21 June 2012
Welcome to the shortest day of the year here in the Southern Hemisphere! We got off a bit later than usual, but today\’s journey was only 45 miles. The sail was yet again brilliant. That\’s 4 out of the last 5 days. We had 22-30 knots mostly from 150 degrees aft on the starboard side and with initially a single reefed main and genoa out to weather on the pole, we were clipping along at 9-10 knots consistently. Sailing again in tandem with \”Kakadu\”, we started 3.5 miles behind them and got here 3 miles ahead of them. (I was trying, they weren\’t!).
Including \”Kakadu\”, there are 4 other boats generally with us. All of them chose to anchor today in Shelbourne Bay which will make tomorrow\’s sail to Escape River 5 miles shorter. We\’ll have 70 miles, they only 65. As we\’ve done at least a half dozen days that length or longer, we\’re not concerned about getting in too late in the day. There are no navigation aids or lights at Escape River. That will put us only 30 miles from the very TOP of Australia. We may then head over the top into Seisia (Town is Bamaga). We\’ve been told that going into the Thursday Island Group (despite it\’s being Australian), requires an entire new quarantine procedure which we\’d just as soon avoid. We can take a ferry from Seisia, less than 1/2 an hour from the anchorage. KIT, Scott and Nikki, snug in Margaret Bay, Cape Grenville.