The Cosmos Adventure - News
Report From George Hotz -- Received June 18, 2002 Cosmos5/31/02
Our visit to Thursday Island was disappointing. Everything in town was closed except the hotel, the churches, and the supermarket closed at noon. Some of the crew went to church, some made phone calls at the phone booth, and others walked through town and discovered that it was essentially closed for the Sabbath. We were able to get a few groceries, and were the last ones out of the closing supermarket, then met at a hotel restaurant for lunch. Our error was to visit Thursday Island on a Sunday. In the vicinity of Thursday Island one can find Wednesday Island and Friday Island but, no Sunday Island. There is, however, a wee Sunday Island many miles to the South in Margaret Bay; it is uninhabited, and we weren't there on Sunday.
One afternoon, Captain Joe and I presented a safety meeting to the crew. We discussed the written safety rules already established and laid down some guidelines and assignments regarding the wearing of harnesses and lanyards, and the deployment of the man overboard pole, life ring and lifelines. We then had a real "man overboard" drill. This was when I, suddenly, went overboard and had a nice swim, while everybody else had to hustle and struggle to get me back aboard Cosmos, safely. We had another safety meeting a couple of days later and discussed the launching, and use of the life raft, and "ditch bags". All of this safety consciousness is due to the fact that we are leaving the safety of the Great Barrier Reef and getting ready to head out into the Indian Ocean on our way to South Africa.
Having exhausted the convenient diving and snorkeling sites, we headed for Darwin. This meant crossing the Gulf Of Carpentaria, the Arafura Sea, through the Dundes Strait into the Van Diemen Gulf, then through the Clarence Strait. This was nearly all fast downwind sailing except for the last day or so.
6/1/02
We arrived at Darwin this morning at about 0200. After breakfast, Captain Joe made a reconnaissance dinghy trip ashore. Then we all went into town to look around. It is Saturday afternoon and everything is closing down for the weekend; just our luck. So, we had dinner at the yacht club that is right in front of the anchorage. This is a very nice location and we are looking forward to Monday for some shopping and maybe we'll book a tour into the "Bush".
6/2/02
It's Sunday and we used the day to clean Cosmos up. We tied up to some special pilings at high tide and gave the boat a good fresh water rinse; then filled the water tanks. We're going to be here for a week so I flushed and pickled the water maker. After all that work I think we're going out to dinner, again. Yep; here we go; see ya' later.
6/10/02
Darwin has turned out to be a very pleasant port for us. It is clean, the weather has been nearly perfect, there is more to see and do than we have time for, and it has met all of our needs. There exists, here, what we consider to be a relaxed attitude and pace. The people have been friendly and helpful. Darwin was wiped out in 1974 by Cyclone Tracy, on Christmas Day. The city was rebuilt from scratch and is now a modern, multicultural, tropical, experience. We have all learned a great deal about the area, it's people, and wildlife. We took a two day tour into Kakadu National Park and really got involved with the history of the Aboriginal culture and art, visited numerous geographical wonders and historical sites, and got an exciting education regarding the local wildlife. This included swimming with crocodiles, dining with iguanas, and continuous commentary on the bird life as they were encountered throughout the two days.
We reprovisioned yesterday and this morning some of the crew went ashore for a last visit to a local wild life site, to do some last minute chores, take a shower, have a beer, etc... I did all of my laundry yesterday so I'm ready to go. Captain Joe says we're-weighting anchor at 1400. The plan is to cruise the Kimberly Coast to Broome, then head out into the Indian Ocean; enroute to Kocos-Keeling.
6/13/02
Yep, we left Darwin. It sure was a treat to have stayed here for over a week. We sailed through the night, the next day and night, and entered the King George River on the afternoon of the 12th. Here, we had an exquisite lunch of deep fried King Mackerel, caught by Anders 45 minutes before, and salad. Then we all piled into the dinghy for another scenic crocodile hunt with rock climb. The rock formations in the mouth of this river were magnificent; a real Kodak moment. Sadly, we left here upon returning to the boat, and sailed all night and today to enter Shelter Bay in the Prudhoe Islands tomorrow morning. As a consolation, after getting under way from the King George River, we had a dinner that consisted of what may be the finest BBQ'd Cheeseburgers to have ever graced Cosmos' saloon table.
I sure am glad I pickled the watermaker; she's really making great water. Drinks and showers for all.
6/15/02
Cosmos entered Shelter Bay at midday, yesterday. We were all stunned with the raw beauty and solitude of this desolate, uninhabited, Prudhoe Island and pristine bay. On an initial, exploratory, dinghy ride, Steve and I discovered a perfect beach with tortoise tracks leading from the water's edge, up to the brush line. Then we saw a bunch of little baby turtle tracks leading from where the mother had layed her eggs, back down to the water. Everyone in the crew wanted to see this when we reported back to Cosmos; and did. That evening, we had a campfire dinner in the rocks above this beach in hopes that more tortoise would make the trip across the beach to bury their eggs. No more tortoises showed up but, we had a special evening anyway.
During our brief stay in Shelter Bay, we took several dips in the clear water surrounding the boat. I noticed, at some point, that I found it easier to float with the additional fat accumulation of my body, due to the fine cuisine aboard Cosmos, no doubt. I brought this phenomenon to the attention of some of my crewmates and I am sure that they found it to be very interesting. However, when I asked Hilary if she found it easier to float with her recently, accumulated body fat, she did not respond with an intelligible answer.
It is worth noting how much better small boats, and their systems, perform, when they are used regularly. In Cosmos' case, the engines have been running smoother, the plumbing doesn't leak, valves, latches, and switches work smoothly. Of coarse, everything gets constant attention, and we actually look for problems, so we can nip them in the bud. Things like adjusting hatch hinge friction so the hatches will stay up, lubricating the head pumps with cooking oil to get more life from the rubber parts and make them operate more smoothly, looking for chafe in the running rigging and dealing with it immediately. Etc...etc. This trend is on-going and may well be one of the biggest factors in the success of this circumnavigation, to date. Thankfully, Captain Joe has been very responsive about keeping us supplied with spare parts and material for meeting this challenge.
The kayak that we have been carrying all along is finally being pressed into use by crewmenbers that need a little private time to themselves. It is very comforting, relaxing, and just plain fun to hop into our one-man kayak to do a little exploring of a local area by oneself. We can add to our enjoyment by taking along our CD player, binoculars, camera, snacks, etc; and row around in a world of our own.
Captain Joe estimates that Cosmos will be at the halfway point of this circumnavigation when we reach 102 degrees 30 minutes East. We will encounter this position soon after passing Christmas Island. We are thinking of having a celebration at this point.
6/16/02
Cosmos is heading for the Lacepede Islands now. We didn't have enough wind to sail since leaving Shelter Bay, so we had to use up some diesel fuel. A little wind showed up this morning; I hope it stays with us. Anders caught another Spanish Mackerel; 37 inches.
6/17/02
Wow,the wind sure did stay with us. When I came on watch at 2200 last night, we were getting 20 to 25 knot wind with gusts to 30 knots. I had to turn towards a new waypoint and ended up beating (close hauled) at about 8 to 8.5 knots/hr. This was the trend until we got to Lacepede Island this morning at noon. It was a great sail but, bumpy. We got a Happy Father's Day message on the satellite phone, today. Captain Joe and I are the only Fathers on board so it had to be for one of us; the sender didn't identify him or her self in the message. It is always nice to get that message.
George
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