10:43.34S 139:31.69E

 

We are now on our way to Darwin. We came round the top of Australia early yesterday morning after two days of ‘join the dots’ sailing. There are so many waypoints required to dodge the vast number of reefs, it makes for interesting sailing. Add to that the huge number of large cargo vessels using the same route and it makes it quite a relief to be out in the open sea with space to manoeuvre once again. The wind died for a while yesterday but filled in again at around 03.00 am so we are sailing once again managing about 8kts. The temperature on board has soared from 6 degrees in Mackay to 32 degrees here and it’s going to get hotter as we approach Darwin. Fishing has been somewhat tricky coming up the Barrier Reef as so much of the area is protected. However we did manage to hook a delicious Spanish Mackerel two days ago as we sailed through an unprotected area. Having sailed into open waters once again, the lines went out yesterday morning in fairly shallow water. We have no idea what we hooked but there was no way we were going to be able to land it. Sadly, for the first time on this trip, we had to cut the line and let the monster go. We consoled ourselves with the thought that anything that big is probably not very good eating anyway. Still, there are plenty more fish out here.