The last leg in Oz: Gove to Darwin - The Arnhem Coast

The wind pinned us down in Gove harbour for 4 days until we could set off for the last leg of our Australian journey to Darwin. On our way out of Gove we passed a ship being loaded with bauxite and two more further out waiting their turn.

Robert put up the main sail and foresail. The wind was still strong and the foresail twisted in the wind, got caught on a rope and wrapped itself haphazardly with madly flapping bits. Robert tried unsuccessfully to unwrap it manually and resorted to turning the boat in a tight circle until the wind unwrapped the sail. Quite hectic in the bouncy swells. The sea was still rough from the previous days of strong winds. Luckily we were going in the same direction as the big swells, occasionally surfing along at more than 11 knots as we passed Cape Wilberforce.

It was trickier as we adjusted our course to take the narrow gap between Point William and the south west corner of Bromby Islet. The swells now came from more than one direction and we got the washing machine effect as we pushed through with the engine going strongly.

We turned the corner and as soon as we were behind the peninsula, the sea smoothed and we had a pleasant sail past Elizabeth Bay to Astelle Island. All in all it was 7 hours.

We anchored in the westernmost bay of Astelle Island in the early afternoon and went ashore. Unexpectedly, it was a really super beach. Soft powdery sand, lots of shells and calm warm water. We didn't swim as it's not clear enough to spot crocs. They really spoil a swim at the beach in these parts.

 

At the one end of the beach were many large boulders weathered into fascinating shapes, almost outworldly in appearance.

We had a good night's sleep in the calm anchorage and set off the next morning to Alger Island. Unfortunately Alger's anchorage is not calm at all and the boat bounced all night as there is no protection from swells coming around the island. We had to anchor far off the beach to avoid the rocks that become apparent at low tide.

Our next leg was the tricky Cadell Strait which requires entry in the eastern side on a rising tide as it is very shallow. We are fortunate that Pegasos has shallow draught so we can go over shallow areas that most keel boats can't navigate. Also extremely fortunate to have the waypoints kindly given to us by Mel who we came across at Lizard Island. He had navigated Cadell Strait several times and had barge waypoints which Robert noted on our charts.

We moved along slowly and carefully for most part of the strait. The water was calm but there was a strong current against us for the first half. The strait is like a wide river with impenetrable mangroves lining both sides.

Coming out of the western side of the strait is a short distance to the small town of Galiwinku on Elcho Island. It is privately owned Aboriginal land as is most of the Arnhem land. We were the only boat there. We went ashore the next morning and immediately saw we were no longer in Queensland. There is litter everywhere - on the beach, around the houses. Council bins lined the streets but seem to be of little use. The smell of bushfire lingered over the burnt patches of ground between some of the houses and streets. Some friendly locals directed us to the supermarket which is well stocked, quite pricey but we needed fresh fruit and eggs. We were surprised to see that the eggs come from Adelaide - over 2500 kms as the crow flies! I guess no one keeps hens in Galiwinku.

 

Thousands of little white crabs on the beach:

Vast muddy beach:

The next morning we set sail for the short hop to Langarra on Howard Island, passing a barge emerging from Cadell Strait.

We had seen the Flying Doctor in the Galiwinku supermarket and saw his little plane go overhead and land at the airstrip near Langarra. The airstrip seems to be cut out of the thickets of eucalyptus trees from the edge of the sea.

We anchored in the calm bay and took the dinghy to the beach. If we were taken aback by Galiwinku, it's nothing compared to what we saw at Langarra. The beach had several abandoned tinnies on it in various state of falling apart, beyond being functional. There were signs of discarded broken trailers and engines mostly covered by mud in the falling tide.

This abandoned but new-looking Yamaha 4-stroke 50-hp outboard motor would be worth about R50000 if it was fixed up.

We aimed for the most plastic littered spot and found the track leading into the hamlet of Langarra which is behind a slight rise from the beach. There seemed to be not more than 10 houses. I had the eerie sensation of arriving at one of those places one sees in a movie after some catastrophic event had taken place. There was no sign of life, broken vehicles abandoned with doors hanging open and burnt patches of ground.

 

Walking further in we saw a figure coming out of a house and waved. A young Aboriginal man came over to us and we said we had arrived in a boat and asked if we could walk along the beach (private land). He said yes and asked if we had fuel with us. Robert said only diesel on the boat. He lost interest in us and we went back to the beach and walked a good distance.

Coming from South Africa, we are used to seeing litter and squalor in many places. We always associate this with poverty - most of the people are unemployed and receive little in the way of social grants, housing or basic municipal services. However, it doesn't seem to us that Aboriginals are poor. Certainly no unemployed rural African could afford those vehicles or houses. Puzzling way of life.

The next morning we got going early. Robert set the sails, got the watermaker going, caught a mackerel and cleaned it for supper - all before 9.00 am! There was very little wind and it was a long and tedious motor sail along a flat and featureless coastline.

We anchored at Cape Stewart, described as an unprotected anchorage but we were lucky to have no wind and hardly any swell. Since the area is uncharted we anchored far from the shore but could still dinghy to the beach and enjoyed the chance to stretch our legs and admire the plentiful shells, collecting a few for my home made bracelets. Things to do aboard when there's no internet...

The next leg to Entrance Island was another almost windless day. Robert put up the spinnaker and we got between 5 to 6 knots. Better than the noisy engine.

All along the coastline we noticed smoke from bushfires and a brown smoky haze stretched across the horizon. The bushfires on the mainland across from Entrance Island even burned down to the shoreline. Good thing the breeze was blowing away from us, otherwise it would have been a smoky, smelly anchorage.

Entrance Island has a short beach and since it's at the mouth of the Liverpool River we kept a look out for crocodiles but didn't see any. As the saying goes, the crocodiles see us... No matter how far or how remote an island, we always see signs of plastic pollution on the beaches and this small beach was no exception. Amongst the usual plastic containers and flip-flops, we found a child's push-bike, a toy Tonka truck and two balls. I carried them above the high tide mark and set them in a visible place. Perhaps a child on a passing boat will be delighted by the kid-friendly beach.

 

We also came across a hand-made traditional fishing spear, the design hasn't changed for centuries.

Another comfortable night at a calm anchorage and the next morning we motor sailed to Cuthbert Point in rather swelly seas. It's not well chartered so we anchored quite far back in the bay but still went ashore for our walk. The beach is long and disappears out of sight - one can walk along it for days, probably without seeing another person. The water next to the beach was calm and we watched small fish leaping in the shallows as they were chased by bigger fish.

The next day's leg to South Goulburn Island required an early start at 6.30 am to take advantage of the flood tide through Macquarie Strait which can run up to 2 knots. Definitely didn't want to be against that current.

We sailed all the way in near perfect conditions and anchored near the barge ramp. We didn't see anyone but some horses grazed close to the shore.

It was a super calm anchorage but the next day's sail to Valencia Island was anything but calm. Shortly after we left, the sea swells built up and soon became huge waves churning around the boat as it dipped and rose up each wave. At some point we were doing a heady 11 knots down a wave. After about 3 hours of wildness Robert dropped the main sail. This required turning the boat into the wind and facing the oncoming wind and waves. My job was to turn the boat and hang on to the wheel while Robert loosened ropes around the mast. Sliding down a large trough of water bow first is really an eeek! moment.

 

 

Having the main sail down helped a bit with just the front sail out but the waves coming from behind were still higher than the boat. Robert felt sea sick and the rest of the journey to Valencia Island was a rough ride. So much for the Australian MetEye weather forecasts - completely wrong although we had checked again early in the morning.

We anchored on the lee side of Valencia Island sheltered from the wind and swells in a pretty bay. The mainland in the far distance had the usual plumes of smoke billowing into the air.

We arrived at high tide so there was not much beach to explore as it's just a narrow strip mostly covered at high tide. We had a short walk and my sundowner on deck looking at the picturesque setting.

 

Shortly after going to bed, the swell into the bay picked up and coupled with the outgoing tide it made the boat ride up on its anchor chain - very noisy when we are just a few feet away inside. Sounds seem amplified through the hull so we didn't get much sleep.

We got up groggily at 5.30 am to catch the ebb tide westwards through Bowen Strait. The moon looked large and golden pink on the horizon as we headed off in its direction - apparently it was the Strawberry Moon - the full moon at solstice.

The Bowen Strait is another flat and featureless landscape and very shallow in parts. Coming out the west end we passed a tug boat towing a large load along. They must know their way through the strait really well.

 

 Soon after leaving the strait Robert caught a very large mackerel, easily more than 20 kgs. Too big for us to eat - it's a week's worth of dinners and we don't have a freezer. It seemed wasteful to kill it for a couple of fillets so reluctantly Robert threw it back and off it shot to live another day.

 

We anchored at Danger Point around lunchtime, caught up on some sleep and went ashore for a walk. We saw turtle tracks in the sand and came across two turtle nests where the nests had been dug open and the eggshells broken and empty. There were lots of dog prints around the nests so perhaps a dog had eaten the eggs. Rather sad. Later that evening I read that leatherback turtles have very few nesting sites in Australia and the main site is Danger Point. Even more sad if it was leatherback turtles as they are endangered.

While having our sundowner on deck gazing at the shore we saw two cows almost on the beach. Looking through binoculars (not our beer glasses) Robert said they are banteng - a breed that is almost extinct in its native Indonesia. They were brought to the Arnhem Coast in mid 1800's for a colonial settlement at Port Essington which did not flourish. The few cattle were released into the wild where they flourished very well and are now rather too many feral banteng for their adopted environment.

The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast and set off for the short hop to Smith Point which has a National Park Rangers office and cultural centre and prescribed walks. We hadn't seen anyone in five days, a ranger would have to do. We went ashore and found the Rangers houses, but no sign of life. There was a lovely view spot.

Nearby there is a marked walk around a billabong (swampy area) so we started off but I'm not really a swamp enthusiast and the heat, biting midges and wearing open sandals through the insect-infested undergrowth soon got the better of me.

 

We headed back to the cultural centre, met the ranger and toured the small centre. A walk along the beach was nicer and we came across more turtle tracks and the sand hump seemed undisturbed. Hope this one lasts the 80 - 90 day incubation period.

 

We planned to leave Smith Point in time to make the rising tide at Dundas Strait. In this part of the world, the tidal flows are very strong and can work in our favour by a couple of knots. Or against by the same margin. Robert tried to lift the anchor but it seemed stuck. It took 20 minutes of putting the engine into gear, reversing, turning and eventually the anchor came up with a big chunk of dead coral embedded on it! So far in our travels last year and this year, we have been very fortunate in picking the right anchor spot - one of the trickiest aspects in muddy water. Luckily Robert didn't have to dive down to fix the problem as the ranger had said crocs were in area.

 

There was very little wind on the way to Alcaro Bay and Robert put up the spinnaker. It was a lovely sail into a beautiful bay. So calm and still, fringed with trees, a creek off to one side, it looked more like a picturesque lake.

 

The next leg was a long one from north to south across Van Diemens Gulf and we had to get going at 3.30 am to make the distance with the tricky tides. It was the second day without internet and we were hoping the previous weather forecast was still valid. Oh how wrong we were! We set off in the dark wee hours of the morning gliding in the protected bay on water that was mirror smooth. As soon as we left the bay, we were smacked with steep swells and a strong current gripped us pushing us along at 10 knots! The swells got rougher, initially from every direction and then a barrage of thumping waves from the side. We hoped daybreak would bring some relief. It didn't really, just that we could now see what was going to hit us. Robert was sea sick and took to standing at the mast in the cockpit gazing at the horizon, unfortunately getting sprayed too. The strong tide fell away and there was a marginal improvement so we could turn more southwards heading towards Beatrice Bay. Going all the way to Darwin was too daunting for us in these conditions.

 

Over 10 hours later, we dropped anchor in Beatrice Bay with huge relief. The engine had run constantly at 3000 rpm using 35 litres of diesel. With two front sails out we covered 66.6 n.miles in 10 and a half hours bouncing all the way. Perhaps we are no longer just novices - hardy novices sounds better.

The wind and swells died down in Beatrice Bay as soon as we arrived. We were too tired to launch the dinghy to go ashore and opted for a nap instead.

 

The tricky tides and currents were not over yet and the next morning required a later start at noon. Robert was spot on with the timing and we had a strong current pushing us through the south channel of the Vernon Islands at 8 knots in only 11 knot wind. Unlike the previous day the sea was calm and smooth and we really enjoyed being pushed along without a swell.  

The wind died away and we motored the last few hours into Darwin dropping anchor in the early evening in Fannie Bay.

I read in a cruising guide that sailing along the poorly chartered Arnhem Coast was "only for the adventurous" - well, we did it! It's certainly remote with poor to non-existent internet and no VHF radio reception. For much of the time we did not see any other boat, except for the occasional trawler or barge. The feeling of being alone in a remote area was either challenging or exhilarating, depending on how kind the weather was on that day.

So ends our Australian journey. It's been quite an experience for 2 middle aged novices from far away Cape Town. We have met the warmest, most gregarious people and seen amazing scenery, especially along the Coral Coast and Barrier Reef islands. Looking forward to our next adventure with Pegasos.