Since embarking on this adventure, the newbies will have great memories and some physical evidence as a result of the many spills and tumbles taken from the sudden shifts of the boat in choppy water. Each has little bluey coloured mementoes except for yours truly who has only stubbed my toes on the many pulleys on the deck. My injuries are more of the "dumbass" kind. As you will be told in another blog (Cress), we have been catching a number of fish during the passage. On the day when we caught a
large barracuda and after I thought it was dead (Matt beat it numerous times with a winch handle), it got his last death throe twitch just as I was putting the dragging rope through its gills. You guessed it, the razor sharp teeth punctured 2 little holes on the tip of my middle finger. So here I am bleeding all over the teak deck trying to get the rope through the gills using a pair of pliers (smart learner as I am) and finally getting it into the water. It took 2 days before the tip of finger was
healed enough with no bleeding.
Excitement
While successfully traversing Torres Strait in record time, Rita and I enjoyed an exciting race to a narrows near Coconut Island (Cress blog?). While travelling at a nice cruising speed of about 7.5 knots towards a narrows (3 miles wide), we were in a dead heat with a freighter (12.5 kts) at the crossing. From there we were travelling towards the next light house when the captain ordered an abrupt 30 degree change in course to use another passage route. The boat lurched to warp speed of about 8.5
knots (at night everything is magnified, even our imagination)and the boat was tilted almost to the max as we sped along. We held the boat at this course setting for 3 hours with one foot propped against the side of the cockpit to keep our balance. Once through the passage between Prince of Wales Island and mainland Australia, we set a new course and were treated to a beautiful sunrise over the mainland (our first real glimpse of another continent).
Boredom
After passing around Prince of Wales Island we set course westward towards Darwin feeling good about ourselves getting through the reef so quickly but Nature always evens things out. After 6 good hours of sailing in calm waters and nice winds, it was time for our watch again and the winds died to less than 1 knot. The spinnaker dropped like a wet rag and had to be taken in and for 3 hours we drifted in back and forth circles trying to catch some nonexistent wind. It was so calm that the beer cans
in the water were passing us. For 3 hours we were like 6 Dracula's trying to avoid the sun. All of us were wishing for a tall ice cold drink. Th weather forecast is for calm seas and very light winds. When we arrive in Darwin (23rd?)there will 2 dried prunes and 4 dried apricots stepping off.
Dennis
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