Cairns to Darwin passage

From leaving Cairns, Queensland to Darwin, Northern Territory it has been a varied trip and as I type this about 50 nautical miles out from Darwin we are sat in 2 knots of wind, flat seas, amazing sunshine without a cloud in the sky but it hasn't always been like this. Initially for the first couple of days out of Cairns it was very lumpy, cold and windy, a complete contrast to now. For the first few hundred miles coming up the coast from Cairns pilotage is good fun and keeps you on your toes as it is necessary to weave through channels in the reef some of which are shared with cargo ships and fishing boats which at times can get quite skinny with breaking waves over a reef a few metres out to one side and a 290 metre ship to the other. Further up the coast towards the most northern point of Australia the earth starts to change into a more deep red colour, there are a lot more aboriginal settlements and 4x4s along tracks and beaches for the experience. We have caught a massive fish that was about 5ft6 and over 50kgs with big teeth and generally dangerous looking but we have no idea what it is! Also reeled in has been a blue tuna which we consumed in no time at all. There have been many sightings of giant sea turtles and also some very big sea snakes out in the Torres Straits and Van Dieman Gulf, where we are now. We have gone past about four other Oysters now that the wind has dropped out through are careful selection of sails (the big cruising chute) and now the wind has gone almost altogether being on a larger boat pays dividends by having a higher cruising speed and range under motor. This is now the final stint into Darwin and we are hot on the heels of Babe. Lets see who gets in first.

Back with the pack

The sail from the Whitsunday islands to cairns was a welcome break after the race week. This part of Australia is really where you can see a change in the coast beginning to happen and ports becoming more few and far between. The other change was in the weather and the first time for a while that the waterproofs and boots came out for warmth and dryness as the wind built and with it the seas which occasionally landed in the cockpit of the boat, under headsail alone we made some serious progress putting us in Cairns in no time at all. Always a welcoming sight are our friends from the Oyster World Rally fleet and some of the boats remained in port when we arrived, others had already left for Darwin. Not much seemed to have changed in Cairns since my last visit although it was nice to sit still for a few days in civilisation whilst we worked on Proteus giving her some tlc including a new screen at the starboard cockpit pedestal. We did pick up a Holden Commodore as a hire car not just because of its big engine and rear wheel drive but to go up the mountains and into the Table lands. In one day I saw platypus, ostrich, kangaroos, a tortoise, a tank, v2 flying bomb and a Morris Minor (a rare sight in oz). Time again to make a move we traditionally were the last to leave port.

Hamilton Island Race Week

Now this is one of the big ones on the calendar. In a few days leading up to the start of the race week and the return of Tim and Bryony, jack and myself have been super busy transforming proteus from a luxury cruising yacht to a slick racing machine (you can take that last part slightly loosely but we've definitely made a marked improvement). Hamilton Island Race Week pulls in some serious boats with the likes of Wild Oats, Bob Oatley's 90 footer, a lot of TP52s and various other racers down through cruisers and classics with an overall entry list of 150 plus boats. Proteus is in the cruising division 1 along side some other racy metal that I wonder what is doing in the same class as us but unphased and in very light airs, sometimes starting races in 2 knots of wind we went for it with the permanent core crew and a couple of extras including Tammy who was recommended to me by the marina manager and Anthony who is the publisher and director of Ocean magazine which I have read a few times back on the other side of the globe. The whole team pulled together amazingly well and made some good tactical calls with the help of some local knowledge combined with our many thousands of miles of experience and managed to gently caress Proteus and her large 50 ton weight forward with some constant and precise trimming of sails through the water and the race fleet to bring in some good results whilst surrounded by the picturesque Whitsunday islands. The conclusion was a few trophies for the days racing and an overall 2nd place. For such a big completion as HIRW this is an incredible result and a credit to the crew and also to the boat. Now back to cruising and on to catch up with the rest of the oyster fleet