Our flight from Brisbane to Darwin was about four hours, like flying from Tampa to Chicago. Or more accurately from Chicago to Tampa, because we were definitely flying from cool weather to warm. The flight quickly left behind the coastal strip of urban development that characterizes Australia's East Coast and became the desolate rusty landscape one thinks of when you think "outback." Then abruptly, we were out over the Gulf of Carpinteria, looking down on the Wessel islands that our friends Tom and Bette had stopped over at just weeks before.
We did not get a very good look at Darwin from the air, however, because the sky was filled with a rusty haze, product of the regular burning the locals do to clear out the bush. We were surprised upon landing that it did not result in a smoggy seeming sky.
Tom and Bette Lee were at the airport to meet us with a rental car, a welcome sight for our four large bags, one of which was full of parts for their boat. We zipped immediately to Customs to add us to the crew list and thence to the Indonesian consulate to get our Indonesian visas in the works. After that, we could slow down and take a breath to catch up and raise a toast to Bette Lee's birthday.
Darwin is a decent-sized city wrapping around a peninsula on the north coast of the continent. Downtown is low and mid-rise buildings with a decent amount of parkland running along the waterfront bluffs. The city is landscaped with tropical trees, palms and flowers and draws lots of backpacker tourists during the "Dry", the "winter" season we are in the midst of. It is also the end of Northern Territory's extended winter holidays, so the streets are full of vacationing families and travelers. Still it proved impossible to get a late lunch. Darwin's restaurants are open 12-2pm and 5:30-10:00 pm! We settled for a beer and a shared pizza,to fortify us for the real adventure of the day: getting us and all the bags out to the boat.
Quantum Leap is anchored in Fannie Bay off the Darwin Sailing Club, along with about 80 other boats! Darwin experiences a tidal range of about twenty feet. From the bluff on which the club is situated, a long paved ramp runs down to the beach. When the tide is high, the water comes about halfway up the ramp. When it is low, there is up to two hundred feet of sand and mud to reach the water's edge,which even then stays quite shallow for quite a ways further! It was, of course, low tide.
The club has quite a neat way of helping yachts cope with their dinghies and the tide. They have "trailers" -- essentially triangular push carts -- onto which you float your dinghy to then drag it up the ramp above the tide range. To launch, you reload your dinghy onto one of the carts and roll it back down to the water's edge...wherever that may be. Ingenious as the system is, with today's large rigid dinghies, it's still quite the chore.
And just to make it all more fun, Fannie Bay is susceptible to a small but nasty chop. A loaded dinghy -- as it is is with four people let alone baggage -- is forced to proceed very slowly so as not to arrive drenched by spray. And because of the tide and the general shallowness of the bay, Quantum Leap is anchored well offshore. On top of that, there is the nagging fact that this is crocodile country. Although it doesn't seem likely that crocs would be out swimming along the beaches of a fairly open bay, it is not impossible. Reportedly, whenever a croc is seen in the bay, they go after it, trap it, and "relocate" it somewhere less threatening to "small children learning how to sail!"
But it was all worth the struggle. Quantum Leap is a lovely boat. We have always thought so. She is quite simply, the only catamaran that has ever motivated either of us to say, "Oooh, I could live on that one!"
It's a combination of sensible and pleasing layout plus tasteful decor. A St. Francis 50, built for the Walkers in South Africa in 2001, she is beautifully appointed. The wide bridge deck is about two-thirds salon, with a comfortable leather settee wrapping around an irregularly shaped cherry table, accented by African-motif pillows. The U-shaped galley accounts for the other third with handsome Corian countertops and cherry cabinetry, and the floor features a striking inlaid compass rose of unpronounceable African woods. Bette Lee has the salon accented beautifully with baskets and carvings collected throughout their travels.
The boat has four sleeping cabins, but like most liveaboard cruisers, one at least has been given over to storage. I particularly like the cabin layout, with the queen-sized berths mounted head-in from the ama, making getting in and out of bed very easy. There is an amazing amount of storage available, enough that all the stuff we brought didn't look like so much! And the ventilation, from the escape hatch in the bath-tub shower through to the overhead hatch above the bed, is great.
After unloading, unpacking and celebrating with a sundowner, we went back ashore for dinner at the Club. You may remember from our Aussie Blog two years ago, that Aussies dearly love their social clubs. The Darwin Sailing Club is no exception. The long patio and lawn between the club and the beach bluff was filled with tables, and by and large the tables were filled with happy folks eating and drinking, only a small percentage of which were rally yachts. What makes this particularly impressive to us cheapskate Yanks, is that the meals here aren't cheap!
BUT, it sure is a nice atmosphere, and mighty fine for these two captains to be back in the cruising milieu. We have quickly reconnected with two or three boats we used to know well, several more who were part of our "class" crossing the Pacific in 2004, and a whole bunch of new friends. Life is good back afloat!
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