Gove to Darwin - Blogabond

Day 1
Leaving Gove and heading for Elizabeth Bay we only have to endure 20 miles of being at the ransom of the Gulf waters, once thru to Elizabeth Bay we will have protection from the islands scattered along the coastline. All went well until we arrived Golden Legend had a very overheated motor and we had to tow them into the anchorage, after settling down the three handsome men decided to remove the thermostat from the Legends motor and to fill the heat exchanger with anti-boil, tomorrow we will find out if that fixes the problem.
We decided to go for a swim over at one of the beaches and the visibility was good, we did not venture out more than waist deep and kept a keen eye out for any crocs, after our swim Tess and I went around to the next beach and bugger me we found a fresh croc slide, just goes to show that these beasties are everywhere.
Day 2
We took off early heading to Ingles Island and the Golden Legend seems to be fixed, it was so pleasurable to be sailing in dead flat water, the 35 miles we travelled was over after 6 hours so we certainly scooted along, the happy trio Cognac, Golden Legend and Nightmoves can now look forward to more pleasurable sailing.
Day3
Today we are going through the Cadell strait which is an unknown but a challenge, when we arrived at the entrance to the strait Nightmoves took on the job of depth sounder as a sand bar exists across the entrance, we had made great time to the entrance but were 2 hours ahead of the high tide which would be more favourable, we decided to give it a go and the least amount of depth we found was 8 feet easy for Nightmoves as her draft is only 4 feet, Cognac has the deepest draft at 6 feet and was pleased to have the depths radioed back for reassurance.
Once we were halfway the tide was against us at a good 3 knots and the auto pilot had heaps of work to do with the whirlpools spinning us off course 20 degrees or more, it seemed to take forever to get to the end of the strait but finally the open ocean appeared and we set anchor at a beach west of the strait.
Day 4
Now we are getting into the very remote part of the top end, there is only a small area of the region that has been surveyed, so for some of the trip you are going through uncharted waters which can be a worry as the depth of water changes dramatically. At one point I found myself heading for an island which was only shown as a dot on the chart, lucky I was on deck enjoying the scenery when I saw us heading for grounding.
We had been fishing for the last zillion miles and at last landed a cracker jack Spanish Mackeral, the fish was filleted as soon as it was on board and our travelling companions were informed that the fish and chips were on us for the evening, we anchored at Cape Stuart and Tess cooked the fish to perfection and 6 kilos of delish fish was consumed.

Day 5
We were going to Entrance Island but changed our destination to Junction Bay, it was a quiet day no wind no fish.
Day 6
It’s decided we need a rest especially as a barge going by tells us that the weather is going to turn to shit , we pull into the King River and this place is magic, no bar to cross and the entrance is over a mile wide, the water is deep and there is heaps of wild life, we settle in for a good nights sleep and look forward to adventures tomorrow.
Day 7
The dawn brings a glass out and the ripples of a swimming croc can be seen near the shore, a small shark glides by oblivious to us, there are millions of red bugs over the boat thank fully they don’t bite and when the wind comes up they disappear. As the tide goes down a croc is spotted having a snooze on a bank nearby, we got the troops on board and went over to take a closer look, I put the boat as close as possible and everyone got a good eye full of this fellow, it was time for a voyage of discovery so we headed up the river for a few miles trolling as we went. On the way back a nice Golden Travally took the lure and was duly hauled in, a short time later we had another hit and my $500 rod and reel disappeared off the boat.... I worked out that one of the guys had reset the rod without resetting the drag, so when the fish hit the lure the rod took all the strain and pulled the rod holder off the boat....Bugger.
Later that day a couple of fishing boats roared in and pulled up next to us, the first boat had 2 coppers aboard and the other an elder from Goulbourn Island with 2 land councillors. Apparently we were in a traditional land holders river and that we could not go ashore or go fishing, crikey what’s this country to coming to no black fella is going to tell me where the f*^%$#@ I can go, these bludgers don’t work and they think getting the dole is their birthright.
In the end after the elder was plied with grog we were his best mate and were invited to Goulbourn Island for a visit.
Day 8
Off to Goulbourn Island and 3 hours later we arrive, I rang the coppers to let them know we were at anchor, they came over to where we were and invited us over to shore so we could go into the community. The pickup vehicles were a four wheel drive and a paddy wagon, Tess and I took the paddy wagon along with Greg and Bell, it brought back sweet memories of my misspent youth.....
What a great experience this was, this Community is totally grog free and the locals were a friendly bunch. The coppers were great and showed us around the place, we went shopping and the tucker was very reasonably priced and fresh.
Once back to the anchorage we invited the coppers over for dinner and a few grogs but they had to decline as they were doing stuff for the locals that night, a bloke working for the community pulled up in his boat and gave us heaps of fish so we plied him and his offsiders with grog and as cracker night was had by all.
Day 9
The head is rather sore this morning and Tess’s bucket is looking good, of course Tess is happy the captain is crook but I manage to survive the day... We anchor at some bay somewhere miles from where we were, thank the grog god for my survival....
Day 10
Up with the sparrows and we are getting closer to Darwin, we are going through Bowen Strait today heading for Port Essington, I take a few short cuts off the beaten track and by the end of the day save 6 miles. The blokes who write the guide books through these areas must wear skirts... all through my short cuts I had no less than 12 feet under the boat at low tide, we take an anchorage at Black Rock at the entrance to Port Essington, these rocks are aptly named as they are darker than a cows guts..
We went for a tiki tour in the dingy and found a wharf around the corner but it was too rough to go further.
Day 11
We wake up to a rolling sea and the other boats are rocking like a honeymooners bed, Greg from Golden Legend gets us on the radio and reckons if he doesn’t move soon he’s going to spew so we take off to Kennedy Bay down into the Port some 6 miles, once there it’s as smooth as the moths in my wallet...
We anchor up and a customs helicopter is in the distance and soon hovers above, we go thru the routine and off they go. We venture to the shore and Tess finds some big shells , there is crap all over the place that has been washed ashore in cyclones, just goes to show what grubby boaties toss overboard.
We decide to stay for another day and have a cook up of the fish we got given at Goulbourn Island, a great evening is had by all.
Day 12
Today we venture off to the ruins of The Victoria Settlement which was built from 1838 until 1849 when it was abandoned, the settlement is at Minto Head some 12miles into Port Essington and in need of some TLC. it is heritage listed which may be it’s saviour. I rode my trusty rusty bike to the ruins as the walk was 3.5 Klms and the track good enough for bike riding, it was a fascinating place and it makes you realise how tough the people were in those bygone days.
Day 13
A short trip to Cape Don, an early night as tomorrow we are trekking to Darwin 100miles away.
Day 14
Up at 4.30am for an early departure, the tide today should give us a few knots more speed which will shorten our trip considerably, Tess hits the wall in the first 5 miles it’s pitch black and a bit rough she finally surfaces some hours later looking a bit worse for wear but not too bad.
We stop at Howick Island for an hour waiting for the tide to change and have a quick snooze, underway again and it is a hot 32 degrees on the deck, the tide helps us along and we are sitting on 10.5knots for a couple of hours. Darwin comes into sight and we anchor up in Fanny Bay after 14 hours of travel, we averaged 7 knots for the trip which is great, Cognac comes in an hour later and the Golden Legend an hour after that. It is great to be here, tomorrow we are going to the Bayveiw Marina for a week to restock and rest.
Cheers R&T.

written by

Nightmoves on June 20, 2010 from Darwin, Australia

from the travel blog: Robbie and Tess around Australia

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