Croker Island to Darwin

Croker Island to Darwin

    A little over an hour later sees us rounding Cape Croker at the northern end of Croker Island, and turning westerly on the next leg towards Cape Don.  The rest of the day is a straightforward run with following seas and good winds, making excellent time across the top of the Cobourg Peninsula.

Captain Glint

    At one point a small Army landing craft comes powering past us heading easterly into the wind and waves.  It must have been a rough ride for them with their flat barge bottom.  The whole of the craft was being repeatedly drenched as they bashed into the waves.

Sunday 26th September 1993
    Cape Don marks the entrance to Dundas Strait and the Van Dieman Gulf beyond.  Both these places can be unpleasant when there are adverse winds or tides, and there are plenty of shoals and reefs around to catch the unwary. 
    However we are lucky this time.  As we round the cape and enter the strait in the dark, there's hardly a breath of wind.  But there's a good tidal push running with us.  The sea is completely flat and the air so still that we have to endure the exhaust fumes from the motor.  It’s hard to sleep since we're so close to home.  
    Several hours later the red blinking light of Abbot Shoal comes into view.  This is another turning point in the middle of the gulf, around the southern extremity of extensive shoals and reefs below Melville Island.
    Another familiar place is reached as the Cape Hotham light winks faintly in the early morning darkness away in the distance, marking the entrance to Clarence Strait through the Vernon Islands to the north of Darwin.  We are getting close to home now.  Once again the charts are carefully checked and our position and course plotted.  The route through here also has strong currents during the big Spring tides, which can run up to seven metres or more.
    Just before dawn we pass Cape Hotham and alter our course to go between the islands.  In the still of the dawn it promises to be another lovely morning, as we look back at the sun coming up over the cape behind us.  It’s also a special morning since today will see the end of our journey.  There's still no wind and the sea stays completely flat, forcing us to continue under motor with all sails down.

Dawn over Cape Hotham

    By mid-morning the sun is beating down upon us.  The decks are already hot forcing us to wear footwear topside, as we negotiate the passage through the Vernon Islands.  It’s good to see familiar landmarks again.  The GPS suddenly drops out for a little while for some unknown reason but it’s not a problem.  I have a good local knowledge of this area having fished here for many years, but it does mean we have to go a bit further east to clear Marsh Shoal before turning south towards Darwin.
    In the middle of the afternoon our entrance into Darwin Harbour is unremarkable as we make our way around to Fisherman’s Wharf in Sadgroves Creek.  Unfortunately there are no public berths available at the wharf so we motor further up the creek towards the Dinah Beach Cruising Yacht Club.  Here we soon find a vacant mooring.  It belongs to someone who is well known to Paul, and he is certain there won’t be any problem with our using it until tomorrow.  The motor is turned off and in the sudden silence; I suspect there is a feeling of anti-climax amongst us.
    Without much further ado, the dinghy is dropped down from the Targa.  Paul’s job is done and he loads all his personal gear into the dinghy before we head straight for the club where, as custom demands, we are promptly made honorary members.  Phone calls are made to friends and families to come and get us, but in the meantime we celebrate our safe arrival and try to get used to the firm ground under us.  Paul also contacts the mooring owner and properly obtained his permission for Lowana to stay there for the night.

Monday 27th September 1993
    The hot water shower last night and the sleep-in this morning was glorious.  Just before midday, Brian, my wife Delma and a lady neighbour friend Margi come with me back out to Lowana to help bring her into the local marina.  Paul has done his job well and I have become reasonably confident I can handle the boat proficiently for the task.
    We enjoy a light lunch aboard, but I must admit to a slight tremble as I start the motor and the mooring is released.  I needn’t have worried.  Lowana glides comfortably through the lock gates of the Darwin Mooring Basin, and comes to a stop without any embarrassing glitches.  When the water levels inside the lock and the inner marina are level, the lockmaster opens the gate and directs me over to a particular berth that has been reserved for us. 
    Lowana moves out smoothly under power to the designated spot, but a couple of lines have to be cleared from the outer poles before we can access the marina berth.  All goes well however and soon Lowana is secured into position.  With the motor shut down and the radio turned on, the boat is given a quick cleaning.  Perishable stores and all the laundry are taken off before the boat is locked up and we step ashore, leaving her to herself for a while.
    For the next 12 days Lowana will get some more cleaning and touch up work, before being taken out and put on the fore and aft moorings further up Sadgroves Creek.
    I must admit to feeling at trifle sad at stepping off her deck to go home.  Lowana is certainly a lady of the sea and she had served us well.  In a way I still wanted the journey to continue.  Perhaps it will...

THE END

 Epilogue
    Lowana remained on the fore and aft moorings up Sadgroves Creek for several years, when she wasn’t away being sailed somewhere.  She’s had a relatively active life despite being owned by someone who works full time.
    By 2001 she had completed two trips to Indonesia and two trips to Western Australia.  She’s also done two trips back around Cape Don to Port Essington on the Cobourg Peninsula, plus numerous overnighters in the surrounding area.  She also competes in the annual wet-season races conducted by the DBCYC.
    As a cruising yacht Lowana has proven herself a safe and sound vessel, capable of handling seas of at least six metres.  But she is a little slow around the marks during races when beating to windward.  Never mind, I’d rather be slow and safe, rather than fast and anxious.
    In April 1995 she was placed on the hard stand at the club and underwent an extensive refit until July 1997.  She was put back out on the fore-and-aft moorings, but flocks of birds selected her as a roosting site and the constant guano on her became a real problem.  Nothing seemed to deter them.
    She has since resided at the Tipperary Marina where birds are discouraged and where access is much easier.  I think she likes it there...and as old as she is, she still draws admiring remarks.