Cape York to Darwin

We spent 4 days anchored in Sesia harbour. It is the port that supports Bamaga which is an Aboriginal settlement 3 kms inland. We walked into Bamaga one day and found it to be a very nice town of 3,000 people. We did not see any of the problems we had heard exist in the Aboriginal reserves. On our walk back to the coast, we passed wild horses along the side of the road which apparently roam the reserves as well as wild cows, pigs and goats. Friday night, we attended a BBQ at the local fishing club on the shore where the local band put on the entertainment.

From Sesia, we planned to sail across the Gulf of Carpentaria, straight to Darwin (over 700 miles which is a 5 day trip) but after two days, the weather updates we get by SSB forecasted 30 – 40 knots the next day. Once we made it across the Gulf, we decided to pull in behind the Wessel Islands, to hide out for a couple days. We were glad we did. The winds blew like crazy for 5 days. We didn’t even get off the boat for the first 4 days because the wind and waves in the bay were so big we would get soaked before we hit the beach. On the fifth day, we went to shore for a walk and enjoyed the beauty of this isolated area.

After 6 days, we set out again for Darwin. The forecasted winds had dropped to 20 – 25 knots but they were anything but 20 – 25. First they blew 30 knots (gusting to 40) which whipped up the seas quite quickly and then they died, leaving us with large waves and not enough wind to push us through them so it was a bumpy ride. After two months of relative calm sailing behind the reef, we were reminded how challenging sailing can be.

We anchored at Cape Essington in order to time our decent into Darwin harbour. The 140 miles from Port Essington to Darwin has a reputation for being a terrible trip with strong currents causing steep waves when it turns against the wind. For once, mother nature was on our side and there was no wind at all so we had a very smooth ride into Darwin. Unfortunately, no wind means we motored for 18 hours, at a gallon of diesel per hour at today’s prices. Well… you do the math.

As we approached Darwin, we could see the skyline of a big city. It had only been 5 weeks since we left Cairns but it seemed like forever that we had been away from civilization. We loved the remoteness of the north Queensland coast but it will be nice to enjoy some of the perks of civilization again (like being able to buy coriander/cilantro at the supermarket).