G'day All,
After weex and weeks of emails and phone callz, Chris has finally been told he'z not getting a "re-location" package.
This meanz that he has to pay for any items sent by barge back 2 Darwin.This doesn't sound 2 bad until you find that just a 10 ft sea container costs $6000 just to go on the barge and hiz boat trailer is another $1000.
So we now have to sell or dump whatever stuff we cannot fit on the yot. We can use the trailer and another dinghy as a box trailer fitting any of the larger items that he still needz 2 keep. We have spent the past few weex setting up a "mast cam" thanx mainly to Uncle Graeme and hiz son Tim. Having the camera up the mast gives me the ability to drive the yot amongst the coral reefz and bommies that are so prevalent around the coast.We now have just slightly less than 1 week to get everything packed and loaded aboard the dinghy and yot.
The other major achievement of the past few weex iz the arrival of a "man overboard screamer"!
This rather complicated device will hopefully reduce the risk of losing Chris's dinghy from behind the yot which happened during our last trip to wedge rock. We awoke around 5 am to find the 2 ropes secured to the dinghy had chaffed through and the tinny was nowhere 2B seen.
I sent Kane up the mast with binoculars to search the horizon for the dinghy which is valued around $15000. After searching for 2 hourz and preparing a plane or helicopter we got a faint echo on the radar around 3 miles away this turned out 2B the tinny and we were able to recover it. Learning from this experience we have purchased the screamer from America this will sound an alarm if the dinghy or a person travelz more than 150 meters from the head unit on the dash of the yot. While the unit had a cost of around $400 thatz still cheap insurance so the same thing doesn't happen again on our trip 2 Darwin. We have also ordered a radar reflector unit that goes onboard the dinghy and turnz a small echo into a large one. Once again lessonz learnt.
We have now loaded the yot with 1000 litres of water and 800 litres of diesel fuel all thatz left now is for us to buy 150 litres of unleaded fuel to refill Chris's tinny.Fuel on the Eylandt cost just $1 per litre here (cheapest in Australia) but $2.30 in Gove so every tank iz being fuelled here.
The task of preparing the yot to head to Darwin iz nearly complete. Our trip iz planned for 14 days while we visit the many islands along the way.
We are to meet up with Brother Mark and Emily in Darwin on the 14 the of june. B4 heading to the V8 racing at Hidden Valley racetrack in Darwin. We will then head towardz one of the many islands we passed on our journey to Darwin for 2 weex of R&R.At last after dayz and days of prep we are finally under way. We lifted the anchor at 2.30 pm and begun our journey Northward towards a place called Burns Shoal approx 40 nm away we will spend a day there B4 heading further North to Truant Island.
Ciao 4 now.
Further updates when we get internet service nearer to Gove
