Monday, August 18, 2008
Headed towards SE Asia
Friday, August 8, 2008
Torres Strait to Darwin
Currently in Darwin, which is like being back in America. Enough said.
The Torres Strait was ok. I used Rennel and the Pilot Anchorage on the exit for rest. This whole area has an exotic feel as the water is so shallow. I took the long way into Darwin and was becalmed for a couple of days. At one point I anchored close to ten miles away from land in about 75 feet of water!
Video one is of Melis. If you look through my Flickr album, you can see Melis with the original owner, Arslan in French Polynesia. Melis was one of the first boats I hung out with upon my arrival in the Marquesas. When I saw Melis in the Royal Papua Yacht Club without the Turkish Flag, I knew Arslan gave up on his single handed circumnavigation ambition. I talked to the new owners and apparently he sold real cheap. In other news, I heard that Oden, the young Norwegian sailing the 22 footer has given up. There was a statement on his website. The story I got was that he no longer had crew and would have had to continue from New Zealand alone. Single handling can be a grind. Right now I am thinking of how to make the upcoming passages easier so I continue to enjoy this instead of it becoming only a challenge. Might have to dip into SE Asia to break things up.
Video two is hanging out with some Australian cruisers aboard their very nice cat - Highway Star. We went day sailing in Pt. Moresby harbor.
Video three is the experience of how the first world keeps out everyone else.
Video four is the requisite dolphin scene.
Video five is the aftermath of having to fish the gennaker out of the water at 2am. I broke my old rule of never having the thing up at night. At least during the day you can figure out what went wrong.
Video six is of my first shark
Last video is of the entry into Darwin