June 2010 - Seisia to Darwin

A beautiful morning sees 5 yachts leave Seisia for the trek across the Gulf of Carpentaria.  Oh let me tell you about the Gulf ----- oh boy!  A shallow gulf, a long fetch (for the wind and waves to build up over) with swell and waves that have no idea which direction they want to go.  The crew was quite willing to ‘jump ship’ several times during the crossing and both skipper and crew were not feeling the best by the end of the second day.  “Oh why didn’t we skip going to Gove and go up into Torres Strait, oh get the bucket please”.  After what seemed like an eternity we entered Gove harbour in the dark on the third day assisted by another yacht that arrived only an hour before us – they made it in the last 10 minutes of daylight and kindly helped us by flashing their torch for around half an hour to guide us into the anchorage.  Two of our five companions arrived some time during the night the skipper helping ‘Mirage III’ enter the anchorage by flashing our torch and talking on the radio.  By morning it was unanimous that the Gulf crossing was the worst water yet encountered, very tiring and seasickness was rife.  Oh well, all over now thank goodness but talking about the next leg and route that we will take makes one feel a little nauseated again!

We decide to go into the town of Nhulunbuy from Gove harbour for a look after finding out that the mine tours we were hoping to take only occur on a Friday and we don’t want to stay until Friday do we?  Now there is no public transport here and the town is a very long walk from the Yacht Club but apparently that’s no problem.  The yacht club informs us “just go up to the road and start walking and someone will give you a lift”.  Fearing that there may not be enough room for 4 or 5 of us in one vehicle, we set of at different times with the promise of catching up in town.  Skipper and I took the rubbish to the bins, started walking along the road and after a short while heard a car approaching – turning round we spy a TAXI !  A little bit of negotiating regarding the price and we have a very nice, air-conditioned ride into town.  We meet our friends in town (who picked up a lift from a passing worker) and decide to go our separate ways and meet up for lunch after around two hours.  What were we thinking?  Half an hour takes care of the walk around the town – maybe an hour if you visit all the places to eat and we stumble over our companions well within the timeframe for lunch.  On the advice of other cruisers we decide to eat at the mining accommodation/eatery at William Gove House.  $14 each, all you can eat between 12 and 1pm.  What a find!  Extensive hot and cold buffet, fruit, scones, juice, tea, coffee, ice creams, cakes, bread, rolls, cheese, biscuits (I’m sure I’ve missed something) and we are absolutely full to the brim.  Of course these accommodation houses cater for the live-in single miners and so the kitchen is well stocked.  A quick whip around the Woolworths supermarket, a sit down after reading the prices and we hail a six-seater taxi for the return trip sharing the cost.  

Sorry, no photos at Gove, still getting over the Gulf crossing

Saying goodbye to Gove skipper and crew decide that you could give this isolated mining/Aboriginal settlement a miss and definitely if you have to sail the Gulf of Carpentaria.  ‘Sunray’, ‘Mirage’ and ‘Bluestone’ sail out of Gove harbour heading for Wigram Island in the English Company Island group for the night in order to calculate the correct tide and times to cross Donington Sound and traverse the much talked about Gugari Rip (Hole in the Wall).  Tides in this part of the country seem to have a mind of their own and can run very fast in some areas especially narrow channels.  The Gugari Rip is renown for its fast tides (which no small vessel could push against in the opposite direction to flow) and thus arriving at high tide slack water will ensure a safe, enjoyable passage through.  The sail to Wigram is reminiscent of the Gulf crossing because you are actually still in the Gulf waters and it is with much relief that we round the southern end of Wigram island and find a sheltered bay to anchor for the night.  After much deliberation (and food and drinks) a departure time is agreed upon and anchors are up at around 0430 hrs the next morning.  The crossing to Gugari Rip at the Wessel group of islands is also uncomfortable and sea sickness rears it’s ugly head again however, thankfully not on Bluestone.  ‘Sunray II’ recover from the crossing and lead us into the tiny gap at slack high tide (2 ½ hours after Darwin) and we have a perfect passage through this amazing hole in the islands.  Three yachts then anchor in the bay west of the Rip and walk (scramble) through the bush to view the Rip from the top of the rocks that line the passage, the tide now racing through.  We are grateful that we timed it right.

The computer chart showing our approach to Gugari Rip (we are the circle bottom right of screen)

 Through the Rip

 The Rip in full tide race

 A cove at Raragala Island

This shoreline is covered in old reef coral and shells

Next morning we say farewell to ‘Sunray II’ who have to be in Darwin to meet commitments leaving ‘Mirage’ and ‘Bluestone’ enjoying the delightful surrounds of Raragala Island.  We spend 6 days in this delightful bay as the winds are up again and ‘Sunray II’ report a lousy crossing to Nth Goulburn island.  Our companion (Mirage III) catches some big fish which we gladly share – David catches, skipper cooks, crew washes up – a very good arrangement we feel.  Skipper decides to put the crab net out one night with leftover scraps as bait (as is the norm) only to return to the spot where, he was sure he put the net ????  No net, no scraps, no rope, no buoy – uh oh CROCODILE?  We might give the crab net a miss in these here parts.  A sighting is confirmed next day and we are all little bit quicker at launching the dinghy when going ashore so as not to linger in the shallows.

 How is this for a fillet?

The weather report finally allows us to plan the next leg of our trip to North Goulburn Island which is an overnight sail from where we are.  Setting off early next morning we both arrive at North Goulburn within an hour of each other next day and spend the evening enjoying another scrumptious catch compliments of ‘Mirage III’ (he really is very good at this) a huge Trevally.  We are not allowed to go ashore at Nth Goulbourn as this is Aboriginal land and permits must be obtained – we don’t have time so will just overnight and then push on.  

 Another good sized fillet

We should now be able to ‘day hop’ all the way to Darwin if we like.  We stop at Valentia Island one night.  Through the Bowen Strait next to Crocker Island and into Port Essington the next day.  Bowen Strait is very enjoyable except for the smoke – the rangers are burning off a this time of the year and we sail through some thick bushfire smoke.  The Strait also has some very shallow parts and sometimes our progress is slow as we hold our breath and watch the depth sounder going up and down.  But all is good and we sight another yacht also making their way through.  Here we have another ‘fly over’ from Coast Watch.  We have been buzzed by Coast Watch aircraft every second day since Lizard Island, which is fine as they do a good job watching our coastline - but - we get asked the same questions every time the contact us on the radio and it’s starting to wear a bit thin especially when we hear them calling other yachts (some of whom we travelled with) and they just get the reply “oh, yes we have you on our records, have a nice sail”.  Huh? Why do WE have to answer the questions again and AGAIN.  Did we get them wrong the first time?

Anyway, our stay in Port Essington is again, just lovely.  The cliffs showing their colours at sundown and again, we wait out the forecast strong winds with ‘Mirage’.  Chris and Nancy from ‘Amulet’ cruisers we met in Mooloolaba in March sail in to join us in the bay.  A dinghy safari up a nearby river is organised one morning and we set off with a small amount of trepidation into crocodile country to see what we can see.  You will see what we saw from the photo here and the trip was a delight made better by the skipper catching a lovely Barramundi for tea.  

 Up the river

 The skipper's Barra

On our return we decide that a beach meeting is required that afternoon and while enjoying the sinking sun we spy a set of eyes, a nose and ridges along a tail just hanging about off the shore.  The same set of eyes, nose and scales were sunning themselves on the shore a bit earlier and we thought perhaps he had moved on but no.  Hmm, might be a good idea to get to the mother ships before sundown and while the skipper takes to the dinghy and chases the crocodile a bit further out, we all pack up and board the dinghies for a quick trip back to the yachts.  Our reptilian visitor is inquisitive and stays around for at least 20 minutes eyeing each boat off to see if anything is edible.  

Colourful cliffs and a sinking sun through a smoke-filled sky

The winds ease and we depart Port Essington for the final leg into Darwin with one overnight anchorage stop at Alcaro Bay at Cape Don.  Well, almost one night, we put the anchor down about tea time and to catch the best tides, which race into Darwin, we up anchor just after midnight and have a delightful sail through Van Diemen Gulf and Van Diemen Gulf into Darwin.  Anchors down at 1630 hrs.  Yahoo, we are finally here. 

Several other yachts in the rally have already arrived and we cruise through them to find a suitable anchorage.  Unfortunately Fannie Bay, Darwin shoals rapidly to the shore and with up to 7 metre tides at times we have to anchor a long way out to ensure we have enough depth making it necessary to put the larger outboard on the dinghy to make the trip a bit quicker.  The Sailing club is very accommodating and we meet the first of the Sail Indonesia personnel who inform us of the Duty Free, Customs and sailing requirements for the trip to Indonesia.  It’s getting close now, very exciting. 

May 2010 - Cooktown to Cape York and Seisia

We had two attempts at leaving Cooktown.  Our companions on ‘Sunray II’ left around half an hour earlier than us and just as we started our engine and prepared to lift the anchor, they radioed that they were coming back in as the conditions were awful.  The wind had increased and the waves and swell made sailing miserable.  So, off with ‘Henry’ (our engine is a Ford) and instead we decided to explore the Capt. James Cook Museum in the town centre.  A beautiful building built from bricks brought in from Brisbane.  But you know museums?  A little bit of a good thing lasts for ages.  A bit of shopping, a drink at the corner pub, a stroll through the park on way back to boat – and that’s about the extent of our Cooktown tour.  Except, having hoisted our dinghy and lashed it to the davits, the skipper discovered the absence of his mobile phone.  After ringing it a few times, it was answered with, ‘Hi, Tim at the Top Pub’.  Release and lower the dinghy, motor ashore for another walk, return and hoist the dinghy again, third time in a day.

Morning at Cooktown

 Cook's Museum

An early start next morning gave us encouragement that we may have a head start on the nasty wind, but we were wrong.  Although slightly better than the previous morning (don’t think I believe that) the conditions were again, awful.  Thankfully once we rounded Cape Bedford a slightly better sea was encountered but we did still maintain a speedy 8 knots all day and made record time to Lizard Island.  Lizard Island is where Capt Cook climbed to the highest peak (358mtrs) to view a safe passage through the outer Barrier reef after having to repair his ship in Cooktown.  You can climb the peak – CLIMB being the key word here.  Three brave souls (skipper, crew and Joanne from ‘Sunray II’) took on the trek the next morning.  We made it to the top for the spectacular views, wrote in the visitor’s book, took a breather and descended (although the crew would have summoned a helicopter for the return trip if she had the power) and it only took us four hours!  Panadol works wonders.

Rough trip for Sunray II (obviously we were out there too!)
 

Lizard Island climb. Worth the effort? Absolutely.

There are three in our little convoy now as a lone sailor, who hasn’t ever sailed before, sold up the farm, bought a yacht, sailed out of the Gold Coast and turned left.  Brave fellow.  We met ‘Mirage III’ at Hope Island and he has been with us (give or take a day) to now.  He is also on the Rally and thus makes up our sailing trio. 

So, we depart Lizard Island and head for Ninian Bay on a beautiful sunny morning, good breeze, sea behaving itself, nice!  Do you hear a plane?  Heck that was low!  Customs swoop out over the yachts making their way north from Lizard Island, swooping low enough to see our registration and names and then call us on the radio to ask all the relevant questions (much to the annoyance of the skipper).  Big brother is watching

Ninian Bay is picturesque and totally isolated and we anchor here only as an overnight stop en-route to Flinders Island north of Bathurst Bay.  I know I keep saying how lovely the anchorages are, but really, they are.  This end of the country is really worth seeing and the islands are something you would expect to see in movies. 

Next stop is the Flinders Island group.  This group of islands is approached after crossing Bathurst Bay, in itself spectacular for the mountains of boulders lining one side of Cape Melville.  These boulders are piled on top of one another and reach several hundred metres high.  The Flinders island group warrants more investigation and we are a bit disappointed that we have only one night here.  Skipper and crew go over to have a closer look at some dolphins swimming through the channel at Flinders Island before meeting other cruisers on the beach for a chat.

Boulders at Cape Melville

 Rocky outcrop off the Cape

Dolphins up close.

The next anchorage is Morris Island.  Here is one of your typical ‘movie-type’ island anchorages and 7 of us drop the anchor here this night.  The island has a large reef off the southern tip and we all crowd around the northern end beach for some cover from the waves overnight.  Very pleasant.  Crew had to take a trip up the mast as the skipper inadvertently let go of a halyard and it went right to the top of the mast (as they have a habit of doing when not tied off)!  Good view up here – pity I didn’t want to let go of the mast to get some good photos.  Aargh!

Anchors down for the day

Dawn sees all 7 yachts up-anchor and head for Portland Roads – most of these day trips take – well - most of the day and because we like to be in and anchored before tea time we tend to leave early to ensure a daylight anchorage at the west end of the day and so we all arrive around the same time in pretty Portland Roads.  Portland Roads is an outpost of civilisation east of Iron Range.  The only convenience here is a public pay phone and the road into Iron Range.  However, Portland Roads is another idyllic location and many fishing trawlers take refuge during the day to sleep in the quiet bay. 

 

Isolated Portland Roads

 

The next day we depart with a few other yachts and make our way to Margaret Bay around Cape Grenville.  On the way we pass some very expansive reefs, the colours amazing during low tide and thankfully well noted on our charts.  The shipping channel in this area is quite narrow if you are a 600ft container ship and we are asked to move over a bit to allow the ship room to manoeuvre around the channel and reefs.  All very polite and we all oblige – none of us want to be run over.

Passing Moody Reef

Margaret Bay has a crocodile infested creek emptying into it and the three boys decide that fish are to be caught (and crocodiles if they are not careful).  The 2 girls on the other hand, sit quietly in the shade on the beach discussing important issues awaiting the great white hunters’ return – empty handed.  Sausages for tea then?  Oh well they had a good day.  The next day we make the walk across the cape through the scrub, muddy sand, rocks and mangroves (what was that movement in the mud!?) to the other side that we have been told of by previous cruisers.  “Follow the blue path” we’re told.  OK, so that’s what that blue fender was doing hanging in the tree – and the blue thong. uh huh.  Finding bits of blue debris hung and strewn in Hansel and Gretel-style we trek for around an hour to the other side of the cape and into Indian Bay.  (Looks a bit like the side we just came from really) and back again.  We feel a bit like the Leyland Brothers – no we don’t, we’re hot and sweating and wiping off ants and bugs and if anyone mentions leeches again I’ll scream.  We love bush walks.  

This ‘blue’ ice-cream container with snoopy in it has been commandeered by an anthill. 

Another marker - cannibals?

Last minute fishing attempts trolling in the dinghy result in the skipper losing his entire rig – trace, lure, hook, sinker.  There is something BIG down there.  Suddenly our large, stable dinghy is very small.  Back to the mother ship thanks.  Here news reaches us of the arrival of a new granddaughter – welcome Shayla Indiana Smith, congratulations Mum and Dad, gotta be happy with 2 boys and a girl. 

We cross Margaret Bay to round the next cape into Shelburne Bay for the night and to make the following day’s trek to Cape York a little bit easier cutting off a couple of hours sail.  At 4:30 am next morning we are all underway to the top of Australia and have light to moderate winds most of the day only easing late in the afternoon requiring the ‘iron sail’ (Henry the engine) to be used as we approach Cape York around 5:30pm. 

Yahoo, we made it, the top of Australia!  Well done captain and crew.  This place trumps all the islands, it’s just the most spectacular part of the mainland and our camera just doesn’t do it justice.

 Here we are, the Northern-most tip of mainland Australia

 Bluestone, Mirage III & Sunray II at Cape York

Of course, we all go ashore and walk to the edge of the “northern most part of mainland Australia” to place our stone on the cairn and have our photos taken.  Skipper and I also take our dinghy and cruise around the tip – just to say we cruised right past the tip – the passage being a tad shallow and narrow for Bluestone to navigate in close (skipper is paranoid).  Here’s a strange thing, we are at the end of the mainland, totally isolated from civilisation and there are more people here than on the main street of Cooktown.  3 or 4, 4wd vehicles have made the trek and camp on the beach and the tour guide from Seisia Tourist Park at Bamaga is here with a bus-load of passengers.  The most people we have seen in one spot since leaving Port Douglas two weeks ago! 

Bluestone spends a couple of days just rocking gently in the bay and taking in the beautiful surrounds.  We can see Thursday Island group on the horizon and many large ships traverse the channel between Cape York and Mt Adolphus Island on their way further north.  We will now turn left and navigate the Gulf of Carpentaria departing from Seisia.  Seisia is the town that supports the Bamaga Aboriginal community and is a small port for transporting goods to Thursday Island.  It consists of a supermarket, petrol station and caravan park but the streets and parks are very nicely kept and the supermarket quite well stocked.

How to advertise your supermarket

Seisia anchorage