Timor Sea - Bound for Kupang, Timor

Our current position is 11 48 S, 128 36 E. We are underway from Darwin to Kupang. We left Darwin at 1300 on Sunday, 26 hours behind the fleet, having fixed some final bits and pieces, watched the rugby and got some sleep. As expected the wind was light and we motored most of the way out of Beagle Gulf.
Finally at 1600 hours we thought we had some wind, so we put the main and genoa up and the wind, on queue, eased again. We persisted with the sails up, finally getting enough breeze to push us along at 6.5 knots for an hour or so. Then the wind vanished completely so we sat doing 1.7 knots in 0.0 breeze, the 1.7 knots
presumably due to tide. After a lesiurely dinner we put the engine back on at 2000 hours and have been motoring ever since - it is now 1000 on Monday 28 July (Australia Central Standard Time ie 9.5 hours ahead of UTC). During the night we passed 2 other yachts in the fleet who had also left on Sunday and we have made up some time on the fleet stragglers who are motoring more slowly than our average of 7 knots.
There was a spectacular sunset last night, the sun setting scarlet red with a girdle of cloud. Then the sliver of moon rose also red. A flying fish did a death leap onto the deck right next to Barbara so it was his lucky night as he got scooped back to sea. Now to the funniest silliest thing....we recently purchased a neat little portable Waeco 12volt cooler that we use for food we require throughout the day so we are not opening up our main fridge and freezer everytime we want milk, butter or fruit. Well, we accordingly loaded it the day before leaving Darwin with fresh oranges and apples but when we opened yesterday for an orange the fruit was mostly spoiled because the thing had inadvertantly been switched to the food warmer zone. The apples were cooked and the oranges were very ripe!!!
P&B

Darwin - What Still Here?

Hi Everyone, well we didn't make the 1100 start today, Saturday 26th July 2008. We have some final matters to attend to (including two toilets not working due to all the weed in Fannie Bay) - we are off tomorrow Sunday in the morning. Benefit: Peter got to watch the All Blacks get beaten by the Aussies. Robbie Robbie Robbie Oi Oi Oi.
Update later - hopefully once we are on the move via our satellite email connection if we have configured this blog correctly.
P & B.
ps: saw 2 Dugongs in Fannie Bay today which was great. Other cruisers had seen them but we hadn't to date.

Darwin - Two Days To Go

Hello Everyone, well it is now Thursday evening two days before departure. We have a load of washing in the machine at the Darwin Sailing Club and a load of items and food to stow aboard after a very busy day rushing around Darwin doing that last minute shopping in a rental car.
Tomorrow we clear Customs and Immigration - a team is coming to the Club especially for the Rally. Tomorrow is also Show Day in Darwin and a public holiday so most businesses will be shut.
Weather has finally settled down we hope after several days of very strong winds. At the moment it is quite calm. However going back to the boat in the dinghy last night and coming ashore this morning was quite an adventure in itself and was the dinghy equivalent of crossing Cook Strait. Despite this wind, the weather is very nice, fine, sunny, average of 32 degrees C.

On the social front, we had a Kiwi roast dinner on Monday night on Pied a Mer, with Catala in attendance and the Aussies from Keishi, including two year old Jack. Joanne on Pied a Mer did a great roast pork with crackling and Barbara did a leg of lamb with roast potatoes and pumpkin.

Tuesday afternoon was the formal briefing at the new Darwin Convention Centre. The host from Sail Indonesia in Jakarta failed to appear having missed his flight and his Aussie rep fronted the presentation although not with style. The best presentation was from the Sail Malaysia rep who was enthusiastic, funny and informative. So everyone is looking forward to the Malaysian leg.

Big jobs still to be completed tomorrow include putting a new seal in the top of one of the hydraulic backstay rams (a story in itself getting the seal - we got the last one in Darwin), putting up the genoa and a new cap at the top of the furler (meaning P has to go up the mast again), unblocking the toilet salt water flush inlet pipe which is full of weed - there is a lot in the water and we have had to unblock intake pipes regularly, installing the new pump for the anchor washdown (old one cost the same to fix as to replace) etc etc - but yes we will be ready to depart 1100 hours on Saturday.

Peter and Barbara

Last Minute Stuff

21 July 2008

Last Minute Stuff
We are still at anchor in Darwin. Final week and a public hol here Friday so rush rush rush. Got fuel this morning, first appointment for the day which was good as the boats after us are griping on the radio about the queue. Had to chase some Poms away who did not have a booking for the fuel dock. Its tough out here!.

We got too and from the dock without any hassles but yesterday watched a 16m yacht motor over to the fuel dock without due regard for the tidal channels and she ended up going aground and laying over on her side until the next tide. Very embarrasing.

Have hired a car for a few days and just about to go into town with the hydraulic rams from the backstay, one of which needs a service, plus the Davey Pump (for anchor washdown) which has spat the dummy. Having the Mercury outboard serviced and running around generally buying up large....particularly food at the excellent supermarkets. Also getting some smart electronic security kit from Jaycar to install aboard.

Very windy here last night plus a spring tide and wind against tide was very uncomfortable - how to get seasick at anchor!!

Darwin - Preparing for the Rally

It has been another lovely sunny and hot mid winters day in Darwin - 32c and not humid. We are currently working on fixing things as usual e.g. watermaker, anchor washdown pump, outboard motor, sailpack, headsail furler, stern gland (ie big hole in back of boat that the prop shaft goes through), washing machine etc etc. However it is all fun (believe it or not).
Major progress today was getting our second bicycle fixed (by Peter) so we can both now ride around town and save on taxi fares - however the prospect of Peter carrying the 15hp Mercury outboard to the repair shop on the back of the bike is a bit optimistic.
It is Friday night and we are at the Darwin Sailing Club where they have wifi. The place is packed, not just with cruisers either. The place is very popular with the locals, has very good food and the best sunset vista, every night. Due west, nothing to block the view of the setting sun, except of course for the 100 plus yachts anchored in the bay.
Which reminds us, we need to go back to the boat and put on the anchor light!.
We will write again soon, Peter and Barbara.

Across the Topend - July 2008

02 July 2008
Gulf Hopping
Musketelle has departed Seisa and is currently underway on the Gulf of Carpentaria. 12.10.133S 139.07.304E on passage to Gove the capital of Arnemland in the Northern Territory and planning to pass between Bremer Island and the mainland to reach Gove. We are currently a little bit off course too far south sailing due west at the moment but the winds are not permitting us to get northwest which is where we want to head. Swell is on the beam and not very comfortable but we will hang in and it will come right. Forecast is for SE 25-30 tonight so that should allow us more oomph to head northwest.
The Gulf is relatively shallow and is renowned for being very rough in wind against tide situations from practically any quarter but if it does cut up we will just think of the South Coast of Wellington and Cook Strait and the windchill factor and it will become insignificant.

The ultimate destination on this leg is Darwin where we expect to arrive 10/12 July subject as always to wind and tide and on this leg tide in particular is a real factor requiring close analysis because they are huge with up to 6 meters between high and low in places. Not counting on getting into a marina in Darwin - the place will be crawling with yachts (at least 150-200) and marina space at a premium. We may be lucky and get a few days on a marina berth if they are using the rotation system we heard about. We will anchor off the Darwin Sailing Club in Fannie Bay and play the tide game - staying in the bar too long could mean heaving the dink and outboard hundreds of meters across mudflats to get into the water at low tide.


06 July 2008
Arnhemland Visited
We have been and gone to Gove. We went into Melville Bay and its sub bay, Inverell Bay and anchored off the Gove Yacht Club which was very run done and not that flash. However friends who were there the previous week had a great time - think it needed a large cruiser crowd to make it fun as the local population only consists of mostly aboriginals sitting in the bar and pakehas (boguns) working at the mines and living on beaten up boats or tin sheds bordering the club. Gove township proper is 5km away and consists of a modern shopping precint with local milling around doing nothing. The local club for the mine management people was top notch and in contrast to everything else. New controversial anti-drinking laws seem to be working.

Gove to Darwin

07 July 2008
Heading for the Hole
On departing Gove we headed for Cape Don to go through either the Cumberland Strait or the aptly named 'Hole in the Wall' (the Gugari Rip) at 11.33S 136.22E. We went for the Hole and got the tides exactly right going through just after high tide on the beginning of the ebb which meant we got carried through east to west on a 4 note current. Very pretty - like a man made canal only with lovely natural layered low rocks on either side.

Like a Bullet
Immediately before entering the hole we had tried to furl our headsail but all we heard a loud bang/pinging sound which we subsequently established was a piece of metal breaking off the top of the headsail furler under extreme pressure as we tried to furl the headsail, caused by the stainless steel wire halyard wrapping around the top of the alloy furler and severing off a 30mm x 30mm section of the alloy furler. That piece then flew down like a bullet wizzing through the air and hit the dodger top piercing the gelcoat and chipping a mini 10mm crater into the structure. Bloody lucky that neither of us was in its trajectory. Did not pay to think of the possible consequences in this out of the way spot.

So we left the headsail up for the transit and motorsailed through without any trouble. On the western side we tried to unwrap the sail from the foil to get the headsail down and use our staysail on the inner forestay in its place but whilst doing this the wind came gusting in at over 20 knots from the SE and put paid to that. Try as we may we could not get the thing unwrapped and furthermore P was concerned even if we did the halyard might be jammed in the alloy foil and not allow us to drop the unfurled sail to the deck. So with the wind in the right quarter we elected to put the mainsail up and keep sailing west for North Goulburn Island and hope to get a patch of very light or no wind so we can unfurl fully and P can go up the mast.


08 July 2008
Lady Luck Smiles
1350hrs To continue with the next exciting instalment..Musketelle sailed on to North Goulburn where luck was on our side and the winds dropped to 12 knots. B had to go up to the radar reflector between the first and second spreaders to untangle a halyard which we had not noticed was too slack and wrapped itself around the refelector....what a gal !! Then P went up and transferred the genoa to the spare halyard and then untangled the halyard that had cut into the alloy foil like a butter knife and then we were able to drop the genoa to the deck and packed it away.

Nice anchorage at Mullet Bay and slept in the next morning (today). So now, very late having departed at 1215 CST, we are on our way to Malay Bay. Currently doing 7.5 - 8 kts with the staysail and second reef which is pleasing although the staysail is not actually doing much but we can't be bothered dropping it at this stage. This is first time we have put in a reef since we started from Scarborough. Not really essential in these conditions (SE 20-25 kts) but good practice. However as we have the wind right up our chuff we are wobbling along which is not the best comfort wise.


08 July 2008
Tide Timing
1610hrs
Currently surfing 2 metre waves in 15-20 knot wind passing Cape Cockburn. Doing 7-9 knots under second reefed main and staysail. Smoke hanging in the skies from someone burning off the country side. 15 miles to anchorage in Malay Bay, say 1.30hrs to go so it will be dark.

Tomorrow probably now will go straight to Port Essington rather than stop at Palm Bay as originally thought. Not sure yet about the Bowen Strait. Need to check the depths - our chart detail not that good and it looks shallow. Tides probably quite strong also, so will have to check the tide times. Can you access the Bureau of Met site and have a look at their tide info - there is some interactive programme that you can put place into and get tide info.


09 July 2008
With a Little Help
We have just been through the Bowen Strait - thanks Phil for the tide times. We have the Darwin times on board but not the data for the secondary ports so it was very helpful to know that Croker was 1hr 39 behind Darwin. This meant that we were a little late going through as the tide had been ebbing west for about 4 hours. Went on the Croker Island side of the channel and no problems at all until just past the end of the middle channel sandbank when all of a sudden we went down to 2.9 metres depth and since we draw 2.7 (and I think the depth sounder is reading 200 short) it was a little nervewracking - of course just at that moment the wind gusted to 35 kts and we were doing boat speed of 6.4 kts and Speed Over Ground of 9.4knots!!   Little bit of excitement.

Now on our way to Black Point at the entrance to Port Essington to anchor for the night.


10 July 2008
Crocs at Alcaro
Currently battling the tide as we head to croc infested Alcaro Bay just before Cape Don. Will be at Cape Don 4.5 hours before Darwin Tide tonight (2338 high tide). This is meant to give best time through the Dundas Strait and then later on through the Vernons. Expect to be in Fannie Bay, Darwin, mid morning tomorrow.......

How it panned out....
We left Alcaro Bay at 1830 and were off Cape Don light at 1900, no wind!! After weeks of nothing less than 20 knots and mostly 25-35, we had to motor until 5 mins to midnight, when an 11 knot breeze came in. Did ok after that but as we were slower than planned we felt the ebb tide in the Van Diemem Gulf and did not put the staysail up until the Vernons,until then were under main only. Once that was up we did a respectable 7+ knots in winds flucuating up to 17 knots.



11 July 2008
Territory Reached
Right on que mid-morning we have arrived at Darwin capital of the Northern Territory, having covered 100+ miles in 18.5hrs is not bad considering the tides, winds and all the bends around reefs to get here. In the world of Musketelle this is a milestone given everything since we arrived in Australia has been about getting to Darwin. Its mid winter in NZ but here in Darwin its clear blue sky and 28c and we are anchored in 9 metres of water in Fannie Bay 1.5 miles from the beach and the Darwin Sailing Club (the de facto yacht club for all cruisers heading to Indonesia). There are, at a quick glance, about 60 yachts in the bay, most will be on the rally. Plus more are in marinas or still en route.

Just about to have a shower and then go ashore to report to Customs and check out the facilities and catch up with sailing friends. We have now made contact with upwards of 25 of the yachts out of the 120 in the fleet. Our Dutch/South African friends on Double Dutch even called us up on the VHF and offered to buy us some fresh bread and bring it out to us at anchor. We must remind them there is another important game on in Dunedin tomorrow night. Another until now unknown reason P was keen on getting in today !!

Inside The Barrier Reef - June 2007

03 June 2008

Liberated from Enforced Stop
Well, after contributing an unexpected and generous sum of money to the Townsville economy due to our unhappy engine we are underway again. We left Townsville on Sunday at 0730 and motored (no wind) about 48 miles to Little Pioneer Bay on Orpheus Island, part of the Palm Group where we arrived at 1350 and picked up a public mooring. We stayed the night, very calm and pretty. Saw a small sharks swimming by and later a very large stingray feeding on the out going tide.

Next morning (Monday) we left at 0625 and motored (no wind) to Mourilyan Harbour, on the Moresby River, near Innisfail (which is the nearest town inland). What a lovely little harbour. It has huge sugar sheds and loading wharf, plus fishing boats but no town or houses. Very quiet and peaceful, really pretty. Another good nights sleep.

This morning we left at 0740. We optimistically raised the sails thinking we had 8-10 kots of breeze from the WSW but of course it went away the moment we popped the sails up so we are motoring again.

Good thing is the engine seems to be happy.  The scenery since we left Townsville has been excellent, passing pretty islands, and the mainland is surprisingly rugged/hilly/craggy and green with dense rainforest type vegetaion. No major ribbon housing as one sees along the coast further south.
Hope to arrive in Cairns late afternoon, early evening.

08 June 2008
Cairns and Haulout Blues
We are anchored in the river at Cairns after our haulout at Norship. Not a great experience. The yard specialises in doing Customs, Navy and Fishing vessels and really isn't set up for yachts, especially deep draft yachts. The yard was dirty, junk all over the place, toilet and shower facilities dirty (although the shower head at at least provided a lot of hot water).

Then when we went back in the water, we found that the carpet covered block of wood between the side of the cradle and the hull of Musketelle had scratched the gelcoat.  Due to the Im sorry to say no care, no responsibilty 'yardies' wrapping a "protective" course carpet square with dry encrused paint around a block of old pallet wood with gangnails in it and using it as a chock in the cradle so that when the weight came off the slings when Musketelle settled the hull was damaged. We only noticed this damage when she was lifted out of the cradle to splash.

Needless to say the captain gave the travel lift guys a broadside in solid kiwi terms only to be matched by the Aussie yardies who raved on about "f.... yachts". They clearly only want that big government business. Apart from the mechanics at Townsville, we have found the Queensland Aussies to be lazy, lacking initiative, and surprisingly unfriendly.

To add insult to injury (or in this case to add injury to insult) we have been savaged by midges and mozzzies, and our arms and legs are covered in bites which are so itchy that it is impossible not to itch even though that makes it worse. We look like the sort of people one would not want to stand next to in a queue in case one caught something.

Anyway, we will spend another day or two in Cairns to do some final shopping and then head north. We are not behind schedule which is good and we kept seeing other yachts who are also heading to Darwin for the rally.

Biggest problem B has at the moment is finding places to stow things aboard. Problem solved then it all gets pulled out again when we need something at the bottom of the stack. We need a shed !!


18 June 2008
Feels Like the Real Thing
Our current position is 15 degress 56.853S 145 deg 29.210E.

Well we are finally on the move again. We really feel that this is the first day of the resumption of our cruising lifestyle.

After the summer parked up at Scarborough to avoid the cyclone season, we had a nice interlude in the Whitsundays with Deb and Gary sailing short hops between anchorages relaxing and looking at the scenery rather than rush up the coast.

Next we moved onto Magnetic Island only to spend have the enforced week at Townsville getting the engine fixed before motoring to Cairns (with a couple of nice one night stops en route) where we spent 10 days with the haulout and hanging out in the river. Finally 4 nights at Yorkeys Knob, we met up with Christchurch friends Eddie and Jenny on Te Wai Pounamu, who have joined the Indonesian rally at the last minute and are still completing their pre-departure bits and pieces.

We left Yorkeys Knob at 0630 this morning which means we were too early for a stop at the Low Isles and too late for Hope Island so we will sail through the night to Lizard Island which is the subject of glowing reports from fellow cruisers. However we may decide at the last minute to detour into Cooktown in the dark and go onto Lizard the next day. Not sure yet. (it is currently 1630 on Wed 18 June).


19 June 2008
Cooktown Tide Rules
Well we did decide to call into Cooktown, getting there about 9pm in the dark, a narrow but not bad entrance, well beaconed. However the anchorage area was very shallow except by the commercial wharf and the best spots were already occupied. We sat on the bottom at low tide and as the low tide at lunchtime the next day was to be even lower we decided discretion was the better part of valour and left at 0815 in the morning on the high tide. Since then we heard the port official on the VHF telling a fisherman that no ships were expected for the next few days so if we had called him up he probably would have told us we could anchor nearer the wharf. We would have liked to have gone ashore and looked around. Oh well, another day, another anchorage.


20 June 2008
The Lizard Blows
We then sailed onto Lizard Island Had an excellent sail, wind South East 15-20 knots, On arrival Lizard it then piped up to 25 knots plus as we prepared to furl the sail and anchor. Typical!!.

There were 10 other boats in the anchorage, most of them yachts on the rally. By the time we left there we 21. All waiting out the weather which had not dropped below 25 knots and persistently howled at 30 knots, highest we noted at 41.7 knots. Being Wellingtonians we are used to gutsy wind, but even Wellington has variety - this was constant wind for 24 hours a day.

Anchorage Lizard Island

We went ashore in the dinghy a few times but no swimming and the famed snorkeling water wasn't tempting. The wind stirs up the sand and it is not as clear as in calm weather. We did however walk to the top of 400m high Lizard Island which is what Captain Cook did to find his way out of the Great Barrier Reef. When we got to the top it was like standing at the top of Mt KauKau on a windy day. Even though it was not the clearest of weather we could still see the line of the outer reef and the pass through which Cook eventually took the Endeavour.


A Week of Brilliant Sailing Riding the Brisk SE.....
24 June 2008
We finally leave Lizard on Thursday at 0730, still in the SE gale. P notes that South East is the direction of Wellington......One good thing about the wind is that the sailing is FAST!. We really have been moving at a good pace....we sailed to Flinders Island, anchoring at 1730 - a distance of 80 miles. Top speed surfing off a wave was 11.7 knots.

The SE'er swept us past some magnificent rocky scenery

25 June 2008
Up anchor at 0700 for another fast sail to Morris Island - not exactly an island but a small flat blob with one coconut tree and a huge reef. The reef broke the swell but gave no wind protection although the holding was good. Another nights sleep in the gale.

26 June 2008
Next stop Portland Roads, which is described in the cruising guide as the last outpost of civilization going north. No shop, a part-time post office and one solar powered public telephone. Still windy. 10 people, one a kiwi woman from the Hutt Valley.....K1w1's are everywhere.

27 June 2008
Today we departed Portland Roads at the civilsed hour of 0840 and sailed a brisk 50miles to reach Shelburne Bay just north of Cape Grenville putting the pick down at 1345. A large very shallow bay, we motored in for over a mile in less than 5 metres of water to get some lessening in the swell. Still windy 25 knots plus. The hills ashore seem to be snow capped but in reality it is silica sand.

Big fish news... Today we landed a huge but huge yellow fin tuna. He was 700mm long and weighed 18kg. Quite a job hauling him in while sailing at 8 knots but even harder to slow the yacht down in a running sea boosted by thesE endless SE'ers.

The Evidence

After P filleted it and we eat our fill we froze 24 good sized steaks. Note B put out the line P took the credit. On the subject of freezing we have at last got our refrigeration in balance helped in no small way by purchasing 3 months supply of meat in Cairns and having the butcher blast freeze it for us. We are running our generator 45mins morning and again evening and everthing is holding down just like the fridge & freezer at home!!

28 June 2008
Departed Shelburne Bay early at 0600 heading for the aptly named Escape River and the prospect of viewing crocodiles as we have our sundowners on the aft deck....and to prepare for the biggy - Cape York. Will keep you posted.

30 June 2008
Cape York Ticked Off

Hello from Seisa on the west side of the York Peninsula.
On leaving Shelburne Bay early we had a great run up the coast, so great we got to Escape River well before planned so decided to continue straight on to the Albany Passage which separates Albany Island from Cape York the northern most point of the big country. Seas on the approaches to the passage were getting very big and we were surfing at 10 knots. Now this may seem small beer to the uninitiated but let us tell you this is as good as it gets sailing with winds at 30+ knots, tide in our favour and endless swells to ride. We went thru on the flood tide in the afternoon (about mid flood) and got a real boost from that. Think it was about 4.00 pm when we entered the eastern end.

The channel is about a bit narrower than Tory Channel but more spectacular with steep rocky faces on each side and about 2 miles long. It was very very windy approaching the Passage and seas in the last mile or so approaching were standing up.

Entering the boiling waters in the Albany Passage,
Cape York to port Albany Island to starboard in distance 

We talked about opting to not go through but instead going around Albany Island but a yacht in front seemed ok so we made the decision to go for it. We checked the preventer rope to ensure the boom was firm as we had our mainsail out but no headsail. Captain P promised B it would be a breeze....yeah right, moments later we gybed when the wind backed the mainsail as we surfed down a wave and broached. At the same time the snap shackle on our preventer exploded and the mainsail gybed violently across from port to starboard with a hell of a bang and crash.....(B notes: P was taking photos at the time and not concentrating on steering!!).

We recovered from that with P starting the motor to get Muskie back on course while B got a replacement shackle and repositioned the preventer line on the otherside. All this in 2 minutes which seemed much longer and we were still charging through the pass. We congratulated ourselves on the recovery team effort even if the blood pressure had gone up a notch or six !!

Chart Plotter approach track to Cape York

We rounded Cape York (which looks like any other headland) and sailed west toward Possession Island, so named because this is where Captain James Cook took possession of Australia (or a large slice of it) in the name of the King of England. We ultimately anchored that night in Simpson Bay between the mainland and Possession Island 11.5 hours and 100 nautical miles since leaving Shelburne Bay that morning.

We were totally pooped and were thankful for our first quiet anchorage for weeks. Think we got 11 hours sleep before motoring Sunday morning the 7 miles to Seisia where we currently are. Seisia is the port (ie it has a wharf) for the aboriginal town of Bamaga and is a little red dusted village with a good supermarket and a library but not much else about 10 miles south of Cape York. Six yachts at anchor (one Norwegian, one Pom, one Aussie and 3 Kiwi), rusty coastal ship at the wharf and ashore dozens of grey nomads at the camping ground, driving Toyota LandCruisers or campervans on the ritualistic pilgrimage to the Cape. Lovely dry 30 degree heat and the beach is pristine white but no swimming because the crocodiles are definitely about.

Now focussed on getting across the Gulf of Carpentaria to Gove and around our next major cape, Arnhemlands Cape Wessel. Will depart tomorrow morning Tuesday at 10am local time on the 350 mile hop to Gove.

Queensland Heading North - May 2008

A new year resolution was to commence our cruising season in April...Marina Fever is a well known afflication that can keep cruisers tied to the dock but we finally liberated ourselves from Scarborough Marina after a mostly enjoyable layover on the last day of the month !!

30 April 2008
Underway Again at Last - Yacht Surfing and Tide Riding
Sailing north from Brisbane you have the option of passing Fraser Island to seaward or sailing inside the island north up the maze of tidal channels they call the 'Great Sandy Straits' and view some great esturian seascapes and wildlife. Needless to say we opted for the latter... To enter this marine wonderland the catch is you have to cross the notorious Wide Bay Bar which separates the south end of Fraser Island from the mainland coast.

Approaching from sea you are heading West with the morning sun behind to show the gap in the shallows which defines the bar. All one sees is this line of seemingly harmless blind surf breakers over the bow with a flatter section defining the actual bar crossing - so we got our eyes focused as we lined up on the leading markers and went for it - we gave Henry full throttle to get onto the top of our first roller then throttled off as we caught it square and squirted down its face at who knows what speed catching another few broken waves before we were safely over the shallow white sand bar without touching the bottom - phew !! lets just say surfing your floating 22 ton home is a bit of a nerve wracking experience!!.

Once inside we motored up the main tidal channel which separates Fraser Island from the mainland to Moonboom Island near the halfway point in the channel where we stopped for the night in a lovely anchorage to await the rising tide for the next days exit from the northern end of the channel. This part of the channel is very interesting in that there is a tide turning point 5 miles north of Moonboom at Turkey Island which also happens to be the shallowest part of the transit. There is a slack water spot at this point and it is important to get the tides right. With a 2.70m draught we are right on the limit for getting through so we had time to our passage with precision riding the rising tide to get across the shallows at peak high water to then ride the falling tide north to Hervey Bay.

We got our tides pretty right but were a smidgeon to early so we bounced along the bottom and then came to a soft landing halt in the shifting sands for about 10-15 mins near channel marker S22 before the tide rose and we shuffled off. The ride north got faster and faster as we rode the outgoing tide scooting by attractive scenery and lots of birdlife before we popped out into Hervey Bay near Urungan. At this point the winds were from the north - the direction we were headed so decided to anchor at Urangan for the night to await the forecast S/Easter.

02 May 2008
Motoring and Musing
Next day no northerly but also no SE so we started motoring and with no wind forthcoming we ended up motoring through the night all the way to Gt Keppel Island. A good call as still the winds did not come.
Musing at Capes....
Looking at our charts of the Queensland coast from here on sailing north we will be sailing inside the Great Barrier Reef all the way to Cape York passing an endless number of Capes. Most were named by Captain Cook and those explorers that followed. Looking at the charts most are no more than headlands undeserving of the title Cape as we know them. Sort of get the impression Cook must have been trying to endear himself to everyone he had met.
... have to go now as our Captain is wanting to raise the anchor as the long awaited SE wind has now arrived in the form of a solid 20 - 25 knots, whoopee !! Next stop Lindeman Island ?

04 May 2008
Turtles and Sea Eagles
We are at 20deg 53.913S 149deg 24.584E - anchored in a small bay on the north side of Keswick Island. We have just seen the biggest turtle within 20 metres of the boat, just magnificent !! P has now switched his favourites from bats to turtles (plus sea eagles which are also stunning).

12 May 2008
Cae Bowling Green
Anchor in the lee of the Cape which is no more than a low line of sandhills shaped by the wind. We have come in at 2045hrs in the dark because the 25knot SE is kicking up a nasty little chop in the shallow waters we were sailing in so decided why not take a break abd attack again in the daylight.  Trouble is the anchor dragged a couple times in the sand before bedding and we did then we did get horizontal in the bunk the bang slap and slosh kept us awake. All in all a damned appalling anchorage.

13 May 2008
Locals Call it Maggie
At anchor Horsehoe Bay, Magnetic Island. This place is very pleasant and we have just had a big steak meal at the pub as a treat to ourselves after an appalling night anchored at Cape Bowling Green.

Heading to the Palm Isles next. But toying with putting back our haulout date at Cairns so we can take more time to get there. May be go through the Hinchinbrook Channel but with caution because our excellent Queensland aerial/map fishing book says 'caution crocodiles' so we are hoping to see one or two close up (but not that up close).
16 May 2008
Magnetic Island becomes a Magnet
Departed Magnetic Island yesterday 15 May at 1015 for a supposed simple 36 mile sail to Orphesus Island, part of the Palm Group. Initally some wind but soon dropped off. As we motored out of the anchorage to put up the sails and had the engine on for 10 minutes we noticed a slight knocking sound in the engine (more of a clicking really which B had first noticed a few days earlier but P could not hear). Anyway for a diesel clunker it did not seem serious although Peter was reading up on potential problems using our trusty 880 page nautical tome 'The Boatowners Mechanical & Electrical Owners Manual' by Nigel Calder.

We sailed until around 1500 hours then the wind died completely so we went to start the engine - big bad expensive sounding noise so stopped it immediately before it got fired up. We were about 6 miles from Steamer Passage at the south end of Palm Isle so decided to turn back for Townsville thinking we might get there under sail about 0100 morning of the 16th, anchor and check out repair options.

Well it is now 1500 on the 16th and we are still 8 miles from the Magnetic Island anchorage. We gave up on getting to Townsville. Since 1500 yesterday when we tried to start the engine we have had no wind. Thats 24 hours of drifting !! The only thing moving us is the tide and thats in circles not the direction we want to go.

Now at last at 1530 the breeze has come in at 9-10knots and we have the main and genoa up and heading back to Horseshoe Bay Magnetic Island again because its a big bay so no problems deploying anchor without engine !! Will try to find a diesel engineer but realistically will probably be Monday as QLDers seem to knock off at 3.30 - 4.00 on Fridays and certainly don't work weekends. Have had to cancel Cairns haulout and will see what Townsville can provide.

17 May 2008
Murhpys Law
0600 this morning all hell let loose with 30-35 knots of wind gusting to 40 knots (unforecast) and we dragged anchor nearly onto reef. Got sail up and got away fine but then when we came back in (again) to anchor the anchor jammed in the hawsepipe with just 15 metres out which in 10 metres depth is not enough to hold a 16 metre yacht in 5 knots of breeze let alone these conditions and after drifting earlier we are wanting to put out 70/80 metres minimum. So as it was still blowing we sailed off again, towing 15 metres of anchor - we say sailed although we had by now dropped the sails there was so much wind the boat just sailed on its own windage fortunately exactly in the right direction, nicely out to sea. That gave P and I time to manually haul up the 15 metres of chain and our 40kg Delta anchor.

P then went below and got into the anchor locker and untangled the chain which had knotted itself. We then put up the sails and sailed around for a while, just off the island. The winds started to moderate so we prepared for another attempt to anchor. Luckily a young Norwegian we were berthed next to at Scarborough Marina, Jorn from the yacht Silene motored over in his dink to help and we anchored without further problems and kept our fingers crossed that we had a good hold this time.

The reason the anchor had dragged in the first place was because when anchoring without an engine you cannot let the anchor settle then bed it in by reversing with the engine. Spend a few hours discussing our engine problem with Jorn who is a former Norwegian Navy submariner and Peit Hein from the yacht Double Dutch an engineer in the pre-cruising life. Between us we reckon we worked out the problem assisted by a few ales.

19 May 2008
To Repair Haven
We had an excellent sail across to Townsville yesterday when the wind finally came in. Anchored to the starboard side of the marina channel in about 3.4 metres waiting for high tide tomorrow morning. Good night with no wind and no significant tide disturbances although B got up heaps of times to check "just in case" - which really was a waste of good sleeping time.

Nice calm water for tow in this morning, so now the hard work starts locating diesel mechanic and specialist workshop to do a complete overhaul of the "head" (which P assures me is on this occasion not the toilet). Also need to take the genoa sail off cos we ripped the sun protection strip on it in the anchoring scramble off Magnetic when we were in the 40 knot stuff.

20 May 2008
Good News
Other than engine issue, all well. The engineer we found in Townsville removed the head and discovered a sticky exhaust valve that has bent a valve pushrod which was the cause of the clacking noise. Luckily for us by stopping the engine in time no major damage. The head will be machined, two new valves, the resy rebedde, a new pushrod installed along with a new head gasket and we should be back in business in by the end of the week.

We were going to haulout at Townsville but changed mind this morning and will stay in water at marina - this is because the haulout facility although large does not have cradles and just uses props (mainly does fishing and navy boats) so we have decided with our height it is not worth the risk of falling off the props.

We will not quite be out of Townsville by the end of May but it will be pretty close....May will go down as a testing month!!!

Cyclone Season - Dec 2007 to April 2008

Cyclone Season Scarborough Marina Queensland


Dec 2007 / April 2008

We spend a very enjoyable 5 months at Scarborough Marina on Moreton Bay North of Brisbane to avoid the cyclone season.

Use this time improving Musketelles systems but also taking in the sights of southern Queensland around greater Brisbane and the Gold Coast.  For Christmas and New Year we flew down to Sydney where we house sat for old friends the Majors in Allandale while they were in Fiji.  Alf came over from Wellington and joined us for Xmas and watching the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race before going down to Melbourne to see in the New Year with Phil and Irene.

Time simply flys when your having fun and we enjoyed our stay even if we were tied up at a berth for the entire time.  A number of liveaboard cruisers were in the same situation so there was good company and socialising.

The plan is to leave Scarborough in April to cruise north and on to Darwin for the start of the Sail Indonesia Rally from Darwin in July.

New Caledonia to Australia - 20 Nov 2007

New Caledonia to Australia - crossing the Coral Sea

A sequence of daily at sea reports follows....

15 Nov 2007
Departed Noumea at 1630, thru Dumbea Pass 1755, now in open seas heading to Brisbane. Current pos 22 deg 24 s 166 08 e. Wind 18-23 kts from SE. Speed over ground 8 kts under 2 reefed main and staysail. Good sailing. We are keeping an eye on the cyclone to north. We are headed for Brisbane but our contingency plan is to run south and enter at Coffs or Sydney if the cyclone starts moving south down the Coral Sea.

16 Nov 2007
Hi, we are rocking along at between 6.5 and 8 kts depending on gusts. Wind is ESE/SE. Some biggish swells and the odd wave hitting us at a funny angle, but overall good sailing.

B has had a discussion with a fellow Kiwi cruiser who stated that 0000UTC is noon, and she gave him the benefit of the doubt. Now she says he is wrong as there is no such time in the 24 hour clock. 0001 is the first minute after midnight, 1200 is midday and 2400 is midnight. If he had been an Aussie she says she would have discounted straight away but since he seemed a sensible Kiwi she thought she better check before responding.

17 Nov 2007
Galloping along at average of 8 knots with winds from SE, less rolly since we turned at Capel Bank (shallow patch) having passed between Kelso and Capel Banks, nearer to Capel. Expecting ESE tomorrow which may slow us and probably bring back the rolly stuff. Very good run today. Saw first ship, P&O cruise liner, 7 miles off and closing to about 3.5 miles. Called it up on VHF radio, channel 16, but no reply which was a bit disappointing. Believe that many large ships no longer monitor channel 16 or maybe they just don't want to talk to yachts who ask silly questions like "can you see us clearly on your radar", which is what we were going to ask.

18 Nov 2007
Breeze 10-12 knots, have met the East Australian current which has carried us south off course by about 8 miles. Have taken out reefs in main to try and get more speed and claw back some of the southing. However wind is little to ESE to be helpful. Still, making good progress. Sunny and warm. Making for the North East Channel entry at top of Moreton Bay.

19 Nov 2007
Still in/on the Coral Sea en route from Noumea to Brisbane and it doesnt look any different to any other sea !!  The same characteristics of wind on water and waves. Have not seen any coral or Nemo's.

As all quiet aboard thought readers might enjoy an insight into what its really like aboard Musketelle on an open ocean passage........ Its a bit 'tongue in cheek' in parts but step aboard for the ride and feel the motion.....

* It takes us both at least 48hrs to get into the rhythm of a passage
* Sleep deprivation is the first thing that hits you and gets you out of kilter
* The next thing is you dont feel all that hungry so with irregular sleep one gets tired very quickly
* The days and nights just mesh into one milieu all on a floating platform that is moving continuously
* Thats the big kicker the never ending motion from which you cannot escape
* Those skills learned as a kid on the jungle gym and at physed classes come into play
* Your hands become as important as your feet as you move crab like around the ship
* If we could run a video of our movements it would be very 'Monty Pythonesque'
* Balancing food can take on chimpanzee tea party similarity
* The cook taking two classic falls without sustaining bodily damage thankfully
* One hand for yourself and the other for the boat is the rule (not one for the plate & other for utensils)
* Time for shut eye we run a 3 hours on watch and 3 hours off watch rotation
* 4 sleeps per 24 compared with one big one at home sounds magic, but don't be fooled
* No nocturnal bliss because the boats always moving & awash with noise banging, crashing & wind howling
* You tend to half sleep listening for noises that alert you to what is happening all around
* You can sense when the vessel has changed direction, slowed or sped up or the sails need trimming
* Below decks its often fuggy, hot and sticky because all the hatches closed to stop saltwater ingress
* No time for conjugal rights as partners pass in the night from off watch to on watch keeping the bunk hot
* Going off watch best get out of your clothes have a bird bath, brush the teeth like normal, which it is not
* Put on a pair of those airline goggles to pretend its nightime and you are a 'Biggles on the Water'
* Now in the bunk which has a leacloth tied along the side to stop you being tossed out by a rogue wave
* Horizontal at last but your clammy body sticks to the sheets as the motion slops your innards around
* From your cranium to the tip of your toes you feel like you are a jellyman on a fairground ride
* In a bad dream your bunk could be likened to a sort of nautical coffin (reboot for another dream)
* When you are awoken its more of the same but hopefully another 20 plus miles closer to your destination
* As they say its the getting there that counts, right !!!
* The 'kerosene canary' is faster & easier but this is cleaner and greener and much heavier on the pocket


Anyone for cruising ?

20 Nov 2007
Landfall Australia
We round the northern end of Moreton Island at 0730 to enter the shipping channel and spend the morning sailing south across Moreton Bay and proceed to the customs dock inside Manly Marina arriving on lunchtime. Phew ! what a pleasure to be in Aust and the prospect of a nice cold beer and a big steak for lunch !! But wait, Australian Customs have to formally enter and clear us, and that takes time and is another story in itself !!

New Caledonia - 15 Nov 2007

5 Nov 2007

Baie de Prony, New Caledonia
Sailed from We' at 5pm yesterday on a setting sun and decreasing breeze through the night and next morning started the steel sail to motor the final six hours in glass flat conditions through the Havannah Pass and the outer reef to reach Baie DeProny (22.22s 166.55e) at lunchtime. We are in a sheltered landlocked anchorage on the south coast of New Cal 35 miles from Noumea where we will stay for a few days to go ashore and explore. The surrounding high hills are red and eroded as result of surface strip nikel mining operations and the water in the anchorage is discoloured. Other than that its starkly beautiful in a way.

14 Nov 2007
Noumea, capital of New Caledonia
We are in Noumea, at the Port Moselle Marina. On our dock there are all visiting cruisers, mainly Aussies and quite a few French boats (not surprisingly).

When we came into Noumea it looked very sophisticated. The actual town centre has lots of mid to low rise shops interpersed with big buildings. Lots of one way streets and of course they drive on the wrong side of the road so crossing the road is more risky than sailing on passage.

The marina has good shower facilities and a well run office with English spoken, naturally as it is an international business. In town however it is different and our french or lack there of is showing. We were lucky that the boucherie had a Frenchman from Paris visiting who spoke Anglais was able to assist us to purchase lamb chops and New Zealand rump steak. As usual Peter broke the ice by referring to the rugby result.

The biggest shock here has been the environment. You will see from our anchorage in Bonne Anse, Baie du Prony, the horrific erosion in the hills. This area was pretty much deforested and then mined and clearly the land cannot recover. Every time it rains large volumes of bright red mud wash straight down into the Baie du Prony and the coral and seabed is being smothered in most bays. There are huge nickel mining operations still in progress and in the next bay from our anchorage there is a huge development that makes Solid Energy's NZ West Coast operations look like childs play. Even though parts of the area are now designated parks there is no sign of any remedial action going on.

Just as bad is Noumea itself. This "sophisticated" town simply pongs, especially at night. We talked to a New Cal French lady from the catamaran next door, who had just finished a 3 year circumnavigation. Before leaving New Cal she worked for the town council and said the town has outgrown the sewerage system and there is not the ability to fix it. We can't believe that it cannot be done so presumably she meant there was not the will to do so. Also disappointing is the rubbish dropped around the market place and funny little fair ground adjacent the port. Plastic bottles, plastic bags and general rubbish are dumped in or blow into the harbour. At night we are firing up the aircon, having the benefit of dock power, and this allows us to avoid the smell.

On a brighter note we love the bread and are indulging in major "nibbles" with baguettes, cheeses and pates.

We have been watching the weather, as are all the cruisers planning to head to NZ or Aust. It is all on for us for a departure to Aust tomorrow (Thursday)and we have decided that we will go to Brisbane (Manly is the clearance port). We had been planning on going to Coffs Harbour and then down to Sydney but having given it further thought we do not need to be in Sydney so soon and we have not sailed into Brisbane whereas we have sailed into Sydney (one of us multiple times!).

Will confirm that we have headed off once we are underway. Hope all are well.

Loyalty Islands - 04 Nov 2007

31 Oct 2007

Baie de Doking, Lifou Island, Loyalty Islands

We sight Lifou Island in the Loyalty's early yesterday morning 31 Oct in worsening weather so with 16 miles to go to We (pronounced whey), in 34 knots and rough seas on a lee shore, we turn and ru off to the west around the top of Lifou. Anchoring in Baie de Doking in a nice sheltered situation under impressive high cliffs which is protecting us from the E/SE swells. Had a hearty breakfast/lunch, and collapsed into the bunk and awoke on dusk so decided to stay put for the night.

01 Nov 2007
We, Lifou Island, Loyalty Islands
Arrived We' (pronounced Way) lunchtime today, motoring all the way round the coast from Baie de Doking - about 5 hours as we were pretty much heading into the wind. There were very big swells, we estimate some at least 6 metres, and depending on the proximity of the various headlands we passed we got varying wind driven waves on top. Took some very big waves but Muskie was not fazed and neither was her crew. B is wearing her chinese acupuncture wrist bands compliments and they seem to be doing a good job.

When we arrived in We no one from the marina answered our VHF calls so we tied up to a wharf at the entrance which was a low concrete thing and poor Muskie got a couple of nasty scratches when the fenders lifted in the swell. Nothing that can't be touched up.

Peter scaled a 6 ft fence to get into the marina proper but no one official was around. So asking other yachts he found out it was a New Cal public holiday so we have helped ourselves to a berth, a tight fit, we are the biggest yacht in the marina, which is very small. We are flying the Q flag which means we are not to go ashore or communicate with anyone unofficial until we have cleared customs and quarantine. Yeah right!.

So went to the gas station which sells groceries and tried to buy some nice french bread but we only had Euros and surprise, they only take Pacific Francs!!! So no bread, but did get a nice hot shower in the marina shower block. Tonight eating our Vanuatu scotch fillet tonight before Quarantine get here as otherwise they reportedly would take it away!.

Will probably head to Noumea tomorrow which is an overnighter and need to go through Havannah Pass in day light. Probably anchor in Baie du Prony once through the pass and then go on to Noumea the following day. However we may stay one more day here in We, not sure until we see customs tomorrow and check out the weather.

04 Nov 2007
We, Lifou Island
Well what a magic place We on the island of Lifou turned out to be. Having now departed after 4 days it is time to reflect....We arrived from Vanuatu in some boisterous weather and snuck into the the tiny marina which was only opened in 2003 to attract yachties that have previously bypassed this island group.

Once we got ship shape and got cleared in we were off to the nearest ATM for local Sth Pacific Francs and then to the supermarket for fresh french bread and fresh food...glorious French food and all at Kiwi prices surprisingly. Also purchased a nice light beer "Kronenburg 1664" and a bottle of Blanc de Blanc.

The major treat for us is dairy produce...yoghurt, designer cheeses etc etc but no fresh milk since leaving NZ its been all UHT. When we get to Aust we are going to get a yoghurt maker and grow our own culture as weetbix are inedible without the stuff !!

All the other yachties here are French or New Caledonian so Barbara is testing her schoolgirl French on them and Peter is bluffing his way with a combination of acting and international sign language that he has always relyed and swears never lets him down....'Look em in the eye and keep the smile at the ready !! No understanding of French is required when it comes to the RWC as the French guys are equally excited that they dealt to the AB's as they are the Poms got beaten in the final.

As there were never any taxi's each time we went to town we put the finger out and we were picked up instantly. It was not until we hitched a ride into the town for dinner on Saturday evening that we met a real local.... a Kanak chief, the Kanaks being the ethic Melanesian people of New Cal and the Loyalty Islands.

French speaking and English challenged Chief Michel Luepak stopped as we hitched a ride outside the marina and delivered us to a restaurant in town. Michel circa 55yrs and father of 6 off-spring ranging from 6 to 26yrs is a very busy man with a dual role in life. In Noumea where he lives he is the headmaster at a local primary school but once a month he flys back to We for the weekend to fulfill his chiefly duties to his village of 600 souls.

He went to great trouble to tell us that he is a small chief only, but next morning when he collected us from the boat to visit his village we were more than impressed by his spread out village all just 5kms from town beside the lagoon.

Here we are 10am on a Sunday morning and after walking us around the beautiful lawned village he took us into his childhood home, the chiefs house overlooking the lagoon. He opens the shutters and sits us down to can you believe, a bottle of Johnny Walker to celebrate our meeting, and its just gone bloody 10am on a Sunday morning....We soon joined the dots as he like us is a non-practising Protestant. Seems the London Missionary Society rocked up to the Loyalty Islands in the 1830's before the other faiths and the whole population is Protestant which is an oddity in largely Catholic New Cal.

Must tell you after the dinner on Sat night the cashier at the restaurant gave us a ride back to the marina which was much appreciated as it was about 4km and pitch black as no street lights. Native Kanak Sondra by name, proudly informed us a few years back she had spent time a most enjoyable time Christchurch Polytech on an English language course with a visit to Queenstown the highlight of her trip.

Must say the quality of life here seems a notch up on the other Pacific islands with the French obviously doshing the Francs around....big modern hospital, local body offices and general air of efficiency with good roading and power reticulation to villages. The people dress well with the ladies in colourful dress and floral headwear. The quality of the vehicular rolling stock is somewhat younger than NZ with small Peugeot and Renualts de-riguer.

Back to the sailing business we spent the rest of Sunday prepping Musketelle for the overnight crossing to New Caledonia. This included emptying our water tanks of the limey and scaley Port Vila water and refilling with the absolutely magic We water...we now have 700 litres of We water to consume.