Day 1 Port Douglas-Bali

-

At the back end of August last year I was writing about a delivery I was doing of a Dickey Pacific 62 from Opua to Bundaberg.  Well I got a call to ask if I was available to take her ("Moonlao") from Port Douglas through to Bali.  Luckily I had a small window before I head over to Panama for my next job early next month.  So David, my crew mate, and I  flew into Cairns on Thursday afternoon, hired a car and drove the 1hr or so to Port Douglas marina where the boat was.

We were greeted by Tan and Geoff, spent a a couple of nights with them on the boat which was great fun before we departed and they headed off in the car.

There was a "Yellow" cyclone warning issued the day before we arrived but it only turned out to be a bit of a blow so nothing to worry about.

Although this boat could make Bali in one go without stopping I decided to clear out of Darwin where we can top up the tanks and the owner has really good quality fuel where as the quality of fuel in Indonesia can be a suspect at times and this allowed us to stop anywhere along the route without any red tape which would have had to deal with if we cleared out of Port Douglas.   

The weather across the top end  between Thursday and Darwin is a bit rough until next weekend so we are bay hopping  up the coast until Thursday Island.  So 50 or 60nm a day, head into a river or anchor by a beach somewhere and have a relaxing night at anchor.  Very nice.

After leaving yesterday at noon we headed out and up the coast but any went 10nm to the entrance to the Daintree river.  I had planned on going into the river to anchor but when we got there it all looked a bot too dodgy with low tide, a marker bouy in the wrong place and the chart showing very shallow areas.  Nope, not for me!  There is a nice beach close by the river entrance and sheltered from the NW winds so we anchored there for the night.  We had to stay inside the boat as the flies and mozzies where horrendous.

Today were left the anchorage at 09:30 heading north at 8.5-9kts with the gyro stabiliser working away keeping the boat nice and steady.  Next stop is Cooktown river, we should be there around 14:00 (17:00 NZ time) 

No swimming anywhere unless it's a pool as this is croc country!!

I have the use of a small drone while on the boat!!  I am trying to learn how to use it properly and without losing it so fingers crossed.


                   MY "Moonlao"





                    Where we anchored last night

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Hong Kong commissioning "Pikorua"

-
Image
Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024 Location: Hong Kong The Intricacies of Commissioning in Hong Kong Greetings from a bustling Hong Kong ! It's Saturday, November 23rd. The Yacht Delivery Solutions team has been immersed for over two weeks in the detailed process of commissioning "Pikorua," a stunning new 2024 Granocean W60 destined for Sydney. Our temporary home is a barge in the Kwun Tong typhoon shelter, a far cry from a typical marina – no shore power, no water hookups, and the constant rhythm of nearby construction. Even simple trips ashore require hailing a local sampan to avoid the barnacle-encrusted seawalls. Commissioning: More Than Just Checks Commissioning a brand-new yacht, especially one of this complexity, goes far beyond simple pre-departure checks. It's a meticulous process managed by Yacht Delivery Solutions, involving activating, testing, and calibrating every system onboard – from engines and generators to navigation electronics, plumbing, and sa...
Read more

A new delivery! New Fountain Pajot 59ft from Rome-Malaga and beyond

-
Image
OK - after a month's holiday in the UK and Italy with my good lady I jumped on a new Fountain Pajot 59 sailing catamaran in Rome.  My son, Declan, joined me for a leisurely 2 week jaunt to Malaga some 900 nautical miles away along with Coco the dog that I was baby sitting.    He then got off and the owners Belinda and Richard jumped back on after their 2 week holiday to Africa.   We then went over to Tangier in Morocco where my crew mate Kel joined us.  Kel and I have completed 5 delivers so far together.  He was with me for the 60ft power cat from Hong Kong.   We have just spent a few days here in Tangier and plan on departing for the Canary Islands tomorrow, Sunday 2nd. From there we will re-provision and head across the Atlantic with the plan of arriving in the Caribbean island of Martinique where Kel and I will fly home from. That's the plan, let's see how it goes.........
Read more

And We're Off! Pikorua Heads South.

-
Image
Finally! Departure day arrived. After the Yacht Delivery Solutions crew ran through all the final pre-departure checks – engines, nav gear, steering, the works – making sure everything was spot-on for the trip, we tossed the lines off just after 10 AM this morning, Saturday, November 30th. Getting out of the Kwun Tong anchorage required a bit of careful maneuvering, but Pikorua handled beautifully, showing how nimble this Granocean 60 can be even in tight spots. As soon as we left the shelter, we were greeted by the usual Hong Kong harbour chaos! It took some careful timing and a sharp lookout to weave our way through the traffic – plenty of big container ships and fast ferries zipping about. Thankfully, the view from the helm station is great, which was a huge help. Pikorua took the wakes from passing boats in her stride, feeling really stable right from the get-go, which was reassuring. Once clear of the main shipping channels, the next game was dodging the local fishing fleet ...
Read more