Just got a bit of internet..... here at Danpier
Will try to upload as much as possible before leaving tomorrow at noon....
5 May
After a massive final night in Sanur, and way too many
Marguerita’s, I returned to the boat just after dawn to start getting her ready
to set sail. We had to clean the inside of the boat from top to bottom as there
was a thin coating of fibreglass dust everywhere; and the outside also.
I then set to stowing fenders and ropes etc.. The main
halyard had been used to lift the new hardtop into position and was attached to
the side safety lines. I decided to re-attach the halyard to the mainsail.
Unfortunately, I made a total cock-up of this and suddenly the main halyard
attachment is swinging in the air about 2 metres from the top of the mast…some
25 metres above me.
There was no other option than for me to be sent aloft in
the bosun’s chair, hauled up by the forward Code Zero halyard. This was a
pretty nerve-racking experience given the state of my physical health. However,
I managed to retrieve the halyard without plummeting to the deck, and
re-attached it to the main.
While the boat was being repaired at Serangan, a bolt of lightning
struck the beach within metres of the boat and this essentially blew the
navigation systems, including Bazza the Autopilot. After several hours of phone
calls and emails to the techo’s we managed to get radar and GPS systems working
again. Finally, at 1730, we decided to leave without our extra crewmate Bazza,
and we departed Bali.
The first 3 days were very rough, and sailing the boat
manually was very challenging. We were straight back into our watches; the boat
was getting pounded: a tough introduction back to our journey. The final day
however, as we approached Broome, was beautiful and Bali seemed just a memory.
We arrived at Broome at 1400 on 9 May.
For our fellow travellers:
Travelling from Bali, with the intention of sailing down the
west coast, we obviously chose Broome as our port of entry into Australia.
Entry into Australia is renowned for being tough, and especially in the North
with the problems they have had with Indo boats arriving there.
You should advise Customs early of your intended arrival,
with a crew list, and passport copies. As you arrive, you will need to contact
the Port Authority, Customs, and Quarantine. The wharf here is a commercial
wharf, and tides range between 6 and 10 metres, so it is not ideal for pleasure
yachts to tie up here. You will need fenders running lengthways along the
entire vessel.
Customs will follow you in as you arrive by plane, chopper,
and vessel. You will have to anchor
where they tell you until PA can provide you a berth to tie up to. Quarantine
may take all your fresh produce and any meat that is not Australian packed;
milk and cheese OK but eggs gone if not hard boiled, so be prepared to lose
your provisioning. Re-provisioning at Broome is good, about 10 minutes by taxi from
the wharf.
You can re-fuel here but again you will have to book in
advance with West Kimberley Fuels and it will only happen on weekdays. Not sure
about water supply here. Given it was a weekend for us we chose not to wait
until Monday to re-fuel here.
Next fuel and water option heading south is Port Hedland. A
mining port, it is not pretty but it is impressive nonetheless with huge
freighters full of iron ore leaving every 30 minutes. It is the largest port in
the world in terms of tonnage turnover, loading 250,000 tonnes of ore in 30
hours into these massive ships.
Again it is tidal here, and again you will need PA clearance
to enter the port and to berth at the bunkering station. The berth is much more
user-friendly to pleasure yachts. The water has very high calcium content and
not recommended for drinking by the staff here.
We used 1650 litres of diesel from Bali to Port Hedland.
Safe travels to all our followers
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