July 31, 2012 Arrival at Kupang and We Now Have a Working Freezer

Selamat! (Hello!) from Kupang, Indonesia. We arrived yesterday at 2 PM (Darwin time), after sailing most of the way, however we did motor a lot in the final 24 hours; Frank reckons we motored 20 hours of the 77-hour trip from Tipperary Waters Marina. Not bad based on what others in years before us experienced.

First off - the freezer. We still do not know what caused it to go on the blink. It had suddenly cut off during our first 24 hours. A pattern developed wherein it would shut off about every 1.5 hours, we would shut down the main power to it for 15 - 30 minutes and then it would restart. We tried fanning the compressor, troubleshooting using our Frigoboat book's guide, covering it in blankets to keep the cool in, etc. Eventually the cycle became shorter as the freezer would shut off every 50 minutes. Frank continued to worry and tinker while I prayed. Seriously. He started to complain that I had put too much in the freezer, we should take stuff out, we should defrost it (done the day before we left), and on and on. For some strange reason, he was more upset than I was, after all I am the drama queen among the two of us. I was resigned that it was only food, albeit a lot of expensive food, it would not cause us harm AND the boat is operating fine which to me is more important. Eventually he commented that the fridge, which sits beside the freezer, is frozen up along the element in the back. I said I would remove everything and defrost the fridge. Meanwhile, he took apart the connections on the freezer's control switch. While defrosting the fridge I found that the drain was clogged and so we used a hand pump that looks like a giant syringe to sort of suck and blow (no deviant comments, please) into the drain hole of the until it unclogged. We are not sure which of any of these efforts had the right affect but miraculously the freezer came on and has stayed on for nearly 24 hours. Maybe it was none of our efforts and just good old fashioned prayer that worked. We may never know but, knock on wood and fingers crossed, we are good so far and items are re-freezing.

The passage and arrival...
Sighting land was a thrill after nothing but big seas and whitecaps for 3 days. We arrived at the anchorage to find that many, many boats were already here. We discovered later that evening that several of those had jumped the queue and departed Darwin much earlier than the official start time and that some even left on Friday. Isn't it amusing the efforts some will make to try to be first in?

We anchored just behind "Renegade", called in on Ch 77 to report our arrival to Sail Indonesia and to get on the list to be checked in. "Renegade" warned us that they had been waiting since 11:00 AM (it was now 2:30), so sit back have a beer, read a book, get comfy. Meanwhile yachts, whom I will not name here, began nagging at Sam (our contact) to get them checked in. Some were downright obnoxious saying they'd been waiting over an hour which by that time had already been 3 1/2 hours for us. Others were even more rude and tried to jump the queue. What is WRONG with people? The officials arrived on Destiny by around 4:30 (Kupang time)and were so friendly. They were 5 young men who got very excited over two things: that we have a photocopier and that we have a boat stamp. They stamped the absolute heck out of everything, then before leaving they all whipped out cameras and smart phones asking for pictures with us. So cute!

Sam who is our Rally host came on the radio informing us that there is a dinner at 5 PM to which we are all invited. I will blog about that next time.

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Monday, July 30th, 2012 - A Little Over Halfway to W. Timor

First off, in the case this DOES post to my blog, I hope someone will email us at: wdd8870@sailmail.com to let us know this made it through. We are of course without internet and, therefore, do not know if our Webmaster has gotten the position reporting fixed on our website. As well, we do not know if sending updates to the blog via sailmail is successful. Oh how we rely on technology these days. Flying "blind" without it makes us appreciate progress as no average person can.

All is well aboard the good ship Destiny, seaworthy-wise that is. We are having a major freezer malfunction that could not have revealed itself at a worse time. Why oh why, in all the time we spent in Darwin did the darn thing wait until we were 24-hours away from Australia and filled to the brim to quit on us? Of course, we just spent a fortune on beautiful steaks, lamb racks, lamb chops, (actually all sorts of lamb and other meats), and other goods that won't be readily available to us in the upcoming months; or if we find these goods, who knows of the quality? We are both over the SICK feeling and yet still cannot imagine WHY this could not have happened when and where we could have had it repaired... Stuff Murphy and his laws!

The journey has been a good one nonetheless, with fair downwinds pushing us through the large waves. We have only used 5 gallons of diesel since leaving port. Not bad so far. The ride has been a bit bumpy, turning Destiny into a "Tilt-o-wheel" at times. Looking at the chart in front of me I see that we have roughly 22 hours to go on this passage. As far as passages go, this one has been unexpectedly pleasant because we did not anticipate getting to sail most of it, so far averaging a speed of 6.8 knots. I was even able to brew drip coffee this morning - unusual on passage for us without a lot of acrobatics and mess.

Leaving Australia for us was an emotional bag of mixed nuts. Economically we were ready for a change. We spent just over 21 months there, rather Destiny has. I made three trips back to States; Frank two. Otherwise we traveled and enjoyed magical, amazing, vast and beautiful Australia as much as possible during our stay. We feel we have done her justice, and have come away much more appreciative of her and her countrymen than we could have imagined. I've blogged extensively about our time in "Oz" and wish Frank would have done the same. His observations and comments would be so interesting to read, but alas he has lost the "oomph" to journal his thoughts and experiences. So we shared some observations and I will do my best to recapture those discussions as they float to the surface of our thoughts. Mainly, we love Australia. We love the people and their fortitude. We have learned how uptight we Americans really are, no matter how laid back we may think we are. When trouble/adversity/crisis rears its ugly head, a typical Aussie response is "No worries, Mate! She'll be right, Mate!" - and they mean it. It takes a lot to get to these guys and gals, and IF it gets to them watch out. We love their honesty, candor and spirit of hospitality. Their hearts ARE bigger than Texas. They love, laugh and give big. I do not know what it is like to cross an Aussie and hope I never find out, because I do not want to know if they swing the other way in retribution. Frank and I choose to love them unconditionally, as those we have met have us in return. We have made lasting friendships here with several Aussies, including a few "transplants". If you've read our blogs you know who they are. We will see them again and are counting on that.

That's enough for now. It's time for me to go cook some more meat that has defrosted on us. I guess we are on the Caveman diet for a while as long as the meat holds out.

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One More Last Thing...

Here is the website to the rally we have joined. The map shows routes. We are on the "white" one....http://sailindonesia.net/home/home.php

July 28, 2012 – Goodbye Australia – Heading for Indonesia!

The button “Where Are We” on our website’s URL has changed. If you click it, you will get an error message. We have sent a message to our Webmaster to update it but do not know when that will be. Meanwhile – this is the new link: http://www.pangolin.co.nz/xtras/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=KD0CFF

I also think my ability to email blog updates has gone on the fritz, so want to get this out there now. If I can get these things fixed, we will post updates o if not…see you in about 4 days when we can get internet again. We should arrive in Kupang, W. Timor by Tuesday or Wednesday....

July 28th, 2012 - Last Day in Darwin – and in Australia

I haven’t written for nearly 2 weeks. We have been flat out – Fair Dinkum!  Our time here has been wrought with chores and repairs that were intended to be 10 minute, 30 minute, 45 minute jobs that of course took several hours to days to complete. We all know about that I’m sure. In the interest of time I’ll not go into particulars. Suffice it to say Destiny is ready for passage – or as ready as she can be for now.

On the enjoyment side of things…we can honestly say we have given Darwin a fair go. We now know the location of every hardware store, boat supply shop, and market in the area. We have eaten some wonderful food, met two new Aussie friends who shall remain forever in our hearts and lives (whether Jo and Lex like it or not themselves), and have taken away a very fond memory of Darwin. The Museum and Art Gallery of the NT is a must do here. The Aboriginal art and cultural exhibits there were the highlight for us, and yet are just a portion of the attraction.

Thanks to Lex and Jo, we saw Darwin through the hearts and eyes of locals, walking along the foreshore where we spotted at least three Rainbow Pittas, beautiful little birds found in the Northern Territory’s rainforest and mangrove areas, known to be very shy and rarely spotted in the Dry Season. We now appreciate that NT has not four, but two seasons; “The Wet” and “The Dry”, respectively named. The Dry would be our winter and also the tail end of springtime and the beginning of autumn. The Wet is basically cyclone season – hot, wet and humid.

We absolutely pigged out at the Sky City Casino’s seafood buffet on Oyster Night, where we each probably consumed over a dozen and a half oysters on the half shell before diving into the crab, prawns, crayfish and other delights. Afterward we swore we would not eat for a week but as anyone who knows us knows, we never keep those kinds of promises.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Deckchair Cinema where we spent a lovely evening with our new North Carolina friends, Sheila and Stewart (s/v Imagine), watching the film “The Lady” (www.deckchaircinema.com/). This cinema is quite unique, and is often missed by visitors.

One day, while the men were otherwise occupied, Jo and I had a lovely lunch and then she took me into the Supreme Court Building (where Lex does his best barrister work) and into Parliament. I must say, NT’s Supreme Court building is the loveliest government building I’ve ever visited. The stunning, massive mosaic covering a good bit of the ground floor is well worth a good look. I felt I was in an art gallery more than a high court. Beautifully set.

We can’t imagine having come all the way to OZ and not having made it to Darwin. Thanks to this rally we did. It is unique and special in ways that my words could not possibly do justice recounting. If anyone reading this ever travels here – please get to know a local so that you can love and appreciate what we have during our stay.

Now I’m off to wrap up the last minute Must-do’s before we enter the Lock in just under an hour. More to come…

July 28th, 2012 - Last Day in Darwin – and in Australia

I haven't written for nearly 2 weeks. We have been flat out – Fair Dinkum!  Our time here has been wrought with chores and repairs that were intended to be 10 minute, 30 minute, 45 minute jobs that of course took several hours to days to complete. We all know about that I'm sure. In the interest of time I'll not go into particulars. Suffice it to say Destiny is ready for passage – or as ready as she can be for now.

 

On the enjoyment side of things…we can honestly say we have given Darwin a fair go. We now know the location of every hardware store, boat supply shop, and market in the area. We have eaten some wonderful food, met two new Aussie friends who shall remain forever in our hearts and lives (whether Jo and Lex like it or not themselves), and have taken away a very fond memory of Darwin. The Museum and Art Gallery of the NT is a must do here. The Aboriginal art and cultural exhibits there were the highlight for us, and yet are just a portion of the attraction.

 

Thanks to Lex and Jo, we saw Darwin through the hearts and eyes of locals, walking along the foreshore where we spotted at least three Rainbow Pittas, beautiful little birds found in the Northern Territory's rainforest and mangrove areas, known to be very shy and rarely spotted in the Dry Season. We now appreciate that NT has not four, but two seasons; "The Wet" and "The Dry", respectively named. The Dry would be our winter and also the tail end of springtime and the beginning of autumn. The Wet is basically cyclone season – hot, wet and humid.

We absolutely pigged out at the Sky City Casino's seafood buffet on Oyster Night, where we each probably consumed over a dozen and a half oysters on the half shell before diving into the crab, prawns, crayfish and other delights. Afterward we swore we would not eat for a week but as anyone who knows us knows, we never keep those kinds of promises.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the Deckchair Cinema where we spent a lovely evening with our new North Carolina friends, Sheila and Stewart (s/v Imagine), watching the film "The Lady" (www.deckchaircinema.com/). This cinema is quite unique, and is often missed by visitors.

 

One day, while the men were otherwise occupied, Jo and I had a lovely lunch and then she took me into the Supreme Court Building (where Lex does his best barrister work) and into Parliament. I must say, NT's Supreme Court building is the loveliest government building I've ever visited. The stunning, massive mosaic covering a good bit of the ground floor is well worth a good look. I felt I was in an art gallery more than a high court. Beautifully set.

 

We can't imagine having come all the way to OZ and not having made it to Darwin. Thanks to this rally we did. It is unique and special in ways that my words could not possibly do justice recounting. If anyone reading this ever travels here – please get to know a local so that you can love and appreciate what we have during our stay.

 

Now I'm off to wrap up the last minute Must-do's before we enter the Lock in just under an hour. More to come…

July 11 – 15, 2012 – Yacht Clubs, Museums and meeting Great Folks in Darwin – and WORK.

Wednesday, we realized the Staysail did indeed need attention, so Frank took it down to be taken in for repair and picked up the mainsail, which has been doctored. We are continuing the process of plugging along at these never ending maintenance & chores and toward the end of the day our neighbors Lex and Joanne asked if we would like to join them at the Dinah Beach Yacht Club for dinner. A local top Country/Folk singer named Leah Flanagan was performing. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening. We have grown quite fond of Lex and Jo and were happy to have had a chance to get to know them better.  The food was delicious and the music so entertaining that we purchased one of Leah's CD's.  Joanne is a writer, and has published 4 books one of which is a memoir. She was formerly married to a man whose early life inspired the hit movie, "Crocodile Dundee".  Frank and I purchased the book, titled "Outback Heart", that I am now reading. This is an amazing woman. Lex is pretty amazing himself, and in these two we have found kindred spirits.

Thursday, more work, sweat, work, and sweat.

Friday more work, sweat, work, sweat and then another dinner with Lex and Jo at Dinah Beach. This time Jo's son Callum who is a professional diver up from Byron Bay joined us. He is working on a project in Darwin Harbour.

Saturday Frank and I walked into Parap for the weekend market. We also visited the local butcher buying some steaks to try out. We are in the process of deciding where to purchase our meats that we will be stocking for the next several months. We are told that if we like meat we'd better load up on it here, particularly beef, lamb and pork. So the taste test is ON. So far we've not definitively chosen the winner.

Sunday, we joined Lex, Jo and Leonie (Joanne's sister is visiting from Phillip Island), for a trip to the WWII museum. It is little known to most of us that following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of '41, Darwin was bombed to smithereens on February 19, 1942 by the same Japanese regiment. Anyone who saw the movie, "Australia" got a taste of this grim tragedy that was visited on northern Australia's soil. The museum is small but so well done. There is a short film depicting the horrific events that was very emotional to watch. The grounds are laid with lots of relics, including some from the American troops who were also present during the attack. One of our ships, the USS Peary was sunk with many wounded and nearly 90 men killed. We never realized. Hundreds of lives were lost here in Darwin on that fateful day. One of the survivors was Lex's father who was serving in the communications center at the time of the surprise attack. How emotional this must have been for him.

Afterward, the five of us joined Paul and Glor (Scallywag) and Colin and Marion (Avant Garde) for dinner and an evening of fantastic live jazz, blues, rock and rockabilly at…you got it…The Dinah Beach Yacht Club. It was an absolutely great night out.  I shouldn't but I will interject that Leonie has two sons who happen to be rather successful actors in some recent films – I don't want to write their names because I don't want it showing up on a "google" search in my blog because I haven't met either of them, but one starred as "Thor" in the movie respectively named, and the other is one of the leads in the Hunger Games. So if you are a moviegoer, you'll figure out who they are. Gee this family has some amazing talent. Frank and I feel a teeny bit humbled.

July 9 – 10, 2012 - Darwin…Working, Getting Rabies Shots, Scratching, Eating, Socializing

Monday morning Frank pulled down the dodger for me to repair. The dodger is that top piece of canvas that covers the front portion of our cockpit and supports the windshield. As I've previously mentioned it is becoming worn in the same spot and needs another patch-up. We have just had it done not 6 months ago in Port Macquarie for a small fortune so I'm a bit miffed about the need to deal with this again. We are flying on a wing and a prayer with this canvas hoping it will last until our planned replacement at year-end. I paused my fender cover making, pulled out my canvas repair materials and sat down with the dodger across my lap to assess and strategize.  Thank goodness a patch is not actually required and essentially no canvas surfaces have been worn through. The problem it seems is that the stitching all along the front of the dodger has utterly disintegrated. The thing literally began to come apart in my hand. Apparently the re-sticther did not use UV thread, hence the decomposing dodger.  The seams are so thick I couldn't get any part of it under the pressure foot of my pathetic little second-hand sewing machine, and was about to begin hand stitching when Frank put up his hand and said, "You don't have to do that. Give it to me".  Being the enterprising kind of guy that gets things done, and my hero, he loaded the dodger into a dock cart and wheeled it down the road to the repair shop about 1 km away. I resumed my fender cover making and Frank returned to inform me we shall remain dodgerless for a week or so. We spent the remainder of the day working at our seemingly never-ending boat jobs

Monday evenings at Tipperary Waters Marina is BBQ night. We bring something to slap onto the barbie, sit around meet the neighbors, socialize, eat and BYOB. I suppose to that agenda I should add scratch! We sit, chat, eat, and scratch. Blast! We forgot our insect repellant. These noseeums are villainous and rapacious. How can something you cannot even see eat so much flesh!?!? Rodney (the Lockmaster/marina manager) came to the rescue proffering a variety of sprays, which we all gratefully applied a bit late. After a while no one seemed to notice that we were all talking and scratching, eating and scratching, drinking and scratching. When I shared this with my husband's former sister-in-law Winnie, she suggested we wear flea collars – maybe that isn't such a bad idea, eh?  We had a fantastic time at the end of the night and had gotten to know our next-door neighbors, Jo and Lex quite well. We made plans to get together for dinner soon.

Tuesday morning we took off on foot shortly after 8:00 AM for the Travel Doctor. Our appointment was at 9:10. We arrived at 9:00 to be told that our appointment is not until 1:00 PM. I let Frank deal with this one since he had made the appointment. As I thumbed through an entertainment magazine I over heard some of the conversation. Although it was summarily agreed that we were (probably) right and that someone had written the time down incorrectly in the clinic's books we may or may not get in to see the doctor. Now here I have to sidetrack just a little bit. Sail Indonesia directed us to this clinic via our information packets. The clinic will not allow us to see the travel nurse without first being assessed by the resident doctor.  We waited for over an hour before the doctor squeezed us in for a 10-minute consult, wherein he determined that our vaccinations were current. We found out much later that we could have taken care of this last week when I went into the doctor for a checkup and would have saved a lot of money and anxiety.  Now back to the clinic. The doctor impressed upon us that although we are current on all the Hep A & B, Yellow Fever, Tetanus, Measles, Typhoid, etc vaccinations, we should take the rabies vaccine shots: a series of three over a 21-day period. You see there are dogs, monkeys, bats and cats running around Indonesia and Southeast Asia with rabies and we wouldn't want to get bitten or scratched by one. Without forethought we agreed immediately to take the first injection. Afterward, stepping up to the cashier we were handed our bill for $408.40. WHAT!? It boils down to separate consult fees for each of us with the doctor and then respectively with the nurse and then of course the cost of the first installment of rabies vaccine. Travelers beware. Call around and get cost estimates before seeing a travel doctor in Darwin. Geez.

Immediately afterward we trotted off to the Indonesian Consulate where we picked up our passports and visas. On the way there and back we happened into several fellow cruisers on the same errands. We all look a little lost and somewhat hopeful, eager to get these chores out of the way while comparing stories, sharing information and getting and giving directions to one another. It is really quite fun and exciting living this strange life of ours. Finished with our morning business we walked through the Smith St. mall, did a little shopping and settled in for some Yum Cha at a Chinese restaurant.

By the time we began the trek back to Destiny the sun was blaring overhead and lightly toasting our limbs. We'd long ago sweated off our sunscreen and were ready for another gallon of water to drink. We had two more stops to make on the way searching for a replacement fender to match our busted one and trying to locate a book titled "101 Anchorages Within the Indonesian Archipelago". So far we have struck out on both fronts. We finally hit pay dirt on the fender, snatching the last one at an off the beaten path marine store but are still having no luck with that book. We'll find it eventually.

We returned to Destiny at 4 PM, tired and dust covered but feeling pretty good about our accomplishments today. Darwin is not like any place we have been to and although we are busy with "must-do's", we are discovering more of this town and it's people bit by bit and liking it. Hopefully we will get caught up enough to get out and have some good old fashioned fun.

July 5 – 8, 2012 – Still Running Around Darwin and Feeling Grumpy

After picking up our Rally packets last week we kicked into high gear in our attempt to get Destiny and ourselves ready to leave Australia. People are giving us so much advice about what to do and how to prepare that we have been siphoning through it all and are realizing that the organizers are not providing the most sound and accurate advice. I'm so far not impressed with these Sail Indonesia folks, at least on the Australian side of things. Apparently none of them live here, have lived here or have even been here to reconnoiter Darwin. We have no idea where they get their information or how current it is.  According to several Aussies who have sailed extensively throughout Indonesia, some of the information in our packets is a bit over dramatized, and then in some cases it is not dramatized enough. We suspect that quite a bit has actually been taken from peoples' blogs and put together by some clever rally organizer because the organizers are not cruisers. OK – enough griping but seriously, although we are happy to be going in an organized group to Indonesia we are disappointed in the organization of this organization!

We are very grateful to have had the car for several days, and would recommend this outfit (Bargain Car Rental) to anyone wanting a referral. They are honest and forthright which we have not been able to say about any other car rental outfit in Australia. Absolutely no hidden fees or tricky clauses in our contract, and the car is nice – and new.

Darwin has much to offer if you are into food, Aboriginal art and markets. There is a market nearly every day or night of the week somewhere. We went to the Thursday night Mindl Beach Markets and literally ate our way through. There are hundreds of vendors selling everything from clothing to knick-knacks, art, junk, souvenirs, home crafts and we suspect lots and lots of things we will find in Bali for 1/10 the price. You could get a tattoo, a piercing, and apparently just about everything but fruits and veggies. I couldn't resist picking up a few things to send back to Jen and Trace and now have to figure out how to ship them intact to Texas. We enjoyed listening to the live bands until an Aussie Reggae band took the stage and then our ears had had enough so we called it quits. We were so covered in Deet and dust when we got back home we took our second showers of the day before going to bed.

Saturday my laptop froze up and wouldn't shut down. Rather than fool around we took it straight back to the repair shop. They tinkered and determined it may have something to do with the software on my Telstra "dongle" so the technician uninstalled it and reinstalled an updated driver. We hope this is it for problems on my Mac. If not I'll have to wait until the end of the year and take it into the Apple store in Singapore. We continued our sweep of Darwin, picking up parts and working on boat projects the rest of Saturday and on into Sunday until the very minute our car was due back. We walked back to the boat and arrived covered in red brown dust.  Darwin right now is hot, dry and dusty, however there is a humidity element. It reminds me of Texas in the summertime when the grass looks fried and a fine coating of dirt settles onto everything. I cleanse my face at night and the cotton ball comes away nearly black! Imagine what our lungs must be taking in. Our eyes remain red and a bit swollen. It isn't really so different here than Texas, Arizona, Fiji, Vanuatu; we are just really spoiled having not been in this climate for a while so I think we will acclimate by the time we get through the year. Being a 55-year-old female in this climate is the pits that only another female in this stage of life can appreciate.

Frank is still trying to get our AIS fully operational.  I do not understand that problem and have given up trying, because I have my own troubles with the blasted sewing machine. I'm about to burn the poor thing up.  As I sew it is beginning to vibrate and little knobs and bit pieces are flying everywhere. I spend more time trouble-shooting than anything but at the end of the day am just happy to have a sewing machine. If I whine too much it may hear me and shut down altogether – oh dear, we can't have that because I can't buy a new one here! I keep bugging Frank to consider the possibility of adding 220 to the boat. We can only run US appliances because the entire boat is wired for 110. If it is possible to add some 220/240 lines then in the event we need new appliances I won't have to wait until we get back to an American territory to replace them. As it stands I cannot replace anything that goes. This is something I'm not going to sink my teeth into too much because it is a sore spot with us that Island Packet Yachts didn't consider this when building a "world cruising yacht". I just pray that something can be done for us when we get to Thailand. Nothing can be done about it now – I'm just in a gripey mood I suppose.

July 2 – 4, 2012 Running Around Darwin and Happy Independence Day, America!!!

Monday we rented a car (just for a week), realizing we had a lot of running around to do and of course the places we need to go are scattered all over in various suburbs of Darwin. We walked the few miles into town where we picked up our little Hyundai and then darted off to drop off my MacBook Air for repair. I was told it could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on the problem. Thank goodness it can be done here and will not need to be sent off for repair.

Frank is working on his own projects – installing and testing our new AIS that was delivered to us here, and other various "blue jobs" to do with the stove, pickling the watermaker, etc. We needed to pick up parts for these projects. I need "pink job" supplies: UV sewing thread and some heavy duty fabric to repair a worn patch on the front of the dodger where our preventer has rubbed through, fabric and thread to make fender covers, bits for this and pieces for that, etc., etc. The list goes on and on as any cruiser can attest. We made doctor and dental appointments, and appointments at health services for immunizations. We ended Monday downtown at a pub named "Shenannigan's", one that our friends Andy and Melissa (s/v Spectacle) had recommended. It was very good! Afterward we went into the Coles grocery store to pick up a few items. We got to the check out and there were NO BAGS. They do not use plastic or paper bags at all. Because this was an impromptu stop we had no bags with us. We piled our arms full and stumbled out to the car, dropping this and that and stooping to pick them up, laughing as we went. On principle we are not purchasing one more shopping bag!

Tuesday, we took down the main sail, which has worn a long rip along the very bottom edge. We had never taken it down before. Gee, this sucker is huge when it isn't "up there"! This quick job took us about 45 minutes. I was on deck getting buried in sail, trying to lay it in proper folds as Frank dropped the top. Thank goodness there was no wind at the time. We dropped it off at the sailmaker for repair and then set off for my doctor appt. By the time this was all done, we decided to head out to The Wharf that everyone had been urging us to do. We got out there just in time to get attacked savagely by sand fleas coming out to feast for the evening. Sitting at one of the trendy restaurants, sipping our drinks we were twitching and itching as the invisible terrorists attacked our arms and legs. Everyone around us is scratching! We look like a bunch of dogs scratching ourselves – and I couldn't help but burst out laughing at the thought. We quickly downed our drinks and fled to the safety of the car. That's it – I'm keeping a can of Bushman's with us at all times form now on, as well as a large supply of shopping bags.

Wednesday – Happy 4^th of July, America!!!! It was just another day here in Darwin to the Aussies. What? No celebration for us, their allies? We went over to the Darwin Sailing Club to pick up our Rally Packets. This is the strangest rally – there are no real people, as in someone to deal with in person. It is all organized online. The lady who met us to give us our packets is just a visitor here on vacation from Ireland. She smiled, handed us our packets and basically told us not to ask any questions because "It is all IN THERE for you". She is just here to hand packets out and to take orders for T-shits and hats that we may want to purchase to commemorate our spending $500 + to join the rally. Bummer. I was looking forward to meeting someone who could answer our questions and give us direction and advice. So, we sat and looked at our 25 page information brief to find out what to do next.

Next is a stop by the Indonesian Consulate to apply for our visas, which by the way turned out to be a very pleasant experience. They were very friendly and helpful. We dropped off our passports, photos and paperwork and then walked a few blocks to Darwin CBD where we ate a delightful Thai lunch. Being so close to Asia, Darwin hosts an abundance of Asian, Thai and Sri Lankan eateries. This is the authentic good stuff – much better than what we have tasted back in America.  Afterward we ran here and there to various camping, boating and hardware stores. This will be a theme for the duration of our time here.

For our July 4^th celebration, I got a call from Leading Edge, the company that has my laptop. They have fixed it and she is ready for pickup – Hooray!!!! The problem was a defective something, something. I think it had to do with the logic board.  To commemorate our happy day we picked up a small roasted chook (chicken). I made a salad and mashed potatoes – comfort food and we feasted for dinner, followed by homemade banana splits - yummo. 

June 30 - July 1st, 2012 - Darwin at Last – and Another Crash of My MacBook!!!!

Where was I last? Seems things have been a blur. Where has the time gone? It went the way of the wind, which by the way here in Darwin is full of ash from the bush fires. Destiny is getting black flakes all over the deck and in the cockpit. Our sinuses are clogged and we look as if we've been crying for days from the irritation to our eyes. We have to be sure the screens are closed at all times to try to keep the ash out of the interior and to keep out those awful "no-see-ums"/"nono's"/sand fleas – pick your name for them - that are plaguing us. The other night we were eaten alive in our beds because the screen on one of our cabin windows was off. They are vicious. We are both covered in bites and burning from the little buggers – our legs and arms look like we have the measles. Other than that and the ashes we like Darwin very much.

A little update on our getting here:

From Popham Bay it took us two uneventful days to get into Darwin. The stops were lovely and calm as far as anchorages go. No drama. As we cleared the Clarence Straight, marine traffic picked up as yachts were heading out for a race and fishing boats zipped past.  Soon my captain shouted "Land Ho! Hello Darwin". We were so excited about finally making it here, our nerves started twitching with anticipation.

Darwin

We'd been advised to refuel as soon as possible because once we are in the marina we'll be "locked in" until we depart with the rally. We arrived at the Cullen Bay fuel dock at 1:30 PM on July 1^st. It was a bit dodgy getting moved into position, and in spite of the assist from several maritime police we managed to pop a fender. Scared the heck out of me because it was only a couple feet from where I stood and sounded like an explosion. I could tell Frank was a little unnerved by all the distractions about us, however, we got safely fueled up and then moved along to Tipperary Waters Marina.

Tides in Darwin can vary from 7 – 10 meters (that's up to 30 feet), depending on the time of month and year (sounds like us women!). The level of the marina is several feet above that of the harbor; so in order to get into Tipperary Waters we entered a lock that would fill with water, raising us to the appropriate level. Rodney the Lockmaster made our experience going into the lock a cakewalk. He took the stern line from me and then talked us through the procedure as I walked forward to control the bow line, and Frank returned to the helm. I was so excited! I'd never taken our yacht through a lock before. Fortunately we entered at hight tide, so the lock didn't have as much work to do as it would in a few days during "king tides.

I

In the lock and filling with water to raise us

Frank manning stern line as water is raising us - halfway there

we have about a meter to go (I'm manning the bow)

almost level, getting ready to enter marina

This particular one accommodates just one boat at a time, and it is a tight fit. Once in the marina, several neighbors came along to help us into our berth. This will be home for the next 28 days. By the way today is July 1^st: Territory Day which is similar to our 4^th of July. Tonight there will be festivals and fireworks. But it is late afternoon and we are thinking we'll just have dinner at one of the restaurants at the marina and watch from there.

Before we set off exploring our surroundings, I was going to sit down to finish up my journal when I heard a "pop!" and smelt a burn as my laptop went black. I don't believe this – I just bought this new Mac Book in February. I seem to be bad voodoo for computers. It went completely dead. I quickly got in touch with Apple Care in Australia. They directed me to an authorized dealer in Darwin because there is no store here. My stomach did several flip-flops in the meantime, because I was also backing it up when this happened. The external backup also went dead. Seems to be a theme with me.