Monday 24th Sept07
Arrived in Cocos Keeling - a real tropical paradise with white sand beaches, good snorkelling, reef sharks & dolphins, palm trees galore... but what a rough journey over the last day getting here. So much for calming down yesterday afternoon - the wind got up to around 25kn consistently! The Indian Ocean certainly has big seas! And I'm expecting the next leg to be even tougher - nearly 2,000mls to Rodriguez, near Mauritius, with even stronger winds and bigger seas... I'm keeping my fingers crossed it won't be too bad when I leave at the weekend!

Very nice of two cruisers here in the anchorage at Direction Island to come out to meet me in the windy conditions and guide me in around the reef in the far-from-calm lagoon! A vital port-hand marker buoy was missing off the end of a reef, there are lots of isolated coral heads & shallow patches & the sun was not shining, so their help was most appreciated!

'Barbie tomorrow' I was told..

Sunday 23rd Sept '07

Things have calmed down a touch today - not so much evidence of seas heaping up with the S or SW swell, just the SE wind-swell, although that's often up to 3m, but not so much this evening ...only hit very occasionally with a bigger one!

The weather seemed at first today to be repeating a pattern of the past few days - increasing heavy cloud, then a shower or two ... but it decided, by early afternoon, to cheer up & the grey clouds disappeared - just 'tradewind clouds' later ... and a fair sunset... lots of stars & a lovely bright moon tonight.

I intended making dinner yesterday around 8pm.... but on first going up to take in a reef, with our speed up in somewhat increased wind, I was amazed to find I was surrounded by bright lights... an Indonesian fishing fleet of about a dozen boats had come to visit...!! They were well-spaced out, a mile or more apart, but several were right on or near my path, so I had to spend quite a time in the cockpit until the very last one was safely well astern.... took nearly two hours, and dinner was very late!! NO AIS signals nor, in most cases, any radar signal either..! Also only bright white lights, no nav lights to help sort out from a distance what they were doing.. At least they seemed to be keeping well out of my way!

During the night, the usual small flying fish met their end on deck... also two larger ones - so I decided to try makng 'ceviche' from them - worked out fine, so made a very good lunch with my last, nicely-ripened avocado. I used a filleting knife to get two nice, de-boned fillets from each fish - even managed to cut off skin without too much problem... Tonight, had pasta&sauce I didn't have last night (changed menu to frankfurters &potatoes last night) with mango for dessert - trying to finish before Cocos, in case Aussies take mangoes away... gather they've a fruit-fly worry on Cocos... just two more mangoes left now.

I'm hoping for another nice day, like this afternoon, tomorrow, expecting to make Cocos around, or soon after, midday - perfect for a reef entry!!

At noon today, 24hr distance was a very ordinary 156 ml (unlike yesterday's 181 ml!) with 165ml to go to Cocos Keeling.

Sat 22nd Sept

Southerly swell makes for a very lumpy sea with the fair-sized SE windswell... and a VERY bumpy ride at times....!! Nearly lost all this morning's coffee.. and a quesadilla at lunchtime... Coffee jumped off stove top & started emptying out all over the place (despite using THREE pan-holders to hold it in place). I rescued quite a bit & poured it into a mug with a closed top - put that somewhere 'safe' -IT also managed to 'jump up' with the bumpy seas & started spilling all over again - luckily into empty washing up bowl... so ended up finally holding what was left tightly in my hand & DRINKING it!! We're constantly lurching all over the place...!! Freshly-made quesadilla jumped down from cockpit into saloon... warm cheese everywhere...

My SOG was over 8knots last night with over 7kn boatspeed ... As a result, 'Nereida' made her best ever noon-to-noon run (despite slowing down this morning!) ... 181ml!!! Current was helpful, of course, but even by log it was 168ml. I should make Cocos on Monday morning & will stay for snorkelling & relaxation for about 4 days before moving on ... so expect to leave again on 29th/30th.

Wind died down a bit this morning, after increasing with overnight showers - first rain I can remember for ages - but now back up.... let out 2nd reef midday, now doing 7.3 SOG with NO current advantage in SE4-5 (~17kn). I don't too much mind current diminishing, so long as doesn't turn against me!

More tiny flying fish on deck this morning .... usually a sign of rough seas overnight. Rare to get them during day - because they can see better, I wonder??

Have seen a few birds but not many... boobies and shearwaters, no tropic birds today, so far.

24hr noon-to-noon distance: An amazing 181 mls!! 321ml to go to Cocos Keeling.

16th Sept 07
Well, unfortunately, what with the wind being further aft once I'd changed course onto my rhumbline course for Cocos Keeling... and dropping even more overnight... I just had to motor or else do ~2.5 knots, which, being so close to possible offshore fishing boats, I didn't want to do. I preferred to try to get well away from land. But soon after sunrise, I put up pole, switched off engine & got sailing again - so very nice to be peaceful & just under sail, even though slow... 4.1kn boatspeed, 3.7kn
SOG! I used the desalinator to 'make' water (didn't get any in Benoa) while motoring - filled the tank full to overflowing. Gradually, our speed increased a little over the morning, but not by much... After looking at the grib weather files I downloaded around midday, I decided a change of course was needed to make better speed - we have been sailing about 50mls S of Java & the land is clearly affecting the wind strength & direction, so we are now heading more SW. The benefit is twofold - the
better wind angle gave us an immediate speed increase and we'll get to stronger winds within a day, I hope!

There is absolutely no point in my motoring from now on, whatever the wind does.... "Trudel", a German yacht which left Bali on Friday & who are less than 50mls ahead of me, spoke to me on the SSB radio this morning & said they'd got a fishing line wrapped tightly around their prop - they'd tried diving on it but, with only snorkel & mask, couldn't stay down long enough at any one time & so couldn't cut it loose - hence motoring is not possible for them (which makes entering reef anchorages, as at
Cocos Keeling, difficult if not dangerous). I have dive gear so we've agreed to head for Xmas Island to anchor long enough to dive on the prop to free it - & then continue straight on to Cocos Keeling without going ashore - hopefully the Aussies at Xmas Island will be understanding ...!!! I've sent an email to Aussie Customs with details & explaining the plan - taking the opportunity also to 'check in' with them for both Xmas Island & Cocos K just in case the 'inform us 96hr ahead' rule applies
as it does for 'mainland' Australia. (Their 'pro forma' was still on my computer from my Vanuatu/Cairns passage). I should be able to catch "Trudel" up by the time we get close to Xmas Island - which was very close to our rhumbline course to Cocos anyway, so this doesn't entail a big diversion/delay.

I gather that Xmas Island was spotted on Xmas Day 1643 by the "Royal Mary" but not claimed until 1888 - for its guano deposits - which will run out soon so they've opened up a big casino which is getting lots of custom from Asian gambling fanatics... so they've a good income now from tourism ... far better than the mining!

As usual, at the start of a long, well-provisioned passage, I'm spoilt for choice in the fruit & veg department... I have some nice avocados, tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, big mangos & lots of apples & tangerines.. and the bread I bought in Kuta is really nice too. I had papaya for breakfast, the choice being between that or pamplemousse - such a difficult life ...!

Midday distance (run by log) from start of journey was 111ml (not quite a 24hr run), with 475ml to go to anchorage at Flying Fish Cove, Xmas Island.

Wed 19Sept

Found a big flying fish in the cockpit as I went to let out reefs around 5am, with the wind having lessened (slightly calmer seas also). I'd found several really tiny flying fish on deck the previous day.

Tried to sail in to Flying Fish Cove on Christmas Island this afternoon... well before 'Trudel' arrived. (They saw me pass them last night at around 2am). Thought I'd better see if they could get in without motor - especially when I was told that anchoring was forbidden because of coral, and even more so when I saw the BIG (difficult) mooring buoys provided ... not meant for small yachts. I was able to moor up under motor to the only smaller buoy (on my 1st attempt - I was pleased!!) No way they could have done it under sail - either there was no wind, in lee of the nearby high tree-covered cliffs, or there were strong williwaws... So I spoke to Harbourmaster to explain their problem - he came back to me to say they had a volunteer rescue boat which was about to go on the water ... and could help them when they came in ... which they did a couple of hours later - they were given a tow and tied to a buoy near me.
We had to clear in with customs & quarantine ...forms galore!... and later they kindly had me over for dinner.... got to bed rather late....!

Thurs 20Sept

Fuel may be OK in starboard tank - will try cleaning sight glass at Cocos and bleeding again - I may not have got so much seawater in as I'd feared.... but won't use it for time being....

Well, 'Trudel' now has a freed prop & shaft.... Had a VERY late sleep-in this morning (10.30a.m.!) and then a walk/look around onshore with Joerg who booked a taxi to take us all to the resort hotel in the SE of the island for dinner tonight - very nice of them to treat me again. I lent Sylvalie my divegear to dive on the prop to free it & she did fine. Cut away a load of very fine netting with some thick twine + lead wts - none of the really thick monofilament I'd been expecting.

I suddenly remembered that I'd figured on 3 days to sail to Cocos from here, assuming that speed is same as coming here, so best to leave very early Friday morning & then should arrive morning (or later, if a bit slower) at Cocos, so leaving this afternoon from here was not a good idea. Meant a much more relaxed day.... Have got Clearance to Cocos.... more officialdom in Oz!!

Went for a snorkel from boat to shore, over reef - amazing variety of hard corals, with the most enormous fans I've ever seen, an enormous trunkfish and lots of beautiful surgeon fish, lovely yellow butterfly fish etc etc - good variety with, as usual, several kinds I've not seen before. I'm looking forward to 2-3 days of snorkelling/diving at Cocos Keeling in sheltered waters - quite a swell came in here this afternoon and a strong onshore wind + clouds - land heating effect, I presume.

Dinner over at resort went well - good food but only two others in the dining room!! Clearly business is down. Casino has been closed for two years but they're hoping that change of govt after elections in October will change policy so Casino will be able to re-open, obviously then giving more business!

On way back tonight saw several enormous coconut crabs - got out to photograph one...

Birdlife here is pretty good, as well as crablife! (Not seen any marching red crabs as yet - although if rainy season starts early, they'll start off - first downpour brings out the males, next the females... they have "Crab Crossing - open/closed" roadsigns!!) I'd forgotten that tropic birds are also Bosun Birds - they have a yellow version of the white-tailed tropic bird here which is specific to Xmas Island.

There I was checking around, when I spotted that the starb'd diesel filler cap looked a bit proud of the deck... it was loose!... & seawater has been sloshing around it with the big seas we've been shipping occasionally. You can imagine my thoughts/curses!!
Went to look in sight-glasses on filters - inside the one on starb'd tank, it looked very murky whereas the one on the port tank had nice clear fuel in it - but was one-third full of dark water - I turned the screw & drained that out, wondering where it had all come from. Then drained the starb'd glass... I let out quite a bit but looks as though it's a mix of fuel with some water - I wonder if seawater has formed an emulsion of sorts with the diesel, hence the murky look. Think I'll leave it for the night & let it settle & have another go at it in the morning.
My worry then was ... what if engine doesn't start tomorrow when I want it for anchoring - would be ironic if I go to Xmas Island to help out "Trudel' ... and then end up myself with a major engine problem!! So I switched over to port tank, with OK fuel (I hope!!) and ran the generator, theory being that if it ran OK for a couple of hours (charging batteries & running fridge at same time!), then I should be OK to run main engine on same fuel line tomorrow... I'm keeping my fingers crossed tightly, hoping I've caught it in time!!

Today has been great sailing - think I've made Nereida's best 24hr midday distance to date - 172n.ml. by log (167 by GPS), doing ~7.5kn & well over 8kn when surfing...! Decided at midday that I'd better reef down! ... wind was increasing... has been SE5/6 all day. Now have full genoa & 2 reefs in main - but still doing ~7.2 kn - so should get to Xmas Island early afternoon.

By this morning at 0900, I'd cut down my distance behind 'Trudel' from 43ml yesterday to just 19ml! (Quite likely to get there first, at this rate, despite leaving a day later!)

I was sitting in the aft cabin this morning reading, when BANG! - we got really hit by a wave ... and WHOOSH!... a load of water came in via locked-in-vent-position hatch - I was furious - how could I be so stupid..??? (Easy!!) I was lucky the computer didn't get wet! Took ages to mop it all up and saltwater damp things aren't going to dry so easily...

It's been suggested that the steering cable may be over-tensioned... I've been thinking the wheel seems a bit stiff (even checked several times to make sure lock was off) so maybe I'll try to ease off a little on the tension tomorrow when I'm stopped.

Mike & Bryan, of Nightwinds, my knowledgeable 'website guys', have worked their usual magic on the website and put in a link to the TV and radio interviews I had in Cairns on making landfall there in July, after completing my Pacific crossing - go see!

Mon 17th Sept
We're finally making good speed - 7-7.5kn in around 18kn ESE/SE wind, broad reaching with not much current against - unlike earlier today (& overnight) - today's daily run to midday was ony about 120ml but should be a lot better tomorrow if this wind keeps up as forecast. Seas are a bit rough but not too bad - SE swell of ~1.5-2m (4-5sec period) and a bigger, much longer S swell, all with choppy waves on top. Of course, it's when 'Nereida' happens to be where the two swells meet that life gets really interesting, in the resulting heaped up seas... as happens fairly regularly! I'm having to be very careful moving around and I've closed most of the hatches!!

Cloud seemed to build up this afternoon, but with nightfall seems to have disappeared - just lots of bright stars, to match the twinkling phosphorescent lights in the sea as we rush through the water - like diamonds sparkling... beautiful.

I'm hoping we don't meet up with any more fishing strobe lights again tonight .. saw two lots off to starb'd last night, well over 60 mls from the Java S coast (worrying! - what if I'd ploughed straight into the nets/pots...?) and this morning, as I was busy taking down the pole (we'd been goosewinged overnight), I saw a small, open, flimsy fishing boat ... amazing to be so far out in these big, rough seas.

I had a look at the new steering cable under the aft bunk this afternoon. It has been squeaking, so has been worrying me that it might be wearing again. The problem turned out to be at the turning blocks (with newly-made bushing) taking cable from engine compartment to steering quadrant. I put lots of grease between moving parts where I could and then sprayed thick lubricating film into crevices between the two moving blocks and their spindle - seems to have done the trick!

I've also been looking to see what weather info I can get for approach to S. Africa (& the infamous Aghulas current!). Seems radio weather fax is no longer available, although I shall try previous frequencies/times just in case, but there is a daily Ham Radio Net (which I heard tonight) where weather info is relayed - so I shall email to introduce myself, ready for when I get to within range...

Cheers,
Jeanne
"Nereida", rushing along in the dark under a crescent moon.... under 295ml to Flying Fish Cove, Xmas Island, at 10pm LT Monday.

Much as I enjoyed Bali, it's really nice to be sailing again....albeit rather slowly, as I write this - 3.7kn SOG, 4kn boatspd, wind ESE 3-4 (10-12kn). Soon after leaving Bali Marina, around 1.30pm LT, I was beam reaching at 6 kn, helped by well over a knot of current, but when I changed course around the SE peninsula, our speed dropped - we're now broad reaching within sight of the coast still.
It's close to sunset, so I'll keep sailing for time being, although if our speed drops right down, as it might well do this close to land, I'll start up the motor & motor-sail for a bit overnight. Hopefully, we'll stay ambling at around 4 knots under sail alone. Light winds are forecast for the first day or so but there should be reasonable Trades once I get further west - my rhumbline course is just under 260T. The moon will be waxing as I sail - so it'll be lighting my way more and more over the next few days - always nice!

It has been very nice to be back among a cruising community for a change (last was in Vanuatu). It's always enjoyable chatting to other friendly 'yachties' about their cruising experiences & there's always something to be learned from that! Several helped me away from the marina today - I was docked beside a very long boat with an enormous bowsprit & threatening to get blown onto that as I left - but with helping hands on several lines as I started away from the dock, all went well.

In my week in Bali. I managed to see quite a bit, exploring a little of Kuta and Sanur on foot, as well as taking a longer tour around the island by taxi (VERY cheap in Bali!) on both Wed & Thurs. I saw the craft centre of Ubbud, renowned for its lovely wood carvings, several temples and palaces, the monkey sanctuary (lots of very twee babies!), a Batik centre (I was very tempted to buy some beautifully patterned silk!), temple dancing at sunset with an accompaniment of a large chorus of men (no orchestra) and generally got to see a lot of the lovely & fascinating countryside and towns. Not being familiar with the Hindu way of life, it was very interesting to get to know & understand a little about that religion - an integral part of everyday life in Bali.

Sun has now set, lights are appearing onshore, speed still around 4knots... We're sailing very gently in a fairly calm sea towards a crescent moon hanging high up above the remains of the sunset - looks as though the night will be clear and dark tonight - good for stargazing...

Sun 9th Sept '07

Arrived safely in Bali Marina (Benoa) on Sat morning after, yet again, struggling against strong S-going current on approach - 4.4kn for third time - all N-S channels between islands here get a really strong tidal flow, especially at springs, of course.

Hoping to explore a little before I move on next weekend... in meantime, trying out trysail today, ready for strong winds in Indian Ocean.... Plenty of other boat jobs to keep me busy. Have to make sure I'm ready for what will be a long crossing, even with stops at islands on the way.

Balinese welcome - Sat8thSept07
Originally uploaded by svNereida

Couldn't resist showing this photo of Balinese girls on a big boat next to Bali Marina, Benoa, just after I arrived on Saturday!
 

Fri7thSept07
8am: What a great sail in bright sun I'm having just now....beam reaching at 6.5 kn in 15 kn of wind with slightly reefed genoa! Changed course slightly to mke for nearest Indonesian island to north of me shortly after sunrise: Pulau Sumbawa (lovely name!) Rhumbline course to Bali was threatening arrival in dark unless I slowed down anyway, so I thought I'd take a peek at a couple of other islands on the way, thereby lengthening passage a touch -in theory, at least! Actually making excellent speed now, so may yet have to reef down overnight... but since I'm having to cut out hoped-for sail to Lombok from Bali (due to lack of time...!!), I thought I might as well see something since my route was passing pretty close anyway. 

Just threw overboard yesterday's flying fish which I'd found on deck in the morning ... had intended doing it as 'ceviche' but got too busy with preventer project & other things.

2.45pm Fri: Still having a lovely sail. Passing S end of Selat Alas (channel between Lombok and Sumbawa) - clearly good S-going current affecting us - making 6.6kn boatspeed but only 4.4kn SOG. Wind up to just under 20 kn, sea's a bit rough but not bad, occasional bit of surfing in biggish wave (8.3kn just seen!).

Just got email from Bali Marina: ... "you may have to anchor because the marina is still full at this time and we are trying to find a space for you."!! (Probably they didn't like to say 'no', so instead they said what they know you want to hear!!) Oh well, no big deal...

Hearing occasional English voice on VHF.

4.30pm: Well, it's always nice when things calm down after some excitement!! TEATIME!! - & I feel I deserve lots of Tim Tams (Australian yummee choc biscuits.... )!!

I needed to gybe the main but realized the wind was rather strong for the full canvas that was up - so thought I'd better reef first. Not too easy when almost dead downwind... but even worse when the wind gets up to around 25kn - as it did.... I'd just about got the first reef in when the knot came undone..... Well, I'd tied the new line in, so no-one to blame but myself - had thought it was rather slippery rope at the time - so should have made doubly sure of my knotting!! Fortunately, since wind was up so much, partly-reefed sail more-or-less stayed put, held against lazyjack lines, so hurriedly went for 2nd reef - took a time, but eventually got it in OK.
I reckon that was all due to an 'acceleration'/'cape' effect - there were the high mountains, which I'd seen from afar, on the one island (Sumbawa) and the channel between the two islands both enhancing direction & strength of already quite strong wind - should have taken rough water as a warning to reef far earlier, when it would have been easier (but was just thinking 'wind over current'!). Always so easy, when running, to ignore building wind!! Problems come when you want to manoeuvre... now
it's still around 20kn - but far, far calmer. Just took pole down since about to change course more to port, so no longer needed.

Sat 8th Sept07 7am All fine - approaching Benoa (Bali) now in pre-light of dawn. Had to start motor for final approach - current in channels between islands here far too strong - finding 4.4 kn of S-going current yet again, even now... 2.5kn SOG!

Should arrive in marina (or anchored off!) within a couple of hours or so, current permitting!!

More anon!

Wed5thSept07

We'd been sailing by the lee most of the night - more or less on a run but not enough to stop mains'l from trying to back regularly in the swell, despite preventer & being as far for'd as it'll go. I'd been trying to ignore it but finally just had to get up to take it over to port side where it would behave better. Was dark (~5am) but some moonlight, so all fine a little later and I sat out in the cockpit stargazing, waiting to see what effect that had on our speed - genoa was poled out on port
side & I was hoping to leave it until daylight .... but, no - it needed to be changed over as well, naturally ... 6.10am Still dark but hint of light in the east... I furled genoa, lowered pole, & then tried to goosewing the genoa (without pole) ...but it kept collapsing around inner & main forestay (threatening a 'wrap'!).... no good, so needed to raise pole on starb'd side ... we're now rolling around in a biggish NE swell ... I left genoa out while got I pole over, past inner forestay & connected
up lines (sounds so simple when you say it fast!) - genoa still out, flapping & jerking sheets. Then went to furl it in .... furling line went bar taut almost immediately..... found the line had got itself in a twist around forestay under drum.... So now, furling line had to be brought for'd to undo mess & then led back again (genoa still jerking/flapping etc!) before I could finally furl in genoa, attach sheet to pole, raise/position pole & unfurl genoa ....!!
But it's now 7am (just before sunrise!) & I've acquired several bruises & bashed a few ribs falling onto the lifelines while manoevring pole (painful!)... Oh well, could be worse...! At least Nereida's sailing more happily. Wind now 10-11 knots. Time to check in with 'Sheila' Net on 8161kHz in Australia.

11am Wed - wind dropped to 6-7 kn - motoring... grrr!!

Later: Predictably, wind DID get back into SE - by early afternoon, in fact, so had to change pole back again... but after that made excellent speed under sail alone - beautiful afternoon's sail - so peaceful & gentle - uncomforable swell lay down completely. Think it had found gap between end of Timor & next island to W but then we passed that channel. Sat in cockpit and read in shade of sails. All very pleasant & a nice change....
Was helped along by a 1.5kn fair current - pity this didn't all happen sooner or I'd have got in to Benoa by Friday easily. As it is, I'm most probably now going to have to slow down for daylight arrival on Sat morning!! (Made excellent 7.0-8.0 SOG for a time, but kept varying..)
Passing 45mls to S of Sumba island, then we'll be passing S of Sumbawa, then Lombok & finally Bali...

Thurs6thSept

5pm Had a good night's sleep - no AIS alarm going off & I think I'm far enough away from land not to be bothered by locals - certainly seen none until half an hour ago when I noticed a small white boat heading other way on N horizon as I sipped my tea.
Another very pleasant sailing day ... until now, when started motor. Batteries down a bit anyway and wind died down to ~5-6kn from astern, boatspeed 2-3kn. Hopefully wind will pick up again soon - shan't stay under motor for too long since I'm well ahead on getting to Benoa by first light Sat - just need average of 5.5kn or less to arrive early morning. Been getting SE swell again - on port quarter, so knocks us about a bit sometimes.
Played around with preventer today - occurred to me that I have unused clutches on each side which I could make use of with a length of line to block on quarter, hence to winch, with shackle at other end of (shortish) line, ready to take remaining section of preventer which leads to bow cleat & then aft to boom (as previously). Measured & re-measured umpteen times before cutting off length of line from spinnaker downhaul which was WAY too long - provides just enough line for both sides now - have
some whipping to do before I use it. Good to have spare blocks & shackles on board to make such projects feasible! We'll see how it works out... will continue with it tomorrow.
Reading Lisa Clayton's book about her singlehanded non-stop antipodal voyage around - interesting reading - she had a lot of people helping & supporting her.
6.45pm Sitting in cockpit with tea, reading & waiting for sunset....sky completely clear.. green flash?? 4knots SE wind - hope it picks up again soon.....

24hr distance run to midday Wednesday was 125 n.ml. & Thursday was 141 n.ml. Distance to go (Thursday midday) to Benoa Hbr entrance is 233 n.ml.

0900 Just been calculating average speed needed for daylight landfall in Benoa hbr.. need 5-5.5kn for Saturday 8th (& would need 6.5 kn for Friday just before dark - unlikely in these light winds!!) About to put some diesel into tank from jerry cans.

1130 Poled out genoa earlier & just lowered staysail (of no use with wind abaft the beam - just flaps) - problem bagging it because so stiff (new) & removeable inner forestay fittings make things awkward. Need to change that & organize a bag that will fit over sail when hanked onto stay. Wind has been increasing a touch over the morning - now ESE3 (~10kn) but course is now 292T - & for remaining 500 mls to Bali. Wind not quite as strong as I'd like but have turned off motor for some peace & quiet
- lovely, gentle but slow sailing(3.5-4kn), under part-cloudy sky. Just saw small boat (Indonesian fishermen?) with bright blue sails passing a couple of miles off in opposite direction.

3pm Getting 'chute ready to hoist. 4.2 kn boatspeed at present... 3.45pm Well, I'm not convinced that was worth the effort!! But I think we may have gained 0.5kn... always good to see the red & white striped 'chute flying. At least I've now got all possible canvas deployed... & NO motor! Would be nice to sail the rest of the way if possible, it's so nice & peaceful. Boatspeed now 4.9kn in 10-11 kn true wind from dead astern.

Well, I managed one & a half spinnaker wraps!! Wind was so dead astern that we ended up sailing by the lee as our heading varied slightly - so much so that the 'chute was blanketed by the mains'l and ended up wrapped around the inner forestay - took a time & quite a bit of thought & effort to unwrap it. Initially, wondered if I was going to have to sail to Bali with it still wrapped, it looked so impossible to undo...!! Then, near sunset, it nearly happened again. Fortunately, I was on deck &
managed to prevent it from getting too badly wrapped - decided to take it down for the night to avoid further worries!! Need a 'net' to prevent it.

Beautiful clear starry sky and big spots of phosphorescence in the sea as we pass through. Amazing to see the Milky Way - looks just like a wide streak of misty cloud from N to S dotted with stars, ending near the Southern Cross.

24hr distance run to midday Tuesday was ~152 n.ml. by log (142 by GPS!) and distance to go to Benoa Hbr is ~500 n.ml. (I'm hoping for Saturday)

Hot & calm again today - 5-6 kn from SE...& grib files seem to indicate wind will continue very light for a couple more days yet, if not die more, before getting slightly stronger - expect just 10-12 kn as I close Indonesian islands. So I'm motor-sailing with maximum canvas ... apparent wind (4-5 kn!) makes us close-hauled so I decided to attach inner forestay & hank on the larger storm jib - looks great! Not sure if I've increased our speed at all but it was fun & informative doing it - sail is
almost brand new, having rarely been used up to now. Might be able to use it on Indian Ocean crossing soon.

Yesterday afternoon got busy .... I managed to run out of fuel...!! Stb'd tank fuel gauge was misleadingly optimistic & I thought I still had plenty of time in hand when engine stopped. I tried manual pumping - seemed to work initially, at least up to primary fuel filter but then had to stop to attach little electric pump into the fuel line to the lift pump ... Eventually all was fine but took a couple of hours of drifting around in the glassy calm sea. Luckily, current (1kn) was in right direction,
so most of drifting was roughly westward! I must obviously now fill tanks with spare fuel while the sea is relatively calm (there's a slight swell, but not much).... and keep an eye on hours/miles run on port tank since yesterday...! Should get at least 60hrs or 400mls, whichever comes sooner.

The good news today, apart from "Nereida" turning into a cutter from sloop, is that Jim Corenman, who's kindly been trying to help me with my radio problems, had me adjust some Airmail settings - so I'm now transmitting at maximum power recommended - I instantly connected into Brunei and also Manila - previously impossible - excellent news!! I've been reading sections of Jim's excellent 'Primer' - full of useful radio info, although I may have to wait to S. Africa to get anywhere with cutting down
interference.

Had AIS alarm go off yesterday night - big ship was headed East towards me & looked as though it might get rather close - we spoke on VHF, agreed to pass 'port to port' & all was fine.

I spent quite a time last night checking over timing of Indian Ocean passages to make sure I could still make S. Africa out of cyclone season - will be tight but looks OK. Lombok looks as though it's for the 'chop'!!

Have continued to organize boat more (put netting/basket up again over table in saloon for fruit) and must now go and chop up eggplant etc for ratatouille - it's so warm, soft vegetables out of fridge won't last much longer so must be cooked.

24hr distance run to midday Monday was ~140 n.ml. and distance to go to Benoa is ~640 n.ml.

Left Cullen Bay Marina lock at 0840 to start passage to Bali. Cullen Bay marina was a pleasant place with convenient chandlery, helpful staff and plenty of nightlife with lots of restaurants/cafes around - useful for wi-fi Internet connection also. No.4 bus in to town stops fairly close by. Main drawback was lack of food shops close by.

Despite supposed strong wind warnings, I'm writing this in a glassy calm sea - wind is all of 3knots from SE & I have had the 'iron horse' on since leaving! Only good thing about that is I can play music & switch on lights and fans to my heart's content! I've been busy cleaning brightwork below decks - aft cabin, galley & head are all sparkling and main cabin almost so... with calm conditions continuing, rest of boat should be spotless too, very soon. It always feels rather weird when it's so calm
out here with nothing else in sight - seems to emphasize the emptyness of the ocean.

Radio emailing is causing a problem again - I can't understand why voice transmissions are so good & strong, yet my Airmail program for emailing only transmits at less than half power...annoying since I have spent so much time this year trying to get my radio comms sorted out... yet again! I can, with difficulty, connect in OK to New Sth Wales, but not Brunei which is closer... most odd. I've been told to check for interference but that's not so easy under way solo - I must find a weak stn & then
turn all elecs OFF, check signal strength and one by one turn elecs back on... Got rather worried earlier when my laptop transformer died..... fortunately I found another which had played up previously but so far seems OK - if the transformer goes, that means the laptop is down & really puts an end to emailing both by SSB radio and via InmarsatC (satellite) so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Sat. afternoon, I had an Australian Coastwatch plane swoop low over me - I called them on VHF to ask if they'd seen any other sailing vessel headed for Bali - 'no'!

Had a nice tide pushing us for 6hrs (ebb) when we left, but when it turned we were losing ~1.5kn - made 8.2kn for a time but then it became 5.6kn!

Thought I'd try the pre-cooked lambshank, in sauce, that I got in Cairns, with potatoes & broccoli for dinner - it's very good - definitely to be recommended!

I've changed my ship's time back by half-an-hour from Darwin time (wich is GMT+8.5hr!) which roughly puts me in local time - simpler to be working in complete hours' difference from GMT.

Distance travelled over 24hrs to midday Sunday was 157ml by log (although from GPS positions it was only 144ml - shows effect of current on log reading), with 777 ml to go.

Thursday trip to Kakadu was very good - long day (5.30am - 9.30pm) but worth the effort. Just seeing the countryside we passed through was interesting and it was most impressive at the Ubirr Rock Art site - paintings were on & under rock faces on ancient sandstone 'outliers' (outcrops) close to vast wetland area with lots of different birds, plants & trees. Saw rock wallaby at Ubirr, lots of crocodiles & birds (including an big flock of large brolgas - they 'dance' in courtship) on the Yellow Water River ...and a dingo on way back! Those crocs definitely know they're 'topdogs'!! Weren't slightest bit concerned when our tourboat nudged right up close to them!!
I have been frantically busy with final preparations for leaving Saturday - 1st September - time moves on!! Lots to do but all done (Clearance, refuelling, provisioning, Bali visa, plus ABC radio interview Friday afternoon!)
Have booked 8am lock exit from marina, to catch ebb tide ....

Tuesday 28thAug07

Good news today was that I managed finally to mend water leak from connection below cold water tap in galley - access wasn't too easy & I was worried I wouldn't cope, so I'd been putting it off for some time. Turned out the fitting was cracked but I didn't discover that until I'd undone it & tried to re-make it .. ending up with a broken off fitting, part inside a metal piece & the other fixed firmly on the pipe... I borrowed a ginormous screwdriver from a boater nearby & hammered it inside the broken-off bit which then wasn't too difficult to remove (using vice(?) grips - marvelous invention!!) & then, fortunately, I had a replacement fitting, so after a bit of fret-saw use to remove remaining old bit from pipe and hot air heater to warm pipe end to persuade it to fit over end of new fitting - all ended up fine.... well almost... had to undo & do it all again with loads more PTFE tape because it leaked slightly on first putting together - but all good now... phew!!
Waited around all day for new steering cable to be fixed - nada!! After slightly(!) irate phonecall to firm which removed old one last Friday, have been promised 8am tomorrow... In meantime have cleaned chain and other bits ready for major greasing when new cable fixed in place. Sheave that caused problem is having a new bushing in hope it will stop movement - would be nice if new steering cable lasted longer than last one (Oct05-July07 isn't very long!).
Did some shopping after seeing Customs about Clearance for Friday. Will pick up Indonesian visa and see Customs again Friday morning, then fresh-food provisioning and then I'll go & fill up with duty-free diesel at midday. I'm hoping to do a visit to Kakadu on Thursday before leaving... if I can spare the time!
Cleaned boat during heat of afternoon - was lovely playing with water with the temp well over 30C (sorry to mention that to all those of you suffering bad weather in UK!!) - cockpit was filthy & drains quickly became blocked with gunge so that was an important pre-passage job to have done.
Replaced masthead lights (tricolour & anchor)the other day with LED bulbs - should help cut down power consumption. Was quite funny - I went up, fixed tricolour bulb in place & cursed because I thought red/green/white were facing wrong way... replaced old bulb, started back down mast... & then realized that, of course, I was facing stern of boat when climbing mast steps, not forward,.... so back up, to undo fitting and put in new LED bulb yet again... at least I'd only got part way down!
Lots of little jobs have been done here in Darwin and still some to be done.
Went to Fannie Bay for sunset another day - a very nice anchorage and sailing club venue and felt much more like a cruiser's place, unlike Cullen Bay Marina which is pleasant but very full of holiday-makers & tourists and fishing/tripper boats... not cruisers!
Darwin is clean & pleasant ... and has a few lovely public buildings and park areas but hardly feels historic!
More anon....
Photo shows broken steering cable (now replaced) discovered at anchor on Mt Adolphus Island, nr Cape York, before passage on to Darwin.

Just a nice photo of July dive on Barrier Reef from Cairns - with friendly Maori wrasse!
Originally uploaded by svNereida.

Couldn't resist showing this photo while I have good Internet access here in Darwin - the fish followed the photographer around like a pet dog...!! And it was just as friendly - I didn't feel the least threatened - I even stroked it!

Saturday
Soon after sunset yesterday, we passed 9 mls north of Cape Wessel, marking the end of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The lighthouse was clearly seen, flashing every 4 secs. Hopefully, the swell that has built up may gradually abate as we move into the lee of the chain of islands with C. Wessel at their northernmost point.

Yet again, today started grey & overcast, despite a lovely clear, starry sky around midnight, but it cleared up nicely by mid-morning, becoming a pleasant, sunny day of good enjoyable tradewind sailing. I'd left the genoa poled out overnight, but eventually had to take it down during the morning and we're now broad reaching at around 6-6.5 knots.

More sitting reading in the cockpit, after domestic duties seen to and yet another thoroughly unsuccessful couple of hours spent trying to connect in for weather & emails via the SSB radio - so frustrating! I managed a short connection last evening, long enough to post a 'blog' & see that messages were waiting, but then it gave up... & nothing since. Will try again around sunset today.. I might have also managed to post yesterday's position report with a fleeting connection this morning - but I'm
not sure.

Sunday
What a beautiful sunrise in a clear, clear sky...! We'd just changed course slightly to round Bramble Rocks - whoever named those must have known the Solent just north of Cowes...!! We're now headed to Cape Croker and will then continue to make regular course adjustments as we come around the Coburg Peninsula & then S between Melville Island & the peninsula towards Darwin, hoping to arrive tomorrow morning.
The wind died in the afternoon & what little there was backed to E & then NE... had to motor to be sure of a good arrival time, but hoping wind will get up later so we can sail overnight. 3 large dolphins came by in the vivid pale blue water (shallow all around here). Nice to see them, as always, but they didn't stay long.
Coburg Peninsula is very flat & low .... can just see it in the distance. Feels very remote here - have seen no sign of other life since leaving the Torres Strait - dolphins & occasional birds apart!
Later: The wind suddenly died more & swung to SSW (all of 3knots!) - dead ahead... so much for sailing! ... but the sunset was lovely (no green flash!).

Overnight & in to Monday:
It's pitch black outside, apart from millions of stars - no lights on either shore each side of this wide but full-of-shoals channel.... utterly dependent on my electronic charting & GPS for course-keeping- feels very uncomfortable.... Even staying awake all night to keep an eye on depth wouldn't help much... if it unexpectedly shoaled suddenly, I wouldn't be at all sure which way to head... Added to which, we're struggling to make 4 knots over the ground under motor - tide of nearly 3 knots against
us! It's going to be a long night...
Later: Actually, things turned out slightly better than I'd thought - there were the occasional lit, channel markers beside or on shoal areas - but they were few & far between and there was such a strong (foul) ebb current & almost no wind....Coming through the long Howard Channel between the Vernon Islands - 7.9kn boatspeed (motoring hard!), 2.4kn over the ground.... tried to go over to opposite side of channel in hope that the current would be less, but while that helped a bit, not much... good
thing the engine & steering are both working fine!! Wind is about 3 kn from astern!!

Well, the strong ebb tide kept up through to dawn but once out of the Howard Channel, its effect was far less. The day dawned sunny and eventually hot - made a nice change!!

I arranged to come in to the outer dock beside the lock gate in to Cullen Bay Marina - the worry here over green mussels means I have to be inspected by a Fisheries diver and liquid poured into various points and left for 14hrs (meaning overnight now) before I can enter the lock for access to the Cullen Bay Marina.

Being a springs ebb tide, the very low water level meant I had a slight problem coming in at about 0830. As I made my final approach towards the high stone breakwater, to a narrow gap between it and a green marker, the depth disappeared to 2m... but my draught is only 2m!! Hurried backing off... followed by a radio call to the lockmaster to confirm whether or not I should try again ... "just how much depth would you expect...?!". I cautiously tried a second, very slow approach (otherwise, I'd
have to drop the anchor & wait until early afternoon for more water), keeping as close as I dared to the stoney bank... depth went down to 3m for a bit... and then I was through.... a few anxious moments there!! I tied up and was lucky that another boat was just about to be inspected and dived on by Fisheries, so they were able to 'do' me at the same time, meaning I'd be able to enter the lock & get into the marina early Tuesday morning(as happened).

I suddenly realized that a radio interview with ABC 'Far North' (Cairns) was due to take place soon after, so I had to quickly rush off, hoping to find the relevant marina office to receive the phone call from the Producer, Juliana Doupe.... Robbie Standaloft was very friendly & accommodating, a 'boat-person' himself, naturally, and the ABC interview about my passage from Cairns to Darwin went well (being broadcast in the Tuesday morning show). An added bonus was that the recently-introduced, extremely
high, 'locking' fee was also waived - a very kind gesture & much appreciated - thank you, Robbie.

I then went in to Darwin city - a very pleasant place with some lovely, very large, old trees in several park areas... I found free Internet access in the beautiful airy Parliament building (!!!) which has a lovely view over the water. I'll stay here in Darwin for a bit while I get various things done over the next week or two (steering cable included!)... with some sightseeing & visiting, maybe.

Sailing well still - each day, it seems the wind backs slightly as morning progresses, to become ESE, so I have to pole out the genoa. It makes quite a speed difference - we went from under 5 knots to well over 6kn. Then, by late evening, wind veers again to SE, enough to have to take the pole down for overnight. Last night, I tried leaving it out, but ended up having to take it down at 11pm - with no moon (actually saw crescent of new moon this morning around sunrise). The current is varying with the tide - and now, around springs, will be the maximum tides. Fortunately, the flood current (W-going) is stronger than the ebb (E-going) presumably because there's an underlying W-going current anyway. So we are helped along more than slowed down as the tides vary over the day. It has been very 'rolly' over the past 2-3 days - the SE swell has built up now to a good 2m every 4-5 secs and is guaranted to knock the boat about quite badly every so often!

Very relaxing now - the grey overcast of this morning has disappeared and been replaced by a blue sky, so there's nice sunshine - but the air feels very cool with the following wind. I'm actually sitting reading books again, in between emails etc. But got very frustrated this morning when I particularly wanted to send an email today (being Friday) - just could not get a radio connection despite trying all possible stations & frequencies over & over, so email still not sent. I think that in the early evening propagation tends to be best, but I haven't previously had quite such a problem connecting in the morning.

From time to time, I'm checking the steering cable & quadrant under the aft bunk (have to move mattress etc, first!) - all seems fine, although cable a bit looser than it should be.

As I write this, around 1.40pm (EST), we've 436 mls to go to Darwin, ETA Mon 13th, hopefully. On arrival, there'll be a delay while strong liquid is poured into drains & left to work for 12 hrs or so before we're permitted to pass through the lock into Cullen Bay Marina area.It's a measure supposed to try to prevent green mussels getting into the inner Darwin waters.