Day Sailing to Darwin

We reluctantly farewelled the beauty and solitude of Marchinbar Island and resumed our journey again. Although we felt we could easily have spent several more days there, we were conscious of needing to move on, to reach Darwin and to prepare for the Kimberley. It’s a bit of a juggling act, spending enough time in each place but also covering the hundreds and hundreds of miles in a reasonable time.

The other consideration in this area is that unlike the Whitsundays, where you can go ashore pretty much anywhere, on any of the hundreds of islands, all of this land and these islands is Aboriginal land, and we aren’t supposed to go ashore without permits. Covid made getting permission and permits very difficult, so it seemed easier to skip over some of these places. We’d received permission to go to the Wessel Islands by the traditional owners, via a contact of Leonie’s, but not for any other areas of the NT coast. We therefore decided on a pattern of several pretty big sailing days then a rest day, stopping and exploring at places of interest where we could.

This next part of the trip would take us 13 days to reach Cullen Bay marina in Darwin. In that time, we rarely saw any other people or any other boats.

Leaving Jensen Bay, the sail back to Guruliya Bay was a fast one. With strong winds, and waves coming in from the front and side, it was quite uncomfortable but we flew along with just our headsail out. The next days sail was to Refuge Bay on Elcho Island, and thankfully this was much more comfortable. Terry and Leonie on Sens de la Vie were waiting for us here and they had us over for dinner. We gave them some of the big mackerel that we’d caught a few days earlier. By hoisting Matt’s phone up the mast, we were able to get some limited phone and internet reception here, bouncing off the Aboriginal community on Elcho Island. It was the first time we’d had reception since leaving Gove.

Cool Change had her full mainsail and headsail out as we had a great sail in 10 to 15 knots of breeze to Jigaimara Point, Howard Island. No waves and no swell, just how I like it! We made the most of the good reception when passing the community on Elcho Island, paying bills, making phone calls and sending messages. It was a little bit rolly in the anchorage at Howard Island, and there were lots of bugs, so it was early to bed.

The next day saw us up early at 5.30am for what turned out to be a frustrating day of sailing. As the batteries needed a charge, we motor sailed for the first few hours and then when we were ready to turn the engine off and sail, the wind shifted and died off, leaving us drifting along at only 3 to 4 knots. With lots of miles to cover we couldn’t keep this slow pace up or we would be arriving at the next anchorage in the dark. So on went the engine again. With no breeze, it was stiflingly hot on the boat. I was covered in sweat, I felt gross and I stank! Who said cruising was glamourous?!

We arrived at Entrance Island, a very picturesque little spot, just before sunset and watched the incredibly red orb of the sun, coloured by the many fires in the area, sink into the horizon. We watched some Aboriginies cook a turtle in a fire on the beach. Something that I still find very confronting and quite distressing.

We were up at 5.30am again and motoring in the light winds that were less than 10 knots. An incredible sunrise was our reward for the early start. We don’t see all that many sunrises, so are especially grateful and awed when we do get the chance to witness a magnificent one.

Thankfully the wind picked up and we were able to sail for most of the remainder of the passage to North Goulburn Island. Matt put the lure out and caught an undersize tuna and an undersize mackerel, both of which went back in. He did hook a monster fish of some sort, which took heaps of line, but unfortunately the monster got away. No fresh fish for us!

It was a relief to anchor in the calm waters of Mullet Bay, North Goulburn Island. We had a much needed rest day here, and with some internet reception I was able to work on some blogs while Matt made water to fill our tanks. In the afternoon we went to shore, stretching our legs for the first time in six days. We walked for hours, all the way up and down the long beach and inland to a deserted homestead. I searched for shells and found some of my largest shells yet, including an absolutely massive one, about the size of a large baby. I kid you not!

We saw several turtle tracks in the sand, leading up to where a nest was, although there were no eggs. A reef shark swam next to us in the shallows. The air had a hazy quality to it, as there were many small fires burning in the areas. It had been a good day, the rest and relaxation that we needed. We finished the day off with Leonie’s homemade pizzas cooked in our Weber.

Light winds turned our next passage to Oxley Island into a long day. In the end, we had to turn the engine on and motor for the last few hours. The charts and guidebook show a fringing reef, so we cautiously edged our way in to anchor. It was a bit rolly but I was sooo tired, so slept ok.

Big messy seas marked our sail to Port Essington at first, but then the seas calmed and the wind died to less than 10 knots, so we pottered along slowly. The sun was out and it was hot, and we had quite a nice sail in the end. Anchoring at Black Point, Port Essington, we were treated to a beautiful sunset and Matt took some photos of Sens de la Vie under the moon.

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We spent two days in Port Essington which is on the Cobourg Peninsula and part of the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park. At Record Point we went ashore and the boys tried their hand at catching mud crabs. Matt managed to spear one with his Hawaiian swing. Our very first mud crab!! Leonie cooked it up for us, and that night we tasted mud crab for the first time. Very very delicious!!

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That night it was so dark and the water was so still that we could see the stars reflected in the water. The sky was bursting with bright stars and it was such a rare and special sight. After leaving Sens de la Vie and returning to Cool Change we had the lights on both yachts turned off, while Matt took some photos. Unfortunately, the full vision with the stars reflected in the water didn’t quite work out, but you can get a feeling for what we experienced.

Enjoying a leisurely morning relaxing in the cockpit, Matt spotted a crocodile floating in the water near Record Point. Confirming his sighting with the binoculars, we jumped into the tender and motored over to get a closer look. As we approached, however, the croc sunk below the water. This was the first actual crocodile that we had seen in the wild, so we were quite disappointed that he disappeared, although maybe just a little relieved too. We headed back to the yacht, only to discover that he popped up again once we left.

Motoring the short distance over to Minto Head, we anchored and went ashore to walk through the ruins of Victoria Settlement. The settlement was founded in 1838 as the third attempt by the British to settle on the northern coast of Australia. The pioneers spent 11 years trying to establish it before eventually giving in and abandoning it. By all accounts, life was incredibly tough here and at times most of the small community was in the hospital We wandered through the ruins of several buildings and around the little cemetery with its hand carved gravestones. A beautiful place, but so isolated and remote, a harsh landscape for those pioneers.

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We moved north to Kennedy Bay, hoping to find some caves there with micro-bats living in them. Although we didn’t find the caves, we found animal tracks of all sorts on the beach. We spied dingo tacks, goanna tracks and croc tracks, with the first two often leading to and from a turtle nest. The nests had obviously been raided, with the remnants of eggshells lying around. Poor little turtles!

Another early start saw us motoring out of the anchorage in silky smooth, calm waters. We watched as first light appeared and then an incredible sunrise emerged, the brilliant golden orb rising through the clouds. With the water so still, Matt was able to take some great photos.

Our early start allowed us to catch the fast flowing current, and we were soon at our overnight stop in Alcaro Bay, Cape Don with the anchor down by 11am. Seeing as we had almost a whole day to explore, we went ashore with our hiking gear, hoping to walk the 5km up to the lighthouse on the point of Cape Don. However, the track was incredibly overgrown and we weren’t confident that we wouldn’t get lost, so back to the boat we went for a lazy afternoon lying in the sun.

And then we were onto our final part of the journey; crossing Van Diemen’s Gulf to Darwin. Dundas Strait, at the top of the gulf, can be a treacherous stretch of water, with currents racing through and strong winds causing large waves. We timed our departure perfectly again and with the assistance of the tide, flew down the strait, averaging 8 to 9 knots. Once again, there was no wind to speak of, so we were motoring, but I didn’t care. The lack of wind meant that we had perfectly calm seas, and no waves at all. In fact, it was so calm and still that I was able to read a book.

We decided to anchor off Glyde Point in Adam Bay, rather than continue through the night. Surprisingly, as we were so close to Darwin, we still hadn’t got any phone reception, although once we put Matt’s phone up the mast here, we were able to make some phone calls by hot spotting to my phone below.

And then it was up early for the final leg, motoring through the South Channel below South West Vernon Island, the dark sky full of brilliant stars as I steered and Matt stood on the bow with a powerful torch, double checking for obstacles. Just a few hours later, we could see the buildings of Darwin and before we knew it, we’d entered the lock and tied up to a berth in Cullen Bay marina.

What an incredible couple of weeks we’d had sailing and exploring in the NT. We now couldn’t wait to experience all that Darwin had to offer, although it didn’t quite turn out exactly as we’d expected…..

Let’s go somewhere where the stars kiss the ocean.

Anonymous