Christmas on Gili Air! After a week in Bali it was a treat to get back to the boat and head out to the small island paradise of Gili Air. The kids had been out that night and when they arrived back to the boat about 2300 we left the marina and began the eight hour sail. There was no wind so we actually motor-sailed throughout the rest of the night. I was on watch when the sun came up. It was a beautiful sight. The super-calm conditions and sleeping kids scattered all over the boat. Priceless…
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Once we cleared customs in Maumere, Flores, we set sail for Labuan Bajo. Once there Dwayne was eager to get ashore and check out the restaurants and bars, so we put the dinghy in and went to explore. We had a look around and had a few drinks before finding the markets where we stocked up on our fruit and veg. We had dinner in a restaurant with a great view of Thorfinn in the harbour. Dwayne had found his “little paradise.”
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We left for Indonesia, from Darwin, on Thursday 13th of November. The trip was uneventful and very pleasant. We thought we would have to motor-sail the entire way but fortunately we got a couple of really good sails in. We didn’t see another ship, or boat, once we left Darwin until we were about 25 miles from our destination, Pulau Leti. We arrived at Leti at 2330 and anchored in the dark. It was a little disconcerting heading to shore to find water shallow enough to anchor and the depth going from 1300 feet to 20 feet in a matter of seconds…
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We arrived in Darwin on the 18th of October, around 1500, after a perfect 17 hour sail. We had been hoping to get to Darwin in time to catch up with our boy Kye who was going to be there for his footy trip. As it happened we beat him there by about five hours. We anchored just out from Stokes Hill Wharf, put the dinghy in and headed to shore to check out some of our old haunts… and some new ones. We headed in to the new waterfront precinct and had a look at the new wave pool. We then stopped at an Irish pub for a cider before heading to Stocks Hill Wharf for dinner. We both had steaks for dinner at Crustaceans on the Wharf. We could hardly eat any of the steak; we filled up too quickly, our bodies are not use to red meat anymore. I ate all the veggies and took the steak home in a doggy bag!
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After visiting the Tip of Australia we sailed around to Seisia and anchored in the bay. Seisia is a lovely spot, well worth stopping for a look around. We took the dinghy down to Loyalty Beach Campground where they have a beach bar. It is a great spot on the beach shaded by a huge tree. We sat there and enjoyed a drink while we chatted on the phone to our boys. The next day we hitched a ride into Bamaga. Dwayne was wondering why nobody would stop for him….. he looked like a bloody yobbo! Anyway we finally got a lift with a young lad, Calum, who works at the servo…
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We chose to stay at the Marlin Marina in Cairns, as it was central to everything and, once again, we needed to get a heap of work done. Cairns is our last stop in a large town until we get to Darwin so we needed to do our final chores to become self-sufficient .i.e. get the water-maker installed.We stayed for nine nights and our first job was to find someone to patch the dinghy and fix the outboard motor…
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We left Cape Gloucester after Rendezvous 2014, with several other boats all going north. Our first stop was Cape Upstart where we all anchored and went ashore and cooked dinner over the fire with the crews from The Tardis and Irish Mist.
We moved on the next day to Cape Bowling Green where we had dinner aboard The Tardis with Helen and Graham. From there we went to Townsville. We got a good sail, catching and overtaking all the boats that left the bay before us! We eventually had to put a reef in the main sail as we were over powered and it was getting a bit uncomfortable.
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Thorfinn, an Adams 45, has proven herself with extensive cruising time, including a circumnavigation of the globe. Come inside for a look at our tiny home.
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The rendezvous is a four day party better expressed with photos. Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club was a concept created as a “network for cruising yachties and individuals who enjoy boating”. Their yearly rendezvous raises money for prostate cancer. Over $80,000 was raised this year! To learn more visit the the SICYC website.
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