Log of Reflections IV

2008 in review

2008-12-26T17:04:00.000+09:30

Hi and best wishes to all.

So now comes the time to write up the goings on of the year. As most of you who read this would be aware Last November I (Colin) sailed Reflections into her home port, concluding an eight year journey.

The year started with Liz and the girls flying back to Phuket to finish the school year. I started working back at TAFE NSW in the same IT department I left eight years previous. This has been a very surreal experience, with so many familiar faces comng up to me to welcome me back. Some knew our whole story and had followed the web pages that tracked our progress, while others tried to guess how long I'd been gone (average guess 2-4 years) and one guy who never realised I'd left!

My working year has gone well and am now a permanent employee again. The department I work for supplies IT support for 14 TAFE campuses, 300 primary & high schools, and with a massive amount of funding due to arrive soon to supply a notebook computer for every student fromYear 9 and up, interesting times are definitely afoot.

At the same time as work started, I began to move back into our house at Nords Wharf which is on the southern end of Lake Macquarie, just south of Newcastle. The house was rented out while we were gone, with all our furniture and stuff stored in a large area underneath. It was quite a relief to find the house in good repair and all of our stuff in remarkably good condition after such a long time in storage.

Slowly I unpacked the necessities of life and opened the 'time capsules' that showed where our lives where at when we set off on our adventure in 2000. This was a bittersweet experience, as missing the family was amplified as the toys, drawings and house decorations where dusted off and reinstated.

In April I made a short trip back to Phuket for just over a week. Stepping back into hot and steamy SE Asia felt as much like going home as stepping back off the plane in Sydney - if that makes sense. It was wonderful to be back with all my girls and enjoy the easy lifestyle of an expat in Phuket. Back in Australia the days grew shorter and colder and after eight years of tropical life, a moderate winter in Newcastle was pretty hard to bear.,

July arrives and school is finished in Phuket. A week later I am collecting two shivering girls at Sydney airport. Liz's sister Virginia, joined her in Phuket and they set off on a great holiday together, visiting Bangkok, Kuching in Sarawak for the World Music Festival, the Perhentan Islands on the east coast of Malaysia, and VIP guests at the Singapore music festival SingFest.

Courtney completed her International General Certificate of Secondary Education, or IGCSE, which is the equivalent of the NSW School Certificate. This meant that she didn't need to return to school untill the start of the new school year in Jan 2009. She really enjoyed doing drama at British International, Phuket and applied to go to the selective school for performing arts in Newcastle. She was successful and is really looking forward to starting. She looked around for work and gained first hand experience of the frustration of handing out inumerable resumes and asking around the shopping centres for work. Eventually an ad appeared for McDonalds and she has now been working at the nearby Swansea outlet for over six weeks. She absolutely loves it and appears to show great skill for keeping busy, backing up the other workers and cleaning. Liz and I are at a complete loss as to where she gained these skills as we've seen little evidence of this at home!

Anna started Year 8 at Swansea High and has settled in well. She was placed in the academic high achievers group and finished the year with a good report card. Given the huge difference between life at Swansea High ,an average public high school, and British International, Phuket a private school with a wide international mix of students, I think that Anna has coped really well. She was only six when we left, and the return home has been quite a culture shock. She has made friends and seems to be enjoying life in her own manic way.

After her deserved break from the family, travelling with her sister, Liz arrived back in mid August. Finally we were all together again! As with Courtney & Anna, I now watched Liz go through the culture shock of returning and slowly acclimatising back into life here. She spent many hours unpacking more of our things that were stored underneath that I had not yet unearthed, and again when we collected ten cubic metres of items that were shipped back from Phuket. The search for work was complicated by the requirement by TAFE NSW for all teachers to hold a Certificate in Assement & Training. While she struggled through gathering the required information to gain recognition towards this, she contacted the University of Newcastle, and gained an immediate start teaching English as a Second Language to foreign students who come over to complete the ten week courses. She has found the Univeristy an enjoyable place to work.

The final addition to our family has been two little dogs, Maltese ShiTzu's named Pip and Pepper. They are only six months old and do all the adorable and not so adorable things that pups do. Being two boys from the same litter they test each other regularly to be the dominant one, have the habit of standing on their hind legs while they knash each other around the mouth and neck. But most of the time they lay round and sleep, pursuing the dog's life. We all love them!

And how is Reflections IV? She sits on a mooring a few hundred metres from our house and has far more visits from seagulls than from us. Each day when I get close to the house on our way home from work, I glance through a gap in the trees & houses to see the mast that gives the reassurrance that she is still there. With a few days off over christmas she will get some TLC and maybe even take the family out for lunch.

Occasionaly I am asked if we plan to go sailing again. I can't ever bring myself to say no, but the reality reply is 'I doubt it'. We have a new, not so exciting, plan now. The girls have schooling to finish, Liz and I both have work that is satisfying and holds promise, and equally important we are doing this in our comfortable environment, surrounded by our friends and family. I think I can say that we all carry an inner glow that is sustained by recalling the incredible experiences we've had together over the last eight years.

So this year's newsletter is not was not full of strange lands, series of "once in a lifetime" experiences,or of life on a foreign shore. It's been a year of returns, finding our way back into a mainstream lifestyle. and working our way through the culture shock of returning to life in the western world.

So I hope this message finds you all well and happy in whatever you are doing. Please all keep in touch. I promise a reply to any message recieved!

take care and Happy New Year!

Colin, Elizabeth, Courtney and Anna
39 Nords Wharf Road,
NORDS WHARF. 2281. NSW
Australia

Email addresses:
Family: reflectionsiv at hotmail.com
Colin colwoods at gmail.com
Liz : elizabeth.j.woods at gmail.com

Website: http://www.reflectionsiv.com/ Photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/colwoods

Courtney's story a winner

2008-04-25T19:07:00.002+09:30

Courtney put an entry in a junior short story competition hosted by a hotel in Phuket.

And she won! The prize is a three day stay at the hotel, a book from the judging author and the story will be published in a magazine.

This link is to the Mom Tri Boathouse with all the stories and details.

The judge's comments:

Mom Tri's Boathouse Student Writing Contest 2008

What a great first year it was for the Boathouse's student writing contest. The Boathouse got a pile of submissions, and each one of them clearly demonstrated both a genuine enthusiasm for writing in general and the hard work that went into producing these entries in particular.

There was some seriously good writing, too.

The greatest overall strength of the submissions was that every single one of them showed a honest-to-goodness ability to produce prose that is both clear and interesting. If there were a single overall weakness in the entries, it was a limitation in the writers' sense of story development and a lack of structure appropriate to the length of these particular pieces. That problem would, I think, be the result of watching too many movies, trolling the internet too much, sending a whole bunch of text messages, and spending not nearly enough time reading good novels. I have a son about the same age as all of these writers. I recognize the symptoms of failing imagination when I see them.

Anyway, I have to tell you that it was much harder to pick the winners in this category than it was in the adult category of the contest. But that's what the Boathouse asked me to do, so here we go anyway…

FIRST PLACE:

'It's Not About Hamlet,' Courtney Woods -- the most vividly written of all the entries, the most immediate and alive. I could feel Phuket. I could even smell it. The narrative itself advances through a well-struck and emotionally mature balance of dialogue and description that was outstanding, particularly for such a short piece. Really, really nice work.

Here is her story:

First Prize in the Mom Tri's Boathouse Student Short Fiction Contest 2008

"IT'S NOT ABOUT HAMLET"

By Courtney Woods (Age 16)

When Jack Shepherd walked into the Boathouse, it was an unusually warm Thursday night in March and the salty breeze off the Andaman Sea swirled with distant memories. He took a stool at the Galley Bar, ordered a Heineken from the impossibly young-looking man wearing a black bow-tie, and shifted his weight on the stool just enough to look around without being obvious about it.

He and Anita had sat just over there, he thought to himself. That table out at the far edge of the dining room, almost on the beach. Could that really have been just two years ago? It felt like he had lived a lifetime or two since then, and he supposed he had.

He took a long pull from his Heineken and glanced again at the table he and Anita had once shared. Tonight the table was occupied by three men and a woman who didn't seem to be having nearly as much fun as he and Anita had had back then. He started to look away, but then he stopped. His eyes jerked back to the table.

It couldn't be, he told himself. It simply couldn't be. But, and now he had no doubt of it at all, it clearly was.

Jack turned back to the bar - not too quickly, that might draw Roland's attention. As he sipped automatically at his Heineken, he considered his options. He could pay now and leave, or wait until he had the chance to move to a table in some shadowy corner - No! He shook his head, smiling a little bitterly. There was no reason to run. No reason to hide. Phuket was a popular vacation destination. There was no mystery, no conspiracy. Jack sighed quietly and traced convoluting paths on the bar top, the water pooling at the base of the bottle following his finger as he made a Venice of tiny puddles and canals.

He remained there, staring blindly at the wall as he slowly drank his beer, mind drifting to other subjects but always, always aware of who was sitting just edging the beach. He was shaken from his reverie by the sound of Roland's voice - so like Anita's, Jack thought sourly - and the cacophony of chairs being pushed back simultaneously. He waited. A moment, two moments. He dared to peer over his shoulder at the door, seeing, with no little relief, the shock of hair leave through the restaurant doors, heading for the street. Even the bartender seemed to notice as he deflated, the tension visibly leaving him. Catching the bartender's curious eye, he gestured for the bill, swigging back the remains of the Heineken as he extracted his wallet from his back pocket. He'd go home now. A narrowly avoided encounter like that was enough excitement for him for the night. He would head back to the hotel, collapse on the bed and fall asleep watching old movies. He rubbed his face with a hand still slightly damp with sweat and condensation, and moved out onto the beach.

The night tasted heavy with salt, a breath of wind forming the otherwise calm water into little ripples. Jack walked the waterline, his feet sinking a little into the wet sand. The stars were invisible, obscured by the eternally bright lights of the town, but the moon shone balefully down on the yachts that swung aimlessly in the changing tide.

Jack walked.

He trudged along the beach, in no hurry at all. His hotel was at the other end of the beach and he had all night to get there. He had only gone to the Boathouse for a beer and bucket of sobering memories.

Ahead of him was a throng of teenagers - just kids, really - sitting around and on a fleet of tin and inflatable dinghies. Glass Coke bottles with something probably not Coke were being passed around. Thankfully, they ignored Jack as he passed. Not far now, he mused. Just another two, three hundred meters.

"Jack."

Jack kept walking. Just his imagination trying to scare him.

"Come on now, Jack."

He kept walking, with a sense of impending- something. Doom? He gave a dry chuckle at his newfound melodrama.

"Quit being an idiot and stop."

He stopped. He turned. He looked.

"Hey," Jack deadpanned. Roland's smile was lopsided and had a hint of defeat at its corners.

"Hey."

"On vacation?"

"I'm tracking down a friend. He's lost his way."

Jack's eyes narrowed. The breeze grew with his tension. Roland paused, lips parted. Then the smile faded and his brow, so ghostly pale, furrowed. The picture of seriousness. Jack felt like laughing at the familiar expression.

"Why are you here, Jack?"

Jack shrugged.

"Phuket's a nice place. I've been here before. It's a good place for a vacation."

"People going on vacation don't leave without telling anyone."

"Did my mother send you to find me? Because I sent her an email."

"…"

"Even told her which beach on Phuket I was at. But not the hotel. I don't need to tell her everything."

"I'm not here because of your mother."

"Is it Hamlet? Is he dead? You know you could have just sent me an email."

Irritation on Roland's face now.

"I've been following you since Madrid - why would I follow you halfway around the world because of - Jack, I'm not here about your

bloody dog."

The waves rolled in placidly, soaking their feet, now barely two metres apart. Jack was silent, side-on to Roland, facing the sea. Roland's fists were clenched. A moment. They unclenched. The defeat returned to his face, but there was no smile.

"I've followed you since Madrid," he said with quiet sorrow. "I bet you visited that gallery, right? Anita's big break. We were all so proud. Her first big exhibition. She was so happy."

"…"

His hair glinted gold as Roland tilted his head back.

"After that Paris. Then Copenhagen. In Berlin, I was going to talk to you, but that's when I got behind. Arrived the day you left. Heh, we probably passed each other in airport. Thought you were going to stay longer, but I suppose it was too painful."

He turned, now shoulder-to-shoulder with Jack, but facing the street. His face was lit up by a neon karaoke bar sign, alternately blue then red.

"And then here. Phuket."

A sigh.

"She loved this place," Jack whispered. "The heat of the tropics…the life, so easy and yet not…the Boathouse…our last anniversary…"

"I figured that'd be where I'd find you," Roland rejoined. "She told me about it, by phone. I could hear how happy she was. How happy you made her. And I was so

damn glad that you married her." He tilted his head back and sideways, watching Jack's shadowed face. "She wouldn't want this."

"…"

"It's such a cliché, but - you've got to move on. Two years since- since what happened, and you're still not back on your feet."

"I-"

"No, don't," Roland firmly interrupted. "If after 18 months of everyone thinking you're surviving- grieving, yes, but surviving- you then up and run to every city that you two ever had a good time in…that is not moving on."

Jack's cheeks were wet.

"Why did you come after me?" he choked out, hands in fists and stuffed in his pockets.

"Because I didn't really think you were surviving, and I owed it to you and my sister to help you. You were my best mate - still are as far as I'm concerned." Roland grabbed Jack's shoulder. "You need to pull yourself together and get on with life. You're at the end of memory lane, and I reckon another trip's likely to kill you."

"I can't go back."

"I'm not asking you to. You can go wherever you want. Just don't go there because it was where Anita had some gallery opening, or because she always planned to go there."

Jack looked at Roland, half his face lit, the other half in shadow. Roland didn't look angry. He didn't look like he was about to cry. Instead, everything about him was a hand, reaching out to him. Offering to pull him free. He looked back to the sea. The yachts floated and bobbed, their mast lights stars lying low in the sky. The sea sighed. The town behind him pounded to the beats of a thousand songs. He raised his hands and scrubbed at his cheeks like a child who had scraped his knee. Roland's hand slipped off his shoulder. The teenagers down the beach danced.

"So then…" Roland mused, his tone now light as a feather. "What're you going to do, Jack?"

Jack was silent. A drying smile.

"I'm going back to my hotel and watching old movies," he announced to the yachts in the bay. "Or maybe I'll head out for a drink." A sideways glance, a sidelong smirk. "Care to join me?"

The End....

Woods family reunited - for a week in Phuket

2008-04-16T17:21:00.006+09:30

After three months back working at TAFE I was eligible for a week's leave so I took off to see my girls. It was so great to be back together and in the 'so-familiar' surroundings of Phuket.

School is on the final term break of two weeks, so we had plenty of time together. During the time we went to the regular sailing day on Sunday. Anna has a lesson each Sunday and as members of the club we can use the private beach and facilities when we please. More photos here

Another day Liz and I went into Phuket town to our favourite haunt: Thalang and Romanee roads which are the classic examples of the Sino-Portuguese housing that shows Phukets significance as a trading port. Again, more photos here

We also went up to see the still under construction 45 metre Big Buddha. Set on the hils that overlook Chalong Bay. the view is great and the buddha, once covered in marble, will be quite a site. More photos here

With the aid of some credit card points Liz and I were able to have a night away in a upmarket hotel on the south eastern corner of the island. The Evason Phuket is set on the waterfront and has many pools and water features that have 'water edges that blend into the water front view. A very beautiful development. We spent the second day on the island the hotel has, just off the coast. more photos here.

The week passed all too quickly and I found myself loaded up with lots of things to take home and flew back to chilly Nords Wharf. The final renunion will happen in July, when the girls finish school.

Nords Wharf

2007-11-22T05:27:00.000+09:30

Now anchored at Nords Wharf, but not out the front of our house of course, and catching up with friends. My mobile number is 0437821206.

Lake Macquarie - home!

2007-11-19T20:17:00.000+09:30

This journey started in Kota Kinabalu in July when Liz and the girls joined me after I put the boat back in the water after it sat waiting in the shipyard in Kudat for many months. The first two months saw us, as a family (as it always should be) sail around Sabah then across most of Indonesia and down to Darwin.

From there I sailed Reflections to Cairns on my own, experiencing all that solo sailing in contrary condition could have to offer. From Cairns I had the company of young travellers and without their knowledge of how good the conditions really were, ripped down the east cost of Australia.

So now I am back where we started from. I feel pleased that I was able to deliver her back here safely and intact. Now I wait to be reunited with my girls in December.

Love to all who read this...

Esmeralda Cove, Broughton Island

2007-11-18T16:47:00.000+09:30

The wind and current has really pushed us along, with the boat sitting on 9-11 knots for a lot of the last 24 hours. I wanted to arrive at Swansea entrance at first light but the extra speed has put us too close so I decided to anchor here for the night and then arrive at the entrance for the higher early afternoon tide.

The strong northerly wind may make the bar a bit of a hazard, so its best to pick a better tide in full daylight.

Looking forward to a full nights sleep.

Hard to believe that tomorrow Reflections IV will be back in Lake Macquarie after leaving in April 2000. I so wish Liz and the girls were with me to do this final run home.

Passing Cape Byron

2007-11-17T04:53:00.000+09:30

Half way from Bundy to Swansea!

After the lumpy start motor sailing out across Hervey Bay we found, in 200+ metre deep water, the south setting current and turned south to find an easterly wind around 15-20 knots and away we went. And that's been the story ever since. Sailing the boat slowly with the cutter and full main we've averaged 6.5 knots since leaving Bundaberg.

Being 25 miles offshore and in deep water the sea/swell has been gentle and the boat is moving very comfortably. The current has picked as we pass the eastern most point of the coast and the boat has been doing 8-10 knots for the last six hours.

The forecast looks good for continuing through to Lake Macquarie (the finish line!)and ETA is sometime on Monday.

Off Fraser Island and hunting the EAC

2007-11-15T15:50:00.000+09:30

Left Bundaberg early (4am) this morning and headed out across Hervey Bay in less than ideal conditions but a tolerable 15 knot easterly wind that we motor-sailed out and over Sandy Cape hunting for deep water, smoother seas, and warm water that is the tell tale of the East Australia Current that set south and may give us a an extra knot or two.

I seem to remember the 100 fathom line (200m deep) is the sweet spot. I downloaded a thermal image from the weather bureau web site and that seems to match up. Still motor sailing now, moving easterly away from the tip of Fraser Island. Soon will turn south and follow a way-point off Cape Byron. If the weather forecast holds true will we have a bumpy ride down to the NSW border and then get a more northerly wind from there on.

I have one crew, Michael, who did the run from Airlie Beach.

Hoping this will be the final leg.

Bundaberg

2007-11-06T06:36:00.000+09:30

All afternoon and most of the evening gave us 15-20 knots of N-NW wind and we ran downwind with the headsail poled out and holding 8-9 knots. This put Bundaberg clearly in our sights and we reached the leads of the Burnett river at 2:30am.

Coming in at night was relativity easy with clear navigation aids. All the port and starboard lights are synchronised to flash together, giving a real airport landing strip effect. We found many boats at anchor around the Port Bundaberg Marina and we anchored just out of the main channel and had a nice calm sleep for the rest of the night.

My two german crew, Denise and Birta, have left the boat and Michael intends to stay with me through to Newcastle. The girls were absolutely thrilled when a pod of dolphins came to the bow just on dark and stayed for ages. With Reflections really surging the water away and pushing the bow down at eight knots, the dolphins were almost in touching distance.

The expected southerly change came through with gusto and dumped lots of rain. I was able to fill my water tanks, saving a trip to a jetty. Really noticing the temperature falling as I continue south. The strong southerly winds now blowing will keep me here for three or four days at least.

Just out of reach of Fraser Islamd

2007-11-04T09:21:00.000+09:30

Since leaving Airlie Beach we've had a good run without any stops. The wind has been mostly Northe East or Easterly and around 10-15 knots. Everyone on board seems happy and the first day upset stomachs seem to have settled.

Our first night took us past Hay Point Coal terminal and we sailed through the large fleet of anchored ships. The crew performed well, waking me at the right time as we approached a ship.

A southerly change is due on Monday morning and at our current pace we will just fall short of reaching the protection of Sandy Cape before the change comes through. The plan is to head to 1770 and probably head into there. With a stiff sea breeze we may go a bit further and go into Bundaberg.

The girls want to visit Fraser Island, so they will probably get off at the next port.

Leaving Airlie Beach with 3 crew

2007-11-02T10:57:00.000+09:30

Just left Airlie Beach this morning with Michael, Birta and Denise, all young Germans. The two girls want to go to the Gold Coast and Michael is aiming for Sydney.

The first hours have been OK with an easterly wind allowing us to sail our course. I am hoping that they work out OK and we can go straight through to Surfers Paradise. The forecast is very promising.

So far so good. It's a lovely day to sail out through the Whitsunday Islands.

Hayman Island - Whitsundays

2007-10-30T09:46:00.000+09:30

After two excellent days sailing with north east winds between 10 and twenty knots Reflections iV raced along and delivered us Hayman Island at the top of the Whitsundays at 4am this morning. A full moon and Emily worked together to sight a mooring which we picked up and now after bit more sleep we are off for a snorkel.

The sailing as I said, went well and the girls were a big help furling sails as several unsuccessful strikes on the fishing lure broke up the day. Yesterday we passed close to a large reef quite a way offshore and anchored adjacent to go for a swim/snorkel. The tide was high and with no reef or land visible, it was quite an unnerving experience for the girls to swim out off the boat in the open sea, so to speak.

Last night had stronger wind and we reefed down to slow the boat down to arrive just on light, but the boat seems to be in a fast sailing mood as we still held 6 knots with two reefs in and the cutter flying in only twenty knots.

Will deliver the girls to Airlie either this afternoon or tommorrow and then look for some crew to go further south.

Fitzroy Island and crew!

2007-10-27T21:55:00.000+09:30

After two pleasant days sailing from Hope Island to the Low Islands I came into phone range and made contact with Ali, a Canadian girl who with her friend Emily from Ireland were interested in sailing to the Whitsundays.

I sailed into Yorkeys Knob at the northern end of Cairns and met the girls and the next day (today) we sailed out of the marina and had a very relaxed cruise to Fitzroy Island just south of Cairns. All seem to go well and now the plan is to sail, most likely non-stop to the Whitsundays.

The weather forecast is for light and variable but with a bit of luck there will be sufficient land and sea breezes to keep us moving. I am finding it very enjoyable to have company aboard after such a long stint on my own.

We did several tacks and had to furl the sails and the girls were really helpful and made my day much easier than normal.

We met up with many other yachties on the beach at sunset today and met Peter Long who I worked with at TAFE. Small world.

Looking forward to getting some miles done over the next few days.

Out of Cooktown and at the Hope Islands

2007-10-24T13:11:00.000+09:30

And the hope is for some wind to sail by.

The Hope Islands are two small cays twenty miles south of Cooktown. Punched into 15 knots of SE all morning to get here and decided that was enough. Not real rough, but not real comfortable either. The forecast is looking better for tomorrow. I feel quite desperate to get further south and get into some NE to NW wind.

Ten days in Cooktown was about nine days too long. The SE wind was up hard and there was no chance of leaving. I placed a sign at a backpackers and had a girl lined up who didn't show when it was time to leave.

The Endeavour river at Cooktown is very shallow and I spent as much time sitting on the bottom as much as floating. The big drama was saved for my last day there. Going over to the fuel jetty I went a little wide to enable me to turn into the jetty. The boat slowly bumped onto a sand bank and as I went into reverse to back up the motor stalled. It stalled again and then going forward I felt the engine load up and stall. It was either going to be the gearbox or a line wrapped on the shaft.

In the next few minutes the boat is laying over on the sand bank with the tide racing in pushing it further into the shallows. Brent off Playground, who has been going south as well, came to my aid and took the anchor out to deep water and I was able to put some tension on it so that it wouldn't ground further as the tide rose. So then with the water swirling madly around the broadside boat I spent half an hour diving down to cut away the culprit.

It was my fault, as it was the end of the dinghy line, known as the painter, must have fallen over the side a few days ago and, while running the motor to charge batteries/cool frig, got itself around the shaft. The shaft turns with the current when the motor runs. I always check the painter is clear before moving but didn't notice the painter had become shorter.

During the diving effort the tide came in enough for the boat to swing back into deep water and the motor started and propelled OK with no damage done. Now I am away, full of fuel, water and fuel, and now just wanting weather to get me south.

Getting very tired of this trip!

Cooktown

2007-10-13T16:23:00.000+09:30

My window of good weather has just closed.

With accurate coastal waters weather forecasts I was able to know two days ago that the SE would kick in hard on Saturday and was able to adjust my runs each day and made it to the Cooktown and am now anchored in the Endeavour river, which is very shallow and begs the question:

How much water did Cook's Endeavour draw?

For those that don't know, in 1770 James Cook ran the Endeavour onto a reef a few miles south and came in here to make repairs. Luckily for him the coral head he hit snapped off and formed a plug in the hull. For me it was a serious of shallow! - stop - back up - turn - try there - shallow! - stop - etc... A smart ass comment from one of the twenty or so game-fishing boats choking up the waterway was really helpful. Luckily Brent off one of the boats I have been travelling with, came in his dingy
and showed me the way, which still entailed pushing through sand until getting to slightly deeper water.

Cooktown is similar in size to Thursday Island (two or three streets wide), but connected to the rest of Queensland by a reasonable road. History and the reef trips are the big things here. with a few museums and lots of Cook monuments and murals depicting indigenous life before and after his visit.

To add to the historical theme of the arrival into Cooktown I passed Bounty, the replica of Captain Bligh's Bounty a few miles out. It was heading north, using a non-authentic motor.

For me its now a wait for the SE to drop off again and continue south. Most of the trip from the Escape river was a motoring affair in calm conditions. The last afternoon coming in was a different matter, with a stiff NE sea breeze coming up and we sailed along at 8 knots to charge into Cooktown. Lets hope the there are more days like that.

Expecting no change in the weather for four or five days.

Finally out of the Escape river

2007-10-08T09:58:00.000+09:30

It was starting to feel like the 'No Escape' river. The lousy conditions I encountered on the way in reinforced my patience and I have sat in here for ten days waiting for the weather to improve. Finally it's arrived and this morning I made the break and am now about ten miles south and so far have a light sea and moderate winds.

The forecast is for several days of these conditions so now the job is to get as far south as possible while the break in the south east trade winds last. The further south the lighter the trade wind is.

My time in the Escape river was broken up by visits from a couple of boats heading north who were both very welcoming and allowed me to 'talk the their heads off'. The last two days have seen three other southbound boats arrive and three of us are now out here,

I did a bit of fishing to break the monotony up and had a bit of luck one day, landing a large queenfish. It was very pleasant in the early morning motoring along the mangroves. Mind you the thought of crocodiles is ever present, and I must say I felt quite vulnerable in my little soft dinghy.

If the weather stays calm I will aim for Cape Grenville today with an arrival in the evening which will be OK as it is an open bay with no reefs. Due to the shipping traffic and tighter waterway I won't be doing any overnight trips for a while.

The Escape River

2007-09-28T06:51:00.000+09:30

Well I've moved on from Horn Island and had an OK day getting here. 44 miles I covered and had a bit of everything in the way of conditions. The wind was fairly calm in the morning and I was able to get out into the open water and put my repaired headsail back up, then as I rounded Horn Island the current was with me as the sea was short and sloppy from the run out tide. The wind came up quickly and stayed all day around 15-20 as predicted, but before the sea could build too much I was in the lee
of Albany passage, a strait between the mainland and an island just south of Cape York.

After a nice calm run down the narrow strait I could see the whitecaps waiting for me at the other end. After pushing into 2 knots of current below Horn and through the strait, at least the twenty miles to the Escape river was sped up with 2 knots flowing with me. With the wind right up on 20 knots the trip was pretty rough and I had two or three hard bangs as a wave would force itself over the deck. The Escape river is uninhabited, save for a large pearl farm which takes up any possible anchoring
spot for three miles at the head of the river. There are a few fishing trawlers at anchor here with me.

A lovely sight yesterday afternoon was several flocks of magpie geese flying and turning. (I think)

With the same forecast for the next few days, then increasing, the prospect of doing the seventy miles down to Cape Grenville in such a sea is not inviting.

So with a sense of frustration I have to accept that I am going to be in this river a while....

Cape York - Thursday Island

2007-09-22T08:15:00.001+09:30

A nice deep sleep at anchor last night. I arrived at the anchorage off Horn Island, opposite Thursday Island. The last two had some difficult weather with very strong easterly or south-easterly winds. It was very pleasant to see the islands emerge on the horizon and feel the sea flatten as I ran in between the islands.

I was dismayed to find my mobile phone doesn't work here. Telstra? With a money matter to deal with I caught the ferry across to Thursday I to find virtually everything closed due to a show holiday. So no Internet access. I found a payphone and with help from my brother Ross fixed up what I needed to do.

I need to get fuel here and hopefully can do that on Monday.

Cape York - Thursday Island

2007-09-22T08:15:00.000+09:30

I need to get fuel here and hopefully can do that on Monday.

A great start into the Gulf

2007-09-17T17:35:00.000+09:30

This morning I woke to a calm morning. This was the first time since I arrived in the Wessels that the wind was below 15knots.

The forecast is for 15/20 E-SE but heading East tomorrow, so with the calm I decided to give it a go. I motored up and and over the Cape and out into the gulf heading ESE. I was pleasantly surprised that the seas were quite calm and the wind stayed off all morning. Back in 2002 when we sailed from Cape York to Gove the last 10 hours as we approached Gove were terrible, with the swell and sea really confused.

This time - easy!

After lunch the wind came up and stayed around 12 knots from the SE and with a calm sea I've cruised along at 5-6 knots and almost on a direct course for Thursday Island.

Yesterday afternoon a plane crashed at Phuket. Being a Sunday afternoon flight I was concerned that one of the staff or students from the school may have been aboard, as many people on the island go to Bangkok for the weekend. Liz emailed today to say that there was no-one we knew aboard. Still a tragedy no less.

CREW WANTED - NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.
I am totally sick of my own company!! If anyone would like to join me please contact me aboard using this email address: dl1ght at winlink dot org

The Wessel Islands

2007-09-14T10:05:00.000+09:30

Arrived here lunchtime yesterday and the sensation of quiet and calm is very enjoyable. I've logged 650 miles from Darwin over ten days, and generally the trip has been OK with moderate winds and reasonable seas. The last three days have been non stop from Malay Bay, so last night's unbroken sleep was very enjoyable.

If you look on the satellite view of the Wessel Island on the Position Reports, you see that I'm at the tip of a long string of islands. They are low and have light scrub on them and the shoreline is 80% beach. It is very beautiful in a harsh barren way. There is no development here and probably one of the most remote spots in Australia. There are no other boats here and apart from the Coast Watch airplane each day, I am on my own.

The next two days will be spent resting up and doing a few jobs and then the next leg 320 miles across the the Gulf of Carpentaria to Cape York, but as the wind is blowing straight at me I expect this to be a bit of slog and take a while.

Slow progress in the Arafura Sea

2007-09-11T09:15:00.000+09:30

Since my last post I have been day-sailing eastward along the coast. The weather has been OK with 10knots of South East of a morning then a short calm and then the North East sea breeze comes in and varies in strength up to 20 knots.

All the wind directions has the word "east" in them, so I am tacking to gain the maximum direction east each day. The day before yesterday a catamaran called 'Playground' came up and overtook me in a the strait between the mainland and let me know where they would anchor that night. I was making for the same bay and found another cat, TwoJ's there as well. We all met up that evening and had a nice chat we I really enjoyed, not having seen another person for a week. They are both from WA and bound
for Brisbane.

With different speed capabilities and itineraries we won't sail together but have kept in touch on the radio and will no doubt meet up again.

With no convenient anchorages I am now sailing straight to the Wessel Islands about 200 miles away. From there the jump across the Gulf of Carpentaria starts to Cape York.

Now for a short winge. It's just not real safe up here! So far I have hauled in four fish and all of them were sharks! The only thing I've seen in the water was a snake which I assume was a sea snake, but had a real adder look to it. When I anchored with the catamarans I would've paddled over on on the ski to visit but the threat of crocodiles is very real.

No toes in the water for Col!

PS: I post position reports more often than blog entries.

Leaving the Van Diemen gulf and Darwin behind

2007-09-07T08:40:00.000+09:30

And hopefully the bloody sharks!

I left the anchorage off the sailing club two days ago and both days I caught a shark with my fishing line. The first one indirectly cost me the lure as it wrapped the line around itself and chaffed the line through while I pried the lure out of it's mouth. I was sailing and when the lure fell into the water, I failed the MOB test and lost sight of it after two unsuccessful passes.

The second one was larger at 1.5 metres and I had to play game-fisherman for far too long to get the thing to the boat. This one mercifully threw the lure out when I lifted it up.

The weather is ideal with light E-SE in the morning and Northerly sea breezes in the afternoon. I am now coming up to Cape Don and will continue to head east until the E-SE picks up again. So far the forecast gives me two-three days. Working the tides is important here and am now motorsailing at 10knots to get past Cape Don before the tide turns.

Life as a solo sailor is OK, so far. From a safety point of view I live in my inflatable lifejacket/harness, keep the saftey line attached, and pre plan any actions much more than with the family aboard.

Love to hear from... well anybody really!
post a comment and I receive it on board.

Starting to move again

2007-09-03T18:20:00.000+09:30

It's now two weeks since Liz, COurtney and Anna flew back to Phuket. They are settled back into life there. Liz is teaching in a different section of the school (year 3/4) and is enjoying the change. Anna and Courtney seem pretty happy to be back and seeing friends etc.

For me, the two weeks have been spent doing a few boat jobs, chasing up any work opportunities and catching up on Aussie TV. On the work front there was the promise of some temp work but two expected starts fell through. The marina costs were too high to stay any longer without money coming in, so I came out of the marina today and am at anchor in Fannie Bay off the sailing club.

So tomorrow, or the next day, I will start to move east. The plan is to day hop up for the next few days.

Now I'm on the move, position reports will be sent regularly. A link on the right column on this page takes you there.

Colin

Back in Phuket and still in Darwin

2007-08-22T23:39:00.000+09:30

Late on Monday morning Liz and the girls flew back to Phuket so Liz could be there to start work on Tuesday. Reflections is tied up in the fishing fleet basin which is basic in facilities, but remarkably quiet, and the most convenient place for a boat.

I am chipping away on some boat jobs and looking at work options here in Darwin and afar.

The trip to take Reflections onward to the east coast would start mid October.

Love to hear from anyone - it's pretty quiet here without the girls aboard!

In Darwin

2007-08-18T06:53:00.000+09:30

Terrible rough weather for last 12 hours with 30+ knots of wind as we motored into Darwin Harbour. Now tied up on quarantine jetty and need to leave boat here as they have put biocides into our water inlets. Tomorrow will move to a marina.

Customs and Quarantine were very friendly and relazed, and only asked questions and had a cursory look around. Took only the very minimum of food from us. Nice to be stopped.

Time to go to town and check out Darwin. Very pleased with ourselves after completing a 2000 mile passage with few problems and only the occasional family spat aboard.

Calms and a final blow, as we into slip through the net into Darwin

2007-08-17T03:39:00.000+09:30

It's 3am and we are 20 miles from Darwin. The last two days have been a mixture of calm motoring and light sailing. So yesterday I think we all thought that the trip was over and the last few miles would pass easily, but slowly in anticipation of arriving.

Sure....

Around 10pm the South East kicked in again and has built to be 25-30 knots and is right in our face. The six metre tide has been running out against us. So we are motoring with all sails down and punching and bouncing along, sometimes at 2.5 knots. Our ETA of 8am is slipping away...

But there is hope. The tide has just turned and soon the current will be with us, and we should start accelerating soon. On the earler 'flood tide' today we were doing 10 knots.

And it appears that if we hadn't told them we were coming, they wouldn't have known. On previous departure/arrivals into Aus we have been regularly buzzed by maritime surveillance aircraft who call us and request our details. This time we saw or heard no-one. But we know the rules and dutifully we emailed our arrival detail 4 days in advance and today called Customs and told one of the aircraft where we where and what time we'd get in.

We did hear other boats being called, and on one occasion, after asking "Do you have any plants or animals aboard?", the reply must have been no. Moments later the aircraft then asked "So I assume you are going to toss those pot plants on your stern over the side soon?". Best to tell the truth when someone's watching.

We've been pigging out on all the remaining food that we assume Customs will take off us. Our last experience with them was simple and no fuss. Let's hope Darwin is the same.

Sliding past the Taninbar Islands

2007-08-14T11:58:00.000+09:30

We are now on our downhill run. Heading south towards Darwin. The weather has improved and we are not getting so many squalls, but still holding 15+ knots of wind most of the time, but from a more easterly direction which is allowing us to pretty make our course to Darwin.

Yesterday we past on the western side of the Aru islands and enjoyed 50 odd miles of flat sea and with good wind, were able to sail along very smoothly. Now we are doing the same with the Tanimbar Islands, which are about 100 miles long and it's like sailing on the lake on a nice sea-breeze.

We are now 360 miles to Darwin and hope to be in on Friday or Saturday.

A turtle, a dolphin and a bonito

2007-08-12T09:02:00.001+09:30

That's pretty well the wildlife count over the last few days. On the first day out from the dive resort we saw a large turtle right next to the boat. I don't think we bumped it. Yesterday a single dolphin ran along with us for a few minutes. Yesterday was also the calmest day in ages and we motored to gain some direct mileage and to charge the batteries. While going along in the calm I set up the fishing line and ten minutes later saw the lure break out of the water. Turned out we'd caught a small
bonito.

Last night the wind steadily strengthed and this morning it's grey, rainy and 20+ knots.

Punching on.

A turtle, a dolphin and a bonito

2007-08-12T09:02:00.000+09:30

Last night the wind steadily strengthed and this morning it's grey, rainy and 20+ knots.

Punching on.

Beating into the Ceram Sea

2007-08-11T09:03:00.000+09:30

Beating is the term used when sailing into the wind. It can, at times, be compared with beating your head against a wall. The progress can be frustrating slow, and often the journey is rough as the boat is heeled over and bashing into the waves.

So an obvious feature of a good cruising route is to not beat into the wind. But sometimes you just want to get somewhere, and this is what is required. Acceptance and making the best of it, are the keys. Except I've never been good at finding my keys!

We are three days out from the dive resorts and it's been 20-25 knots from the South East. So we tack away and try to balance moving fast, and having a tolerable life aboard. Five knots seems to be the go. The boat only occasionally bangs hard into a wave and the sound of 'splatt, whoosh' as a wave makes it to cockpit, is again, occasional.

Leaks present where none were thought to exist. The hatch on the back storage locker worked loose and a few hundred litres ended up there. The anchor chain demonstrates excellent capillary action and the front hatch, which has never sealed that well, brings a salty drippy ambience to the bow. But our bunks are mostly dry, the cockpit continues to keep the worst of the weather out, and life aboard is tolerable. A few time we've hoved-to which makes the boat lay quite still and slowly creeps backwards.
During these sessions Liz has made bread, pizza and things are tidied up.

The weather seems to be clearing as we head south with a brilliantly clear sky last night and sunshine this morning. The wind has dropped to 5knots this morning and we are motoring (in exactly the direction we want) while we charge the batteries. The forecasts state that the SE wind will stay at 20-25 knots for most of the trip.

We think we will now head for Darwin, instead of Gove.

From the Ceram Sea just off the Papuan coast, north of Ceram.

By the way, I post position reports more often than blog entries.

Colin

Stoppover in Papua

2007-08-08T18:59:00.000+09:30

What originally was planned as quick stop in a town to get some fuel and food has turned out to be a truly memorable stay in an area as special as anywhere we've been before.

Ian and Robyn off Reeflections II passed me the name of a friend, Warwick (Wick), who would help us if we came into the town of Sorong(on the western tip of Papua or Irian Jaya). Wick contacted us and was very keen for us to call in. When we explained that we were transitting and had no cruising permit for Indonesia, he suggested we stop at Sorido / Kri dive resort at an island 40 miles NW of Sorong, where we would meet up with his supply boat, Helena, who would bring out our order.

So that's what we did. Arriving in grey skies and rain we struggled to find a suitable anchorage and eventually anchored in 40 metres of water just off the small eco-style resort of Kri. The resort comprises just six traditional style stilt huts built over the water and is totally focussed on diving. A few hundred metres around the point is the sister resort of Sorido which is more up-market. We went ashore and met the Dutch manager, Maya, who arranged for us to have lunch with the guests and made
us welcome. The supply ship Helena came in and our food and fuel was delivered to the resort jetty.

An issue developed about payment as we didn't know the exchange rate. The staff of the resort, straight away called their base to get a rate and then arranged to hold the payment for Wick. The guys operating the dive boats took the fuel out for us and overall just kept watching us to see if we needed anything. The owner and builder of the the two resorts, Max, came round to meet us (and more importantly oversee the transfer of a new desalinator unit.)

Max is Dutch and a long term ex-pat, and has an wonderful enthusiasm for the area and seems to have a deep love of sharing the area with others. Before building the resorts here he spent months travelling around the islands in a large Zodiac inflatable. With dive gear and compressor aboard he scouted for dive sites and eventually chose Mansuar / Kri islands. The recently built Sorido resort has modern units set just off the beach and are invisible from the water. He gave us a tour around and showed
how much of the furniture is made by themselves with locally milled timber and, all in all we gained the impression that the place is quality driven. Over dinner at Sorido we met some of the guests and the dive leader, James and his partner Helena.

Dinner talk covered our travels and of course, the diving. We were encouraged to come diving and again, they made this possible by offering for us to pay by bank transfer when we get to Australia. Max had earlier showed us the proofs of an article in National Geographic, who came out to do a story several months ago. Apparently this area as been declared the most bio-diverse area on the planet. This information coupled with looking at the stunning article photos, was more than enough encouragement
to stay another day and go for a dive.

The dive we chose was called Sardines, after the large schools of small fish that frequent the spot. A point in the reef protrudes into deeper water and the current passes either side and up into the shallows. We dropped in and went straight down to 25 metres, than finned against the considerable current to get to the point, where the current eased, and we were able to watch the fish life. It was a very good dive but hard maintaining position in the current. Courtney retired early, burnt out from
fighting the current. I ran out of air soon after and Liz and the rest followed shortly. The coral life was stunning and while not the massive schools of fish promised, there were large schools of 'sardines' and many large trevally cruising around. Others on the dive saw several white tip reef sharks and a turtle.

A combination of headaches and tiredness excluded Courtney and I from the next dive but Liz prevailed and came back with descriptions of larger schools of fish, more varsities, and all set in a wonderfully diverse coral garden.

The next day we did some washing and boat jobs to get ready to leave for Darwin or Gove?

Water, water everywhere

2007-08-04T19:49:00.000+09:30

The last 12 hours have been a bit of an ordeal but finished with lots of water. The seas have calmed and rain set in, so the bucket with pump/filter is in position at the deck drain outlet and our tanks are now full and the girls are out washing/playing in the water.

Last night around midnight a big squall came over and blew 25-30 knots from the NW, which is opposite to all the other weather we've had on this trip. We laid hove-to to wait and see what was going to happen next, but after 30 minutes a 20 knot NW wind continued. Well this was pretty good news, so we set our sails to run downwind and had 4-5 hours of good boat speed with the boat sailing flat, as opposed to the last nine days of heeled over.

All good things come to an end and the wind died at dawn and the resultant sea was horrible! The NW had built up a metre sea and once the wind dropped away the Southerly swell gave a real washing machine action with peaks of water bouncing vertically a few metres. The boat just bounced and jarred and bobbed. Sail pumped and banged. Bugger this - on with the motor and try to get some stability. The sea started to settle after an hour and just when things were brightening the temperature alarm went
off. Luckily it settled down more while the engine covers came off and some breakfast was had. A smaller NW squall came through and allowed a steady sailing boat while I found the worn fan belt that caused the overheating and replaced it.

We are now on our way to a resort just off the tip of Irian Jaya, called Sorido. Ian and Robyn off Reeflections II told me how they worked for Wick at the town of Sorong and put us in contact. After initially planning to stop in Sorong, Wick suggested that we go to this resort and his crew would pick some supplies and meet us there as they were heading on a regular run there tomorrow (Sunday). Avoiding town and authorities is advisable for us as we don't have a cruising permit.

The heavy rain and grey skies mean we probably won't go in there today but tomorrow we hope to be at anchor. We are all intensely interested to see what there is at this dive resort, located so remotely.

The weather cleared enough for us to see shallows off the island so we snuck in and anchored, but not very soundly on a coral bottom. Hopefully we'll be OK but will need to maintain a watch on our position. Feels very nice to be still after 10 days on the move.

Molucca Sea is on the nose

2007-08-03T09:04:00.000+09:30

Thursday 2nd Aug 8pm
Well the wind is. We passed between Halmahera Island and Morotai Island yesterday morning. It was nice to run between the two islands in relative calm. Took the opportunity to top up the fuel tank with the fuel containers we carry. 130 litres took us back to a fuel tank. We considered going ashore to get more fuel but the township/port wasn't obvious so we continued. We sailed on in variable winds and calm seas in the lee of the island.

Today the wind built quickly to 15-20 knots from the south and we have been punching into the wind as we do our best to head south east. We found our log, an impeller that measures boat speed, is leaking. The fitting has popped up when we've pounded hard. It pushes back down and seals OK but won't screw up any tighter as if an seal is missing. The blank does the same. Something to watch and try to fix when a calm spot emerges in daylight hours.

Today Courtney made cheesecake! A packet mix but still very nice. Three of the crew have now read the new Harry Potter book and now wait for Liz to finish books six, then seven, so conversations about can go on without being spoilers

Very little to see around us. We are out of sight of land again and virtually no fishing boats and haven't seen any large ships. Mary and Warren on Arawana made it to Manado in Suluwesi today. It's nice to talk to them each morning.

Now covered just over a 1000 of the 1800 miles to Gove.

Now too much wind in the Molucca Sea

2007-08-01T09:05:00.000+09:30

As we passed the Sanghie Islands yesterday morning, we continued on the same course towards Halmahera and Morotai Islands. Steadily the wind picked up from the SSE, and we started to rocket along at 7+ knots, but diving into waves with lots of water on the deck. We reefed down and rolled up the headsail in favour of the cutter (smaller inner headsail) and conditions aboard were still lousy but the best conditions were going to allow.

So along we went with everyone feeling a bit under the weather. We hove-to for an hour before dark to have dinner and then batted on during night. While Liz was on watch I felt the hard bang of a solid wave hitting us then the rushing sound of water and then a "oh-no, you rotten...." the wave had kicked up a few buckets over the cockpit covers and poured in on the downwind side of the cockpit where she was sitting. It's a really horrible sensation to be brought out of the night watch daze with a
bucket of sea-water over your head.

This morning it's a little lighter at 15-17 knots and we are 50 miles from Morotai where we may stop and try to top up our fuel.

a good 24hrs with wind and a milestone passed

2007-07-31T08:54:00.000+09:30

At 8:am yesterday I turned the motor off in light breeze after noticing the current had abated. The day panned out well with us drifting along at 2-4 knots for most of the day, and in the afternoon and most of the night the southerly lifted to 10-15 knots and we made some good time. We turned in a 100 mile day with the motor.

Quiet day aboard with the usual reading, computer usage, games of chess and sleeping.

The midnight muffin maker (Liz) struck, and the boat has the lovely smell of fresh baking now.

This morning we passed through the Sangihe Islands and have now left the Celebes Sea and are now entering the Molucca Sea. The islands were very steep, rising up from a 3000 metre seabed and seem to continue up. One in the distance had the classic volcano shape and the nearby island was shrouded in cloud with its own personal lightning show going on inside.

A day and a half should see us at Halmahera, where we start to head south.

Hope to catch a fish today. Had the line out yesterday with no luck. New sea, new day..

Currents against us.

2007-07-30T07:26:00.000+09:30

Very frustrating scene on board as there are light winds that we could glide along at 3 knots but the current is pushing us back and south at around 2knots so one knot forward is the result. No good. Motor on.

Haven't seen anything today, except for a light in the distance during the night. We are 100 miles from the islands which reach north from Suluwesi, so I expect to see some more fishing activity soon. Had our line out yesterday but no luck.

Everyone is well on board but am hearing the word 'bored' fairly regularly.

Day 4 dawns in the Celebes Sea

2007-07-28T09:01:00.000+09:30

Nice and calm this morning and over the last six hours we've been just about becalmed. The sea is now flat and has settled after the lousy conditions yesterday.

Day 2 was OK with a squall kicking up early in the morning but it didn't last too long and replaced itself with some southerly winds that we tacked into to go down through the Sibutu passage. The passage separates some Indonesian and Malay islands and is a smuggling route. We were told to hold to the Malay side but we split the difference as we tacked down. We were overflown by a business jet type of plane which I assume was a surveillance aircraft. Later in the evening Liz spotted two very fast
boats with green lights which we again assume was some kind of border patrol. With talk of pirates, the girls were most dissappointed when we came across no Johnny Depps or Orlando Blooms. Almost through the passage, and around midnight a squall come through with more teeth and we had 15-25 knots which were able to reach across into the Celebes Sea. It held and we had a fast but rolly ride all night.

Day 3 started with the same southerly wind easing a bit and giving us a lumpy ride. During the day we saw several pods of whales. One pair were a few hundred metres away and could see they were small (3 metres?) with blunt noses. Liz and the girls have been laying low with various level of discolour,but all jumped up on deck with the call of "thar she blows!".

Later in the day a really nasty squall hit with 30 knots sustained for a few hours. Again a good burst of speed with the boat racing along but uncomfortable in the lumpy conditions. As the wind eased in the afternoon the sea was just bloody horrible. I (Colin) seemed to spend the last two days, furling and reefing, unfurling and unreefing sails or collapsing into a short nap. Definitely not the the "gin and tonic at Sunset, end of the bargain".

So last night the calm conditions and no speed was OK as the restful nature of the motion was most appreciated.

Have a few problems aboard withhe the main alternator not putting out much current, the engine alternator is going OK so no drama there. We have small tear in our headsail which we taped up last night but this morning the tape has lifted so will need to give it another go. Our gearbox may have an oil leak, possibly from the cooler, but it's not bad and I have lots of oil for it.

The girls are going along OK, each vying for computer time to play the "Sims", read Fan Fictions, write stories and watch movies. Liz has had the worst of the sea sickness but a calmer day today would help her.

I have had trouble getting email out but this morning was able to access another "radio mailbox" in South Australia which worked well.

Please send a short comment so we can have some news of the outside world.

First night out of Sandakan

2007-07-26T20:16:00.000+09:30

A little bit later than planned but we are now on our way. Courtney and Liz went up to the Kinabatagan River for a night in the Jungle Camp and enjoyed the beauty of the place and the river cruises to spot the wildlife. Sandakan Yacht Club was extremely friendly. Usual nice staff and all the different board members made a point to introduce themselves and often bought rounds of drinks for us.

And we had the company of another boat. Arawana, with Warren and Mary aboard who are also heading into Indonesia with a final destination of Darwin. We won't cross paths but will endeavour to keep in touch on the radio.

So with the boat full of food, fuel and water, we said our goodbye's to customs, immigration and the ports office, and left Sandakan behind at 3:30pm. The first few hours saw a steady sea breeze and had Reflections IV gliding along at six knots in a flat sea. Around midnight a series of squalls are passing over. Lots of rain and short bursts of 20 knots.

In and out with the headsail as the squalls went through til 1am when it calmed off with only a knot or two of forward motion. Early morning and light SW are keeping us around 4-5 knots. Very comfortable sailing. Have a favourable current of a knot and hope that will accelerate as we get closer to the Sibutu Passage.

Sandakan - revisited

2007-07-22T11:31:00.000+09:30

No update for a few days as I've had other distractions. Firstly turtles and now town. We sailed in light headwinds til early evening from Palau Tigabu, to an island in the Turtle Island group. Next morning it was nice to laze the morning away and then go across to Palau Silingaan. This island is the focus for tourists to visit, with nice accommodation, a lovely beach, OK snorkeling and of course, lots of turtles. Mainly Green Turtles and some smaller Hawksbill Turtles come to lay here for most of
the year.

Having been here with my sister Wendy only six weeks earlier, I knew the drill. We paid our park fee and wandered round to the beach for a swim (Anna) and book reading (the rest of us). While on the beach little hatch-lings would appear from the higher sand behind us tourists on the beach and scurry to the water. We all watched with delight as these tiny things, with flippers far too big for their little bodies, made their way to the relative safety of the water.

On the way back to the boat Anna found in the sand a 2gigabyte memory card. Back aboard we examined the photos on the card and recognised a lady and her daughter from the beach. When Anna returned the card to the lady she was quite overcome as the card had her photos from many weeks of travel in Europe, Japan and SE Asia. Anna ended up with a nice reward.

That night we assembled in the dining area and then followed the ranger to see a large green turtle laying her eggs with another a metre away still digging her nest. They take the eggs to a hatchery to protect them from predators and then release them from a basket at the waters edge. A very interventionist approach.

Next day a short sail brought us into Sandakan. We have had many reports of theft of outboard motors here, so we cleared our deck of valubles, and each night put the outboard inside the boat. That said, the yacht club is very welcoming and friendly. From my experience I have found people more open and friendly in Malaysian Borneo than on the more busy peninsula.

Liz and Courtney have gone to the Kinabatagan river for a night to see the myriad of wildlife that is compressed into one of the last vestiges of forest in this oil-palm dominated environment.

We hope to leave on Tuesday.. or Wednesday.

Colin

PS: There are photos available for this post. Also I have several pages/photos on Sandakan when I was here with Wendy. The link for these pages is on the right hand column of this page.

At anchor at Palau Tigabu

2007-07-17T20:53:00.000+09:30

Started out with a squally evening, strong winds, and had to keep a close eye on our position for a few hours, the weather then settled right down ,and we had very calm evening. Motored in the calm morning for a few hours and then sailed for an hour, then as the breeze picked up to a constant 12 knots it also positioned itself directly on our nose. Easier to just motor then tack through the reefs that are everywhere here.

We came into anchor and chose the western sided and once anchored had a man in a small boat wishing to trade fish for fuel. We agreed on 10 RM instead and he handed over a large bowlful of sand crabs, which were really tasty and a nice change. Two small children came along next and left with a pencil each and writing pad. It's been many years since we've encountered visitors like this. A second canoe came from the same small motor boat anchored near us with two men aboard with two young babies. They asked for food and we gave them a few cups of rice and some packet noodles. Their eyes showed appreciation of the gift. They probably live aboard permanently and drift around the islands between Malaysia and the Philippines.

A nasty squall started brew just before dark and we followed the other boats to re anchor north of the island. As most of the squalls lately it was short lived but start with a burst of 20-30 knots. We've had very clear skies and impressive displays of cloud formations and night skies.

at anchor just near the tip of Borneo

2007-07-17T10:11:00.000+09:30

Always neat to pass a major point. At the northern most tip of Borneo we leave the South China sea, can see the Philippines north of us in the distance, and we turn south east into the Sulu sea heading towards Sandakan.

Spent the day fiddling with the spinnaker. Now I knew in the back of my mind I needed some light rope for something but couldn't remember what. Today I found out why. I had pinched the 30m rope for the spinnaker sock for other purposes. We hoisted it without sock and drifted along slowly in 2-4 knots and at least cast some nice shade on deck.

Ended up making only 15 miles progress as the drifting along sort of mesmerised us, and the day got away with our original anchorage too far away. Anchored out of the swell and sitting very quietly out of the swell.

Colin

Almost to the tip of Borneo after a very nice day.

2007-07-15T23:19:00.000+09:30

Left Usukan Bay after a rolly night. The swell is about a metre and comes for the NW so get into the bay. Not too bad. Slow sail out in the morning on a light land breeze then motored for three hours til the sea breeze came up steady and light and we sailed along at 5-6knots under idyllic conditions. Liz spent a huge day cooking three loaves of bread and two pizzas. Then we caught a lovely big Spanish mackerel so we won't starve.

Lots of lightning around and the wind is building, so a storm tonight is likely. We're anchored on the northern side of a headland as most of the weather comes from the south west this time of year but tonight it's looking like something will come out of the north.

Time will tell.

Colin and the girls

At anchor just outside of Kota Kinabalu

2007-07-13T22:11:00.000+09:30

Always great to finally get out of the marina and away. The task today was to use the last of the free flowing tap water and wash down the boat, a few last minute shopping things and then once out of the marina go to a fuel barge off the township and fill 'er up.

Now we are at anchor in a small bay off Gaya island which is one of three island that make up a marine park off KK. Very pretty.

With a few extra jugs for diesel we have around 540 litres of fuel aboard. This relates to a around 700 miles of motoring. As our trip is around 1800 miles we hope to not have to stop to get fuel and still be able to motor on calm days.

This message is sent using our email system on the boat. It uses a special 'modem' called a pactor which communicates with our short wave radio to another radio, in this case in India, which then sends it on through the Internet. Much much slower the WiFi, but much better range.

If you post a comment on the blog, the comment will be emailed to us on-board.

Colin and the girls.

PS: the legs have almost recovered from climbing Mt Kinabalu!

The plan as it stands

2007-07-10T15:58:00.000+09:30

The plan is to sail the boat back, probably to Newcastle.

The first part of the trip is to get to Gove in the Northern Territory, which should be achievable in the six weeks that Liz and the girls have off school. From there I (Colin) will continue on, keeping an ear to the ground for any job possibilities.

I will be looking for crew along the way so anyone interested should contact me.

Liz and the girls will then head back to Phuket. The main reason is to allow Courtney to finish her IGSCE in June 08.

From here in Kota Kinabalu, we head north east along the coast, round the tip of Borneo, and south east along the coast to Sandakan where we will leave Malaysia. From Sandakan we head east towards the western end of of Irian Jaya and then skirt along the southern coast till we are due north of Gove. Then across the trade winds that blow hard from south east to Gove.

It's a long way (2000 miles) and plenty of potential for things to change. A lack of wind in the first 1500 miles then too much in the last 500 miles are the most likely.

So in a few days we will leave KK and hopefully have a relaxing coastal hop to Sandakan. I can send posts to this blog from our radio email so 'stay tuned'.

Colin.

Climbing Mount Kinabalu

2007-07-10T13:22:00.000+09:30

Liz and the girls flew in from Phuket just on a week ago. Now we are just about loaded up with supplies and are getting close to leaving.

We had hoped to climb Mt Kinabalu but as we hadn't booked ahead and didn't have a budget to do a package tour (which still needs to be booked weeks ahead) we thought we'd missed out and decided to just go to the park headquarters and stay there for the night to enjoy the cooler climate at 1800 metres.

When we arrived we asked about cancellations to climb, and found there was two spots available. A quick consult with the girls, and they were more than happy to stay in the unit we'd booked and endure Satellite TV and a fireplace instead of hiking. Liz and I hurriedly packed our gear and set out to the first stage of staying overnight at the Laban Rata guesthouse, 6kms away and at 3200 metres. We started at 1pm and after a very hard long climb we reached the guest house at 6:40pm, feeling very tired and cold as it was 8 degrees. Liz was feeling dizzy and had a pounding head, which we thought were symptoms of altitude, so she decided to not try to do the summit the next day.

So after a short sleep, laying awake mostly to the noise of wind and rain, I got up at 2am and got ready to do the 3km climb to the summit at 4100 metres. The rain was a real worry and I decided if I got too cold in the first hour I would turn back. I had good warm clothes but had only sailing gloves with exposed fingers I knew that my hands were in for it - and of course a set of legs that hadn't been well prepared for this ordeal.

The short story is, after 5 hours of walking, pulling myself up on ropes, shuffling up a long smooth granite face and finally scaling hand to foot up the summit I crouched (too windy to stand) on top of the highest mountain in South East Asia. The trip down was eased by the fact the surrounding clouds cleared and I was presented with a truly incredible view.

Meeting back up with Liz at Laban Rata at 9:30am, we then headed down to the park headquarters. The trip down just became harder and harder as my body started to tell me what sort of unaccustomed effort I had put it through. In just over 24 hours I walked only 18km but during that "walk" went up and then back down 2.2km

Today it's the next day, back on the boat, and I feel very flat and any attempt to move my legs is met extreme reluctance. Walking is more of a wobble. No boat jobs today.

But it was really worth it - come and do this!

Colin

The photos of the climb are here.

Sutera Harbour Marina, Kota Kinabulu - Time to get ready

2007-06-17T12:45:00.000+09:30

Welcome to my first post on our blog.

After three months 'on the hard' - out of the water in a boat yard, Reflections IV is now back in the water. Going back in the water was a stressful time as I was on my own and memories of the last time when the motor failed and had to be rebuilt were ever present.

But no dramas this time, and with great relief I motored away from Kudat on a calm sea and found no leaks and a motor showing all the right signs. Sails up in a light breeze and she's slipping through the water really nicely.

The next three days I day-hopped along the Sabah coast with a little bit of wind most of the time and only one squall that looked fiercer than it was. On the last day I was treated to an all day viewing of Mt Kinabulu. This 4000 metre granite monolith rises up 50kms back from and is very impressive. Thoughts of climbing it while we are in KK are considered.

Sutera Harbour is probably the nicest marina we ever been to. Flanked by two large hotels it has a myriad of pools, gyms, bowling alley and a regular shuttle that weaves through KK town each hour. With free WiFi, cheap laundry and towels supplied the cost of A$115 a week seems justified.

Now I have two and half weeks till Liz and the girls arrive from Phuket. The night before I hope to be able to look around and see a boat ready to embark on the 1800 mile journey back to Australia.

take care
Col