Thursday 5th October 2023 – King George River - Twin Falls

We stumbled out of bed around 06:30, both very tired, and had scrambled eggs, mushrooms and spinach leaves for breakfast. After my coffee, I dropped the dinghy, lowered the outboard on and got everything ready to head off.

The outboard started first pull and seemed fine and the dinghy was holding air, so all good. With walking shoes on, water, sat phone, cameras, drone and some fruit we headed off for a big adventure. After a dinghy ride around the falls admiring the size and beauty and taking a few photos of Sirocco, we headed off to find the walking track to the top of the falls.

I found the start of the track quite easy and secured the dinghy so it wouldn’t float away or get stuck on the rocks at high tide, and then we headed off. It was a hard hot climb up the steep canyon wall, and I was exhausted and dripping with sweat in no time and had to stop a few times to rest, Claudia was ok though.

When we got to the top it was very hot but there was a nice breeze blowing that gave us some relief. We followed the stacked rocks to stay on track and finally after about 40 minutes we got to the top of the falls for the incredible spectacular view.

We took a few photos at the edge of the waterfall, but I was so hot, I desperately needed a swim, so we headed off to try and find a clean water hole to cool off in. It was much dryer than last time I was here and most of the pools were either dry or stagnant. Along the way we came across a very lively whipsnake. 

As I got hotter, the more desperate for a swim I became. The further we walked up stream, the pools gradually got bigger, deeper, and clearer until we found one that was about 600mm deep and clear, so we stripped off and got in. Ooooooh, it was sooooo cool and nice.

 

We sat there for maybe 20 minutes and then I said let’s go further and try to find a deeper pool, so off we went again. The next pool was perfect and had a chest deep area next to a flat ledge and it was also full of fish. We must have spent nearly 2 hours here and by then my hands looked like prunes.

 

After this we went back to the falls, and I got my drone out to fly it out over the twin falls. I struggled for about 40 minutes to get it going as it had an alarm and the compass needed calibrating and I was having trouble seeing the screen in the bright sun.

Eventually I got it sorted and it was ready to fly, but I had wasted quite a bit of battery life in the process. I managed to get some nice photos and video and flew it back safety, landing it on the large rock next to us.

We were so high on life, there was a nice breeze blowing, and we were not hot when we started the long walk back to the dinghy. I asked Claudia to lead us back to the boat by following the stacked rocks marking the trail and she got us lost many times, but it was a good experience for here in case I was to get injured.

Along the trail there were some lovely plants, trees, flowers, cow poo, green ants, and termite mounds that we stopped to look at and photograph. Finally, we made it back to the track leading down the cliff to the dinghy. I found the going down so much easier, but Claudia struggled, sliding down on her bum most of the way. Not sure if it was due to her short legs or fear?

When we eventually got back to the dinghy, the bloody thing had gone dry on top of a large rock. I had pushed it way out on a long line to prevent this from happening, but shit happens. Luckily, I managed to push it off the rock, and slide it across the sharp oyster shells without tearing a hole in any of the pontoons or suffering any leaks.

Before heading back to Sirocco, we went over to the fern garden near the east waterfall, and we sat under the dripping water for a few minutes to cool off. We got back to Sirocco around 16:30 and we were both completely buggered.

After some snacks and a cool drink, we both recovered. Claudia started to make dinner while I had a beer and then went fishing. I caught a good pan size trevally that went into the fridge for a meal some other day, and then I had a nice cool shower on the back steps.

We had a lovely Thai green curry for dinner, then after washing the dishes we ate chocolate and I had a couple of beers before going to bed early, both very tired. According to Claudia, I talked about rocks and crocodiles in my sleep, so I must have been a little stressed out.

Track Sirocco’s progress

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Sirocco

Wednesday 4th October 2023 – King George River

The last 4 hours was a rough ride under engine with 20 kts on the noise. A small vessel with unidentified AIS went past just as we were approaching the King George River, but I couldn’t physically see it, and there was no information on the AIS. I assume it was probably a private yacht heading towards the Berkeley River. 

We cautiously approached the river mouth at 08:55, 1.5 hours behind my planned schedule. We had done 245 nautical miles in 42 hours. High tide was 08:15 and we got to the first waypoint at 09:05. The shallowest it got was 2.5m on the strait in approach, 4.0m at way point 1 and 12.7m at way point 2 at 09:10. 

It was a relief to cross the bar without any dramas. There is a reported rock in the middle of the river up ahead that we had to avoid, and after that we should be fine. We slowly cruised all the way upriver doing about 2.5 - 3 kts admiring the magnificent scenery. I will never get sick of this beautiful river.

Along the way, we passed two catamarans that were coming out and heading to Darwin tomorrow. I chatted on the radio with one of them for 10 minutes. 

We got to twin falls, 7 nautical miles upstream around 12:10, did a few circles under the dry falls, and then dropped the pick at 12:30. It was windy and extremely hot at the falls, yet the beautiful fern garden was still dripping water and was lush and healthy.

As soon as I stopped, fatigue kicked in and I almost immediately fell asleep. I woke around 4pm, it was still quite hot, but the wind had dropped to a lite breeze. While I was asleep, Claudia washed all the cloths, made brownies and cooked a lovely potato & mushroom bake for dinner. 

Claudia spotted a crock lurking near the boat checking us out. I had a shower on the back step, had dinner and then had a few beers while relaxing listening to all the bird calls and fish splashing. This truly is a magnificent place. There was a nice breeze blowing, so hopefully we will get a good night’s sleep. I set the alarm for 06:00 as we had a very big day ahead of us.

Track Sirocco’s progress

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Sirocco

Tuesday 3rd October 2023 – Darwin to King George River

After the sun came up, the wind became flakey and at around 7 am I had to start the engine and motor sail. The ocean remained choppy all day and I spent most of the day doing boat jobs.

I fixed a squeak that had been annoying me all night and I installed my large portable fan in my cabin. Hopefully now I will be able to sleep well on these hot barmy nights.

I had to teach myself how to use Open CPN again, as I haven't used it for so long, then once I got it going, I managed to get all my old Google maps working for the King George and Berkeley River's.

Throughout the day there were lots of schools of tuna jumping with sea birds diving overhead. At one point a pod of dolphins joined us to ride our bow wave for a while before getting bored and swimming off.

The wind came up in the afternoon and we were able to sail once again and shut the engine off. We tested the satellite phone and were in constant contact with friends and family all afternoon, sending messages back and forth and I finished entering all the way points into my GPS for the Berkeley River bar crossing.

The sun set at 18:51 and we sailed on into the dark for the second night. At one point I was out on deck in the dark and a flying fish touched my leg scaring the shit out of me.

The wind got up to around 20 knots about 2am and I had to reef the sails in the dark. I was having difficulty keeping the boat facing upwind on my own as the wind kept filling the main sail and spinning us around. I revved the engines quite hard to force the noise back around and the starboard engine water pump belt started to slip and shortly after the engine over heated and I had to shut it down.

After reefing and trimming the sails and getting us back on course, I then spent a hot hour in the engine room adjusting the water pump belt tension. We passed two small boats in the night without AIS, and I assumed they were probably yachts on their way from the Kimberly to Darwin.

Track Sirocco’s progress

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Sirocco

Monday 2nd October 2023 – Darwin

I was up at 0600, as I had a lot of things to do before leaving the marina. I had booked the lock for 09:00 as we had to get out on the high tide, and I would have to do the remainder of boat jobs on anchor at Fanny Bay before heading off. 

I also had to do a quick last-minute trip into town to pick up some items we had forgotten and needed. On the way back I picked up Luke who I had asked to come with us through the lock for assistance. 

We made it back to the marina just in time and right away we threw the ropes and headed off into the lock. I managed to get through without touching the sides and headed out through the channel on the fast-outgoing tide. 

I dropped Luke off on the public fisherman’s wharf, and Claudia & I continued on the five-mile trip around to Fanny Bay where we were to spend the day, before heading off around 5 pm. I got distracted at one stage and managed to hit a channel buoy along the way taking a bit of bark off on the freshly painted port bow. 

I dropped the pick at Fanny Bay and did a lot of the remaining boat jobs on my list and finally programmed in all the way points for the sand bar crossings for the King George and Berkeley River’s. I had also been trying all day to get the GPS tacker going on my satellite phone while I still had GSM coverage without any success.

At 17:00 I pulled anchor, and we headed off into a beautiful sunset on our way to the King George River. I hoisted the main, but it was mostly for aesthetics as the wind dropped right off and the sea began to glass out.

 

Finally, at 18:00 with one bar of signal showing on my phone, I got an email from my satellite phone service provider saying if I still wanted to have GPS tracking, I would have to upgrade my subscription to a higher level and pay extra. I have been using this service for the past four years and now these basteds want me to upgrade and pay more for the same service, well after this trip I think I’ll investigate changing to StarLink.

I just managed to upgrade my subscription just as my phone lost connection and I messaged Luke on the satellite phone, and he confirmed my GPS tracking was now working.

The breeze kicked in after dark and conditions became a little choppy, but I was able to sail all through the night averaging 6 - 7 knots.

Track Sirocco’s progress

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Sirocco

Sunday 1st October 2023 – Fly Perth to Darwin

We departed Perth at 06:30 and arrived in Darwin at 11:30. It was stinking hot as usual. We took a cab to first pick-up the boat keys from Wayne, then we headed down to the boat. After unpacking, I pumped up the tender, switched on the fridge and freezer, checked the bilges, and fired up the engines and checked the electronics. 

I had three bags full of boat stuff and I had a huge list of boat jobs to do before leaving the marina. First on the list was to touch base with Luke, borrow his ute keys and load all the fuel drums into the back of the ute for a fuel run.   

I had 9 x 20 litre diesel jerry cans, 3 x 24 litre dinghy petrol fuel tanks and one empty 9 litre gas bottle to fill. After filling these, we went to pick up my generator that had been recalled by Honda to have the inverter replaced. 

Next stop was the bottle shop for a few slabs of VB. We then headed back to the boat, and I quickly stowed all the fuel and gas bottle. Then we headed back to the ute and headed off to the supermarket for a food run. 

 We did a massive shop then headed back to the boat to pack everything away and get the boat ready to leave the marina on the high tide tomorrow morning. I left Claudia to sort through all the old food and to throw out anything that was old or not needed and to remove all the packaging from the food we just bought and to store it all away. 

While she was busy with the food, I first got each engine sorted out, then made the beds in the rear cabins. I then cleaned out the old food room and then replaced the oil in the water maker. When I was satisfied with this room, I went outside to check the dinghy for leaks, and it seemed fine which was a relief. 

Next on the list was to test the outboard. Thankfully it started first pull and the impeller was intact and working fine. After this I was up on the roof removing the cyclone ropes off the main sail, opening the boom bag and removing all the covers. 

I then asked Claudia to help me put the genoa back onto the furler. She got her first taste of hard yakka sailboat work. In no time we had the genoa back on and furled. The new furler swivel seemed to be working fine and there was no hint of halyard wrap which was a relief. 

Next on the list was to test the windlass and I was shocked to see how rusty the chain had become, but it was only cosmetic. Next job was to test both toilets, test and flush the plumbing and to fill both water tanks. 

A bloody mud lark had made its nest under the radar 15 meters up the mast and the deck was filthy, covered mud and bird shit, with sticks and other material all over the place. So, I had to climb up the mast with the hose, remove the nest and wash all the mud and bird shit off. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon scrubbing the decks and getting the boat spotless.

After dark we had a quick bite for dinner and I was up until 01:00 reactivating my satellite phone, testing the AIS. Replacing batteries etc. 

Track Sirocco’s progress

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Sirocco