In late December 2000 I flew to Fiji, Australia, Singapore and Thailand.  During four weeks in Thailand I met with the people on eight boats with whom I had sailed during 1999 and 2000, and gained much valuable information on their voyages from Australia to Thailand.  I also spent a week in the far north of Thailand, as well as several days in Bangkok. Some photos of Thailand can be viewed on the Photographs page.

May-July:  Townsville to Darwin

Petero and I arrived in Townsville during the first week of May, got Knot Yet back into the water, provisioned and departed Townsville on 15 May.  Seven days later we arrived in Cairns, having anchored at four islands, in one river and stayed at one marina.  A highlight of the trip was transiting the Hinchinbrook Channel, between Hinchinbrook Island and the mainland.  The island and mainland are both mountainous, with large areas of mangroves on both sides of the channel.  The water was incredibly smooth and there was little boat traffic.

While in Cairns we took the train to Kuranda, using a railway built mostly by hand in the 1800's; it was very impressive.  We returned to Cairns on the Sky Rail, an aerial tramway which goes over the top of the rainforest and provides two stops for walking within the rainforest.  The views were spectacular!

We departed Cairns on 23 May for Port Douglas, where we spent three days.  Among our activities was visiting the Great Barrier Reef on a tour boat, and viewing the reef from a semi-submersible boat as well as from a helicopter.  Port Douglas was the last marina we will visit until reaching Darwin!

Two days after leaving Port Douglas we arrived in Cooktown, which is the most northerly town in Queensland.  It is quite historic:  In June 1770, Captain Cook entered the Endeavour River after having grounded Endeavour on a nearby reef.  He and his crew came ashore and were the first Europeans to set foot on Australia.  They spent 49 days repairing the ship before continuing their exploration and charting.

During the next nine days we stopped at seven anchorages, either in the lee of islands or of capes.  We did stray from the shipping channel one day and grounded on a sandbar; it took quite a while to get off the sandbar but we were successful and later found no damage to the boat.  While at anchor at Cape Grenville, we and the other "yachties" in the anchorage were invited to a party aboard a prawn trawler.  They were celebrating having concluded 100 nights of trawling and shared huge amounts of boiled prawns with all of us.  During this portion of the trip we were reunited with several cruising boats we'd known from prior years.

On 8 June we had two memorable experiences:  we transited the Albany Passage, a narrow pass between the mainland and Albany Island, and then we sailed past Cape York, the northernmost point in continental Australia!   We continued on to Horn and Thursday Islands, where we spent two days before departing to cross the Gulf of Carpenteria.  The Gulf crossing was 363 miles and took about 2.5 days. 

Gove Yacht Club Over the Top Cruise in Company

This rally is an annual event for cruising sailboats; I knew two boats who participated in 2000 and they recommended it highly.  33 boats were entered this year, of which 15 were from the US, 11 from Australia, three from the U.K., two from New Zealand, and one each from Canada and Germany.  During the week preceding departure, the Gove Yacht Club organized a Skippers’ Meeting Dinner, a Welcome BBQ, a golf afternoon followed by a BBQ, a Farewell Dinner and a Farewell Champagne Breakfast!  Plus a tour of the Nabalco bauxite mine, the largest of its type in the world.

The rally itself consisted of seven legs, of which five were day sails of 25-50 nautical miles and two overnight passages, one of 156 miles and the final of 140 miles.  The latter was done under a brilliant full moon, highlighted by an eclipse!  Among the most exciting sailing events was going through the “Hole in the Wall”, a very narrow passage between two islands with very strong tidal currents.  During the final passage to Darwin we were again rewarded with tidal currents nearing 5 knots helping us along.

Two nights were spent at South Goulbourn Island, and three at Port Essington.  On the former, an entertainment was held in the aboriginal settlement, while the final enroute party of the rally was held at the latter.  This was a “P” Party, for which everyone was required to wear a costume representing something beginning with a “P”.  There were pirates, priests, pregnants, port and starboard, party animals, popcorns, and pussycats.  There was also a bit of rain, but it only dampened costumes, not spirits. 

Presentation Night was at the Dinah Beach Sailing Club in Darwin, with awards for the winners of the radio quiz which had been held in several heats throughout the rally and for the authors of the best “Over the Top Saga”, in which all yacht names had to be used.  The winning entry was done in rhyme by a group of Iowans sailing on a Kiwi boat.  Other awards were given to all boats, with much creativity displayed by the Yacht Club staff in matching awards and events.  (I really don’t want to mention receiving the “Fuel Gauge Award” since it resulted from my having run out of fuel!  An incredibly stupid thing to do when one has a 70-gallon tank!)

We were quite happy to have arrived in Darwin and be staying in a marina...our first in five weeks.  Cullen Bay Marina is surrounded by restaurants and apartments, with convenient shopping as well.  After a week of boat tasks, we booked a tour to the "Red Centre", the location of such famous landforms as Ayers Rock, the Olgas and Kings Canyon.  Unfortunately, the weather was not only cold (expected) but rainy.  However, not too many people get to see Ayers Rock disappear into clouds and rain, as we did!  The trip to Kings Canyon was cancelled because of a flooded road, so we spent an extra day in Alice Springs.

Darwin to Bali (July-August)  (18 September update begins here)

We departed Darwin on 21 July and arrived in Bali eight days later, having sailed 984 miles.  And we indeed sailed almost the entire time; the engine was only used one percent of the time we were enroute!  Except for one calm night we had nice winds, mostly from dead astern.  The passage was good,  but became boring by the sixth day.  On arrival at Benoa Harbor in Bali we were met by other participants in the Darwin-Bali Race, assigned a slip in the Bali International Marina and gratefully began walking on land.

During the next two weeks we toured, shopped and partied.  Bali is quite a beautiful island but the main towns are very crowded and polluted.  Like most Asian cities, they are full of motorbikes as well as vans, trucks, cars and buses.  The tourist areas of Bali are filled with shops, restaurants, outdoor food vendors and hundreds of people selling everything.  The beaches were beautiful, if crowded.  Food was very inexpensive and quite varied.

Onward from Bali (August-September)

We left Benoa on 12 August, bound for the north coast of Bali.  After three short day-sails we arrived at Lovina Beach on the north shore.  I had hoped to depart within a couple of days, but the other yachts want to remain to watch the Independence Day celebrations on 17 August.  It turned out that a canoe race on 16 August was the principal event; over 100 outrigger fishing canoes, equipped with sails, participated in the race (see photos).

We departed on 18 August for the small island of Raas, where we stayed one night before proceeding to Bawaen, a rather lonely island in the Java Sea.  The anchorage was very nice, and a village with a market was reasonably close.  Lots of fresh vegetables and fish were available in the market.  Again, I was anxious to leave for the next destination but the group wanted to linger.  Since it's prudent to sail in company with other boats in Indonesia, we did wait until 27 August before departing for Borneo.

The principal reason for sailing to the state of Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo was to visit Tanjung Puting National Park.  This is the site of the last habitat of the orangutan, which habitat has been hugely depleted due to logging.  We met Dr. Birute Galdikas of the Orangutan Foundation International, who has devoted her life to the preservation of the habitat and rehabilitation of displaced orangutans.  While the orangutans were of interest, the highlight of the trip was a gibbon named Barry, whose antics entertained all.

We left Borneo on 2 September for Serutu, another small island with a beautiful anchorage complete with sandy beach, freshwater stream and a waterfall.  We had a great beach party tinged with bittersweet, because we are parting company with several yachts as we head directly for Singapore.  

The trip from Borneo to Singapore took nearly three days, sailing up the Karimata Strait into the South China Sea.  We crossed the Equator at 7:30 PM on 6 September, my 63rd birthday, returning Knot Yet to the northern hemisphere after over three years "down south."  We anchored overnight on the island of Bintan, then proceeded to the Nongsa Point Marina on Batam, our final stop in Indonesia.  After two days there we motored the 38 miles to Raffles Marina on the north side of the island of Singapore.  The trip was interesting as we had to dodge a lot of large ships.  Singapore is the second busiest port in the world (after Rotterdam) and the Straits are full of ships, moving and anchored.  At one point we counted over 30 ships in sight!

Raffles Marina is a very posh place, with modern slips, a nice pool and a few restaurants.  While it is located quite a ways from the Central Business District, the marina shuttle bus and public transportation make it easy to get around.  We'll be here for a few weeks repairing and replacing a few items as well as performing routine maintenance.

Singapore to Thailand (October-November)  

(10 December update begins here)

I spent a month in Singapore, doing a lot of touring as well as working on the boat.  Petero left for Fiji after a couple of weeks.  One of the joys of cruising is sharing experiences with other "yachties" and meeting them in different places.  Many old friends came through and I met several new folks as well.     

I departed Singapore on 11 October and stopped at three island anchorages before reaching Port Dickson, Malaysia.  While in Port Dickson, I traveled with two couples to Kuala Lumpur for sightseeing and shopping.  "KL" is much more modern than I expected, obviously attempting to rival Singapore.  While in Port Dickson I also visited Malacca for a day.  Malacca is quite an historic seaport, after which the Malacca Straits are named.

The next leg, from Port Dickson to Lumut, took four days.  I was sailing alone and did not want to travel at night, both because of the need for sleep and for the incredible number of fishing nets, traps and boats in this area.  From Lumut I traveled to Penang with six other people for more sightseeing and shopping.  Penang appears to be the center of the high-tech industry in Malaysia; in fact my new Dell computer was assembled there.  Lots of electronic items to tempt the shoppers!

After a week in Lumut I departed for Rebak Marina on Langkawi Island in Malaysia.  This was a three-day trip for me, although it could have been a 27-hour trip if done non-stop.  Rebak is a nice marina, although slightly inconvenient for getting to town.  And getting to town is quite important here, as many items are available duty-free.  Prices for alcohol and tobacco are so low that people stock up for months!  Langkawi is getting a lot more business from yachts who choose to stay here rather than in Thailand.  This is not only because of the duty-free shopping: Malaysia has much more relaxed rules for both yachts and their crews than does Thailand.  I met many yachties who had returned from Thailand earlier this year to leave their boats in Langkawi.

I had been sailing alone since Singapore but responded to an ad posted by a Dutch lady who was looking for a passage next year.  As a trial sail, she joined me from Langkawi to Phuket.  We took four days to do this trip as we again sailed only during the day.  It was a pleasant trip and I was most happy to be able to obtain a berth in Phuket Boat Lagoon, by far the better of the marinas in Phuket.

My friend Dean joined me for two weeks in Thailand, during which time we aggressively toured Bangkok, drove around much of Phuket and took the boat out for two days.  After he departed I had Knot Yet hauled out in preparation for routine maintenance, including lots of varnishing and polishing.  This will be done while I travel to California for the holidays.

A final note:  This year's sailing occurred over a seven-month period, during which we traveled just over 4,300 nautical miles.  Lots of great experiences, a couple of not-so-great ones, but all-in-all a very adventurous and enjoyable year.  Next year's plans are still uncertain; more on that later.

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