserved
dinner out with Sue, John, Ray and Helen and 3,000 US military
personnel who also happened to be on shore leave that evening. It was
strange to be in an Australian city surrounded by American accents, but it
was a nice touch for our anniversary celebration.
Picture 1 - US ships greeting us.
Picture 2 - Water intake inspection and
disinfection diver greeting us (well, really greeting Storyteller as this and
the picture above were taken by Helen).
Anne
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