[password] KUDZUU1114
[position] 14 12.4S 144 4.5E
[status] We departed Lizard Island ... a lovely stop by the way ... in train with Amandla and Atlantis all bound for the Torres Strait. Whether we stop at Thursday Island to provision is still an open question and of course picking a decent weather window to make the passage to Darwin may require a layover at Thursday as well. That said, we are rather keen to just get it done and spend a little shore time in Darwin before setting off for Indonesia. The weather yesterday and today is, in a word, windy. A steady 25 kts from the SE set in early yesterday afternoon and rose during Bevy's early evening watch to very boisterous 40 kts for a while. We elected to tuck in to Princess Charlotte Bay for the night which is reputed to be well protected in trades. By our lights, this reputation was not deserved the bay being somewhat akin to an open roadstead. The low headland and very shallow bay water weren't quite what we'd hoped for, but we apparently slept through it all and awoke to a bright sun and a SE wind of, you guessed it, 20-25 kts. And now we are sailing generally northward inside the Great Barrier Reef dodging this reef and that shoal and that other small island or sand spit as we make our way to the tip top of Australia's Cape York Peninsula. All well on board. Robbie
[speed] 7.3 under genoa alone
[heading] 296 T
[weather] SE wind @ 25knts. Swell SE @ 1.5m. Mostly Sunny, 10% cloud cover. Baro: 1018. Temp: 82 F
[END]