By 25 August most Rally yachts had left Mackay, although Anahi had reported a problem with their engine waterpump (luckily, in course of being resolved with the despatch of a spare from the USA).  Rally crews now have some 5 weeks to cruise round to Darwin, involving sailing Over the Top (Cape York and Arnhem Land).

click here to see a map of the cruising area

A Visit to the Whitsundays and Cairns

By making our new port of entry to Australia at Mackay the Blue Water Rally can now sail through the Whitsunday Islands to our previous stopover at Cairns and beyond.  The Whitsundays are a classic cruising ground, with unspoilt anchorages and islands set in beautiful blue tropical seas.

This next leg is free cruising and during the Skippers Briefing in Mackay we provided a suggested cruise plan, enabling crews to organise their own passages between the multitude of anchorages en route to Darwin.  Certainly, Cairns will be on everyone’s list, both as a tourist centre and, for some, a departure point for families and friends who have been with them over the past few weeks.  During our previous 6 Rallies the major tourist highlight at Cairns has been the spectacular Skyrail and rail journey to the town of Kuranda in the Atherton Tablelands.

The Skyrail (a cablecar system) takes visitors up through a series of ‘stations’ where one can get out and view the various features of the rainforest flora and fauna at different levels and Kuranda is an interesting, albeit touristy, town and one has the option of taking the rack railway train back to Cairns.  Another feature is the Djabukai Aboriginal Centre at the foot of the Skyrail, which provides an insight into the history and traditions of a local aboriginal tribe.  Outside Cairns Ralliers can meet crocodiles in the wild by travelling to the Daintree River, where on a local boat trip (no, not by yacht!) they can watch crocodiles jumping to feed on meat dangled above the river.  Certainly the activity of these huge creatures will be a serious warning to crews contemplating swimming or taking a walk ashore in some anchorages!

In the steps of Captain Cook

The Rally has already sailed along the path of Cook’s voyages from Tahiti to Australia and marvelled at the extraordinary navigational skills of the man who has been dubbed as the greatest of maritime explorers. Over this next leg crews will be constantly reminded of the passage of this extraordinary man over 200 years ago.

From Mackay onwards charts used by Blue Water Ralliers carry the names of his various anchorages and the names of his sponsors.  Cook found a way through a group of islands on Whit Sunday, so the passage and the islands were called Whitsunday.  Later, Cook sailed past, charted and named many other islands (Dunk, Family and Palm), Capes (Bowling Green, Cleveland and Grafton) and Bays (Trinity, Halifax and Rockingham).  In fact, his anchorage in Mission Bay at Cape Grafton is the site of modern Cairns.

A near tragedy occurred on 11 June 1770 when Cook’s ship, Endeavour, ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef.  It took a day to refloat the ship by jettisoning canons, ballast and stores.  Between 18 June and 4 August Endeavour was repaired near Walker Bay, at a point now known as Cooktown.  On 12 August Cook used a small boat to visit Lizard Island where he climbed to the highest point (Cook’s Look) in the hope of seeing gaps in the reef that he could sail through.  Sadly, he only saw lizards as it was too hazy.

Cook now found himself in a dilemma: to sail inside the reef was to run the risk of grounding again on coral: to sail outside the reef could mean missing the Torres Strait through the Arafura Sea – if it existed!  Safely inside, Cook proceeded carefully, following the coast and reached Cape York on 21 August 1770.  His voyage of some 3,500 kms had taken only about 8 weeks to sail and chart – a supreme example of his skills and the source of enormous admiration to Ralliers who now use his early work as a foundation for their own passage in Australian waters.

From Cape York through the ‘Hole in the Wall’ to Darwin

From Cape York, the most northerly point in Australia, Rally yachts will sail across the Gulf of Carpentaria and most will make a stopover at the Gove Yacht Club on the coast of Arnhem Land.  (Crews on past Rallies have always found this the most welcoming of clubs with a reputation for some of the coldest beer in Australia!)  Here skippers will get a local briefing on the passage through the famous ‘Hole in the Wall’, an extremely narrow pass between shoal islands, where the current can run at around 10 or more knots.  This short cut saves many miles of cruising and sets yachts well on the shortest route towards Darwin past aboriginal Arnhem Land.

Arriving in Darwin – Black-striped Mussel Procedures and Paperwork

Since the first Rally we organised in 1995 there has been a problem with the black-striped mussel, which can enter the seawater systems of boats and clog them, thus causing enormous damage.  The Northern Territory Government has, therefore, imposed a mandatory inspection system and a requirement for flushing water systems on our yachts before they are allowed to enter any of the Darwin marinas.

Darwin is also the point of our departure from Australia and for the preparations for entry into Indonesia.  Our Support Manager, Richard Bolt, will be on hand in Darwin to assist the Rally from 24 September.  However, more of that later – there is much fabulous cruising ahead for the Blue Water Rally over the coming weeks before we report the Darwin stopover………..