Pre Departure – October 22
Our last day in Australia! Spent the day buying $1200 worth of food, trying to find space on the boat to store all this food along with all the other things that Captain Bill had locked away in a storage unit for the last 3 years. Australia Immigration came to the boat to stamp our passports with an exit stamp and to remind us that we MUST depart Australia within 24 hours.
Day 1 – October 23
All morning we were in packing frenzy and sadly there was no time left for us to take a final “fresh hot water” shower at the marina. Departed the marina in Cairns, Australia and decided that we needed a little more time to secure all of our things before beginning our 4-5 day open water passage to Papua New Guinea. In an attempt to avoid Australian customs we anchored a few hours south of Cairns at a place called Mission Bay and enjoyed a great BBQ of fish and prawns along with red wine and cheese.
Day 2 – October 24
In an attempt to install the inverter it blew up meaning that we have no 110 or 240 voltages. Sadly this means that we have no way to charge camera batteries unless we happen to be ashore where there is a hotel or restaurant that will let us use their electricity. So sad : (
Set sail for Papua New Guinea today – 450 nautical miles across the Coral Sea. Began our sailing schedule of 2 hours at the helm and 8 hours of freedom. Tonight I was at the helm from 2am until 4am and it was my first time wearing a harness - just in case something was to happen.
Day 3 – October 25
Traveled 148 nautical miles in the last 24 hours. The Coral Sea has some huge swells, making sleeping, eating, and using the toilet quite a challenge.
Put out the fishing lines hoping to catch some fish for dinner. Caught a big eye tuna and 10 seconds later caught a 200lb marlin. The marlin took about an hour to reel in but since he was so large to bring on board we set him free.
Dumped most of our rubbish overboard. The only things not thrown over were plastic based. Aluminum and tin cans, glass bottles, paper and cardboard, food scraps - all went into the ocean. Seemed to wrong to be doing this but that’s what happens when you are at sea on a sailboat.
Day 4 – October 26
Traveled 135 nautical miles in the last 24 hours. Put out the fishing lines and hooked 2 huge tunas at the same time but lost both of them when they bit through our fishing line, taking the lures with them.
Ran into a squall during the night which meant fresh water. Stood in the cockpit and let the rain wash all the salt water off my body and my clothes. So refreshing!
Day 5 – October 27
Land Ho!!! Made it to Papua New Guinea but missed our original planned destination so ended up anchoring a bit west at Suau Island. Engine flooded during the passage from Australia and we were concerned it was beyond repair.
Within the hour canoes paddled by local villagers began to arrive to the boat. We gave pencils and pens to the kids and in return they brought us coconuts and bananas. We learned that the people on Suau Island see about 2 cruising boats a year.
Took my first shower in 5 days! Shower on the boat means soaping up and jumping in the ocean. We have no fresh water on board for anything other than drinking. There is always a small threat of saltwater crocodiles in these areas but that didn’t stop us. Made sure to ask several local villagers first before taking the plunge. Realized that soap will not lather in salt water.
Day 6 – October 28
In the early morning a local village woman canoed out to the boat and gave us a plate of star fruit, bananas, and squash. In return we gave her a large plastic bowl and she was completely thrilled with her new possession.
Took the dinghy to the village and visited the local school where the kids sung us their National Anthem, the adults played the guitar and sand for us and Billy (one of our crew) joined in by playing music with spoons against his cheek. The villagers thought that was the coolest thing!
Later in the day Becky and I rowed the small dinghy named “weewanhaka” to shore and visited the local family living there. The kids let us try out their canoe and when we tried to stand up and paddle like they do we almost lost our balance and fell overboard. Laughter could be heard all around. We had so much fun that we asked if we could trade one of our crew members for their canoe.
Since we were not successful in catching much fish we have run out of fresh fish. No fresh fish means that we resort to eating canned tuna. We had mentioned to the local village men that we would pay them for fish if they catch them but still no sign of anything.
Day 7 – October 29
Rained in the morning so we collected rain water with a tarp and ran a hose into our water tanks. Hung our clothes on the lifeline to wash off all the salt water.
In the afternoon Becky and I rowed weewanhaka to another house and along the way painted the fingernails of the girls who were canoeing alongside us. The family was thrilled to have us at their house and we painted more fingernails, took a walk to see their fresh water creek, and as we left they gave us a small fish and leafy greens. It was my night to cook so I sautéed up the greens and made a fish curry with rice.
After dinner we swam of the boat since the “glowing” bio-luminescence was out and our bodies lit up as we dove in the water and moved around. Super cool!
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