Lowana Comes To Darwin
(an extract)by Russ Swan Go to Book Page | charts | glossary Note: When clicking on links, use your browser's BACK arrow to return to the text
Background to Story Prior to 1993 the author was looking for something different, some other challenge. Through a series of events he bought a cruising yacht. The drawback was that it was situated not only in another town but in a different State. Somehow it had to be brought back home. The end solution was to find a crew and engage someone with sailing experience as the Skipper. The crew has travelled to Mackay in Queensland and found the boat to be in need of some work before putting to sea. They set about getting it ready, get it launched and spend the night aboard prior to leaving the harbour. Some last minute over-heating problems delays the departure but after lunch they are ready to take her to Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. Chart: Voyage Area The first leg of the voyage will take them from Mackay through the resort islands of the Whitsunday group up to Magnetic Island, lying off the coast of the city of Townsville. Ahead lies the Great Barrier Reef reaching up along the entire Queensland coast. They have just cleared Mackay Harbour, raised the sails for the first time and set course northwards. Chart: Mackay to Townsville -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <Extract Begins> The breeze is gentle and reasonably constant. Lowana’s sails catch it and straight away she heels over on a slight angle. With a slight jerk she picks up speed before Paul turns off the motor. The relative silence is wonderful and we can now hear the commercial radio playing some music. This is just too good. We sail along with good breezes during the afternoon and the first half of the night under a full moon, in beautiful sailing conditions. The boat handling proves to be excellent and any concerns I might have had about that are dispelled. Friday 3rd September 1993 At 3:00 am Brian wakes me from a fitful doze with a gentle shake on the shoulder. It's my turn to stand watch and there is a welcome cup of tea ready as I climb out to look around. We have been making good progress and are passing through the Whitsunday Islands. When I am properly awake, Brian gives me a handover briefing then heads off to his own bunk. Paul is also hovering around to make sure I know what to do but eventually goes to bed, but is readily available in the quarter-berth just one step away inside the wheelhouse. The scenery under the full moon is delightful. There is a slight haze but does not obscure the lights ashore or the dark shapes of the islands as we glide by. The night is still enough that an occasional raucous shout by some merrymaker ashore could be heard faintly off in the distance, above the soft gurgling of the water sliding past the hull. Our good conditions were not to last and the weather turns on us later in the morning. The wind increases to an estimated 30 knots or more bringing large seas with it. The boat starts pitching and heeling up to 30 degrees causing the galley crockery, various utensils and food stores to start rattling around. Paper and towels have to be packed around these items to prevent any breakages or excessive movement. This is the crews' first experience of moderate to rough seas, and of course being new to this sort of thing don't really know what to expect or what is normal. Our skipper is a steadying influence as he calmly moves around the boat telling us what we need to do. We are each wearing a safety harness clipped to a strong point, so that should a wave sweep one of us off our feet we will remain attached to the boat. Not that any waves have yet come aboard. In the meantime the Auto Helm 2000 tillerpilot and the GPS are both functioning perfectly and there is no need for anyone to physically steer the boat, however at least one person remains as a lookout in the cockpit at all times. The rest of the day passes with no relief from the constant pounding and hard rocking but at least we make some good time. Saturday 4th September 1993 During the night we clear Cape Bowling Green and it's still a little bumpy in the morning as we come up to Cape Cleveland, which juts up off the mainland to the east of Townsville. Magnetic Island is a few more hours away where we will be staying tonight under the hospitality of our man Brian and his wife Jenny. The island is situated just off Townsville and was named by Captain James Cook when he passed by in 1770 on his discovery voyage along the East Coast of Australia. His compass had started to act strangely and he wrongly thought the island had magnetic properties hence the name. As we clear the cape, contact is made with the local maritime coastal radio station, Radio Townsville on VHF Channel 16. A radiotelephone call is requested and when patched through, Brian speaks to Jenny to arrange to collect us when we arrive. The run to Horseshoe Bay at the northern end of Magnetic Island is uneventful. When the anchor splashes down mid-morning we have travelled the 200 miles from Mackay in 45 hours without pushing it in some rather lumpy seas. If the rule of thumb for cruising sailboats is arguably reckoned to be an average of 100 miles a day, then we're doing okay for novices. Jenny is ashore ready to greet us as we dropped the dinghy and got to shore under an overcast sky. Our hosts point out things of interest as we drive around to the other side of the island to their house, where we are promptly handed a beer. This is gladly accepted given some of the weather that we have been through. It had only been a relatively short trip but nonetheless I was glad of the breather. The rest of the day is spent on a tour of the island. It used to be quite a tourist spot but at the time of our visit, seemed to have declined a bit. Toward dusk some Butcherbirds and Kookaburra's fly down to the front yard where Jenny waited with some small titbits for them. The Butcherbirds are similar to Magpies with their black and white plumage and share a similar cheekiness, allowing us to get within a hand's reach of them. The laughing calls of other Kookaburra's echoed all around in the bush near the house. That night Jenny prepared a delightful roast dinner, after which followed a friendly chat into the late evening, once again catching up on news. I think we might have been a little more tired than we realised though as we all slept soundly. Sunday 5th September 1993
After breakfast, the local shops invite our attention and we saunter around them for a little while. Some more food and other provisions are bought, plus a length of pipe for the anchor winch which proves useful later on. We're not in a particular hurry and it's almost midday before driving back around to Horseshoe Bay. After retrieving the dinghy we made a few trips back and forth to the beach carting out water to top up the main water tank, and taking the additional stores out. Jenny came out to Lowana to have a curious look around, but doesn't stay long before returning to the beach to wave goodbye. She had thoughtfully prepared several frozen stews for us and placed them into an Engle portable fridge/freezer, which is now hooked up to the boats 12v dc power supply. Some hooks had to be installed to hold the unit in place inside the wheelhouse. Townsville to Cooktown
In the early part of the afternoon with everything set to go, the anchor is weighed and we set our sails for the Palm Island group to the northwest. Once again we encounter rather big seas on the passage consisting of large swells rather than actual waves. These are coming at us from behind, and I watch some of these mini-monsters rolling up and passing underneath. I'm getting a little concerned, as the back of the boat seems to dig into the face of the waves as they reach us before lifting herself up over them. Seawater is constantly coming aboard along the decks at the stern, being prevented from entering the cockpit by a high coaming around it. As each wave passes through we seem to slide down the back of it, and the cycle repeats itself as the next roller comes through. More than once I cast an uneasy glance towards the skipper but he simply moves around apparently unconcerned, whistling a little tune as he looks at this and that. By now I'm learning to trust his abilities as a seaman and I think his manner is deliberate, but I still felt I had better point out what was happening, just in case. His response is to just shrug his shoulders and grin at me. As strange as it may seem, this was a defining moment for me as a sailor as I pondered on that reaction. It occurred to me that one could never really enjoy sailing, if waves like these were always going to be regarded as a potential menace. They could be negotiated safely, even pleasantly, if handled with the necessary skill, attention and proper respect. It was also a classic example of how the confident conduct of a skipper can affect a crew in a positive manner, and it was good experience for me too in a way. I was gaining first hand experience in how a crew, especially inexperienced ones, will look to the skipper not only for instructions but also for reassurance. It's already pitch black when we arrive in Challenger Bay on the western side of Great Palm Island. Conditions are calm and the water is flat however it takes us a little while to pick our way into the anchorage, as there are other boats moored here. It's necessary to use a spotlight to pick out the occasional mooring line floating on or just under the surface of the water, but we find a spot just off the main jetty where we can put the anchor down. We had completed the 30 miles from Magnetic Island to Great Palm Island in five and a half hours. It’s nice to get a rest from the constant motion of the seas outside and to be able to make a dinner in comfort. This consists of one of the frozen stews out of the Engel fridge, and it didn’t take long to heat up on the gas stove. We sat around the dinette table and enjoyed the meal in silent comfort, and a chilled glass of wine really hit the spot. <End of Extract> Return to Top
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Charts -- Home -- Glossary Chart 1 - Voyage Area 
Chart 2 - Mackay to Townsville 
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Glossary -- Home -- Charts General Distances: Distances at sea are expressed as a nautical mile (nm or mile) equalling 1.85 kilometres on land. A nautical mile is also a bit longer than a statute mile of 1760 yards, equivalent to approx 1.6 kilometres. The term ‘miles’ has been used throughout this journal. Speed: Speed is defined as knots and the following formula’s can be used to work out distances or times: 1 minute of latitude equals 1 mile, 1 knot (per hour) equals 1 minute of latitude or 1 mile per hour, 60 minutes of latitude equals 1 degree of latitude 1 degree of latitude equals 60 miles Example: To do 10 miles at 5 knots would take 2 hours. cockpit: the area where the sail controls are usually situated moderate seas: almost rough, large waves of around 2 metres or more pitch: the up and down forward motion of a boat as it goes over a wave quarter berth: bunks that are partially covered by low areas of the deck eg under cockpits rough seas: waves larger than 3 metres, long rolling cresters crashing down, stinging spray being whipped by the winds, visibility low stern: the back end of the boat tillerpilot (or autopilot): a electronic or manual device connected to the tiller (or wheel) that controls it in a specified direction according to a compass setting or wind direction weigh anchor: bring the anchor up and secure it for sea Return to Top | 
