Sun 5Aug07
Up well before dawn to raise anchor & mains'l ready for passage to 'top of Australia' (NE point is Cape York)! Only 5-6 knots of wind, despite strong wind warnings of 20-25, becoming 25-30 later today.
2pm Finally have fair current - switched over from foul a short while ago - coming up to HW around 4pm so seems must be flooding tide causing good N-bound current (display says 012T, 0.4kn!) So finally managed to cut engine, since there should be no problem now making Mt Adolphus Island anchorage under sail alone before nightfall. Wind still nowhere near the f'cast 25kn - generally been SE 15kn for a time now - a pleasant sunny day, although a 1-1.5m SE swell has built up, making us roll quite a
lot - especially since goosewinged.
Presently 4 miles off Escape River - was going to anchor there tonight but it has a very shallow bar at the entrance, is shallow inside also, reported to have lots of flies - and I'd received warnings of both unmarked fishing nets and crocodiles... Whereas Mt Adolphus Island is supposed to be very pleasant, as well as being an easy-to-enter, good, protected anchorage - worth getting up early for & going the extra distance today!
Trying to track down where a broken rivet has appeared from!.... went part way up mast to have a look around but so far nothing obvious seen up to first spreaders.
Mon 6Aug
Anchored yesterday evening in 6-7m in big W bay on Mt Adolphus Island - beautiful, deserted place. Was in good time to relax & enjoy sunset before cooking. Will rest here over morning & get boat organized for 5-6 day passage to Darwin from Possession Island. Don't think strong wind warnings of up to 30kn have come to anything around here. Expect around SE4-5 (15-20kn) for onward passage - hopefully making for nice sailing.
Later.... well, I decided to stay put! Was intending leaving for Possession Island in the early afternoon to gain some tide advantage.. but as day progressed, got rainier and windier (even got some swell creeping in around SW point nearby, so swell must have built up quite a bit in strong winds outside here)... and I've been getting some useful things done, some of which (like replacing missing telltales on mains'l and windvane & varnishing wooden servo blade on windsteering gear ) I've been meaning
to do for ages. Decided I might just as well continue the good work here, as in anchorage at Possession Island, just under 4 hrs sail away, and go there for a short stop only. Had an excellent sleep last night to compensate for several early mornings, ready for forthcoming 5-6 day passage to Darwin. Will leave for Possession Island tomorrow definitely - feel very much in Capt Cook's path around here - feel sure he must have anchored close to where I am here - & he definitely visited Possession
Island because there's a stone cairn built by his crew on a high point on the island - labelled 'Monument' on my chart!