Rote Island

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From Kupang it was just a quick overnight sail to our next stop, Rote Island. We’d all been very excited about this stop. Finally, some surf (and lots of restaurants). There were a lot of big surf breaks we couldn’t go near, as well as plenty of smaller breaks, too. … Read More

Clearing In Kupang

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Waking up in Kupang to the wailing sounds of morning call to prayer. Twenty years ago we couldn’t enter Indonesia without hiring an agent at our port of call months ahead of arrival. Since then, they’ve eased up a bit, and now it’s more of a two-week online process. Not … Read More

Headed to Indo

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Last night in Darwin, after a couple of weeks soaking up everything we could find to do. We’ve spent a lot of time with this fun group (5 kids between 13 and 14 is not an easy group to find out here) the last couple months in Vanuatu and up … Read More

Litchfield National Park

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We piled into a rental van with our friends and headed down the road a bit to Litchfield National Park. We’d come here 20 years ago with Ali’s sister, Katy, when she visited. It was a great day out then, and a great day out now. Everything seems so dry … Read More

Fannie Bay

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The anchorage in Fannie Bay isn’t the world’s most convenient. The huge tides (~30′) necessitate anchoring far from shore, and once ashore you are required to calculate how long you will be gone and where the tide might be when you return. It’s also a bit out of town. With … Read More

Darwin Reunion

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The next couple of days were nice sailing as we made our way towards the Dundas Strait north of Darwin. We thought we’d have to anchor outside the strait to wait for a favorable tide, but good sailing weather got us there earlier than expected and we zipped right through … Read More

Wessel Islands

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After a lively two night passage with virtually no sleep, we arrived in the Wessel Islands, anchored in the dark with no depth finder, in what we hoped was a safe spot, and went straight to bed. We woke in the morning to find we were well positioned, far from … Read More

Thursday Island

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The kids and I sailed into Thursday Island, tired and hungry. Actually, We sailed into Horn Island because that’s the island with protection from the prevailing winds, while the anchorage on Thursday Island, a mile away, is wide open. While Thursday is a little more interesting, a calm anchorage wins … Read More

Rounding Cape York

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Our 3-person odyssey continued north with another overnight sail, but sometime in the middle of the night instead of sailing north around Australia we turned to head west around Australia. We rounded Cape York in the middle of the night, with flashing buoys all around us marking shallow reefs and … Read More

Up the East Coast

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From Flinders it was an overnight sail up the east coast to a tiny place called Portland Sands. There was nothing there but a handful of homes tucked back off the beach and looking for all the world like a place that people go to hide from the government. Meanwhile, … Read More

Flinders Island

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Another ninety miles or so found us at Flinders Island. The sail north was fantastic, as usual. The winds have been strong, in the 18-25 knot range, and reliably come from directly behind us. Even better is the fact that we are inside the Great Barrier Reef, so that despite … Read More

Lizard Island

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It was a short sail up to Lizard Island, a place Ali and I had been 19 years earlier, to the day. Unfortunately, she was back in the States helping Grammy, instead of slogging up the hill with me again. Spot the cuttlefish, because I sure didn’t. Only saw it … Read More