Cairns to Broome May 2023...

Crewman Rocky and I arrived in Cairns on Thursday with the expectation a gasket kit was to arrive the following day, be fitted and we would leave Saturday. Well....... the kit arrived the following Tuesday so we left Wednesday, but we not only had a good look around Cairns but went completely over the boat and found a couple of issues which we repaired including replacing the HWS thermostat, the A/C cooling pump, rewiring the shower sump pump, building a surround for the stove (to make it seaworthy) and sorted a problem which prevented the auto pilot from operating.

So all in all it was time well spent. With an extra 1000lt in an IBC, we were happy to go straight through to Thursday Is and arrived there with about 600lt in reserve. Was treated with great friendliness by Belford the local harbour master who invited us to a berth for the night and came to take our lines. We decided on additional 500lt of fuel in a bladder on the bow which wasn't necessary but comfortable to have in case we wanted to outrun any weather. As it turned out the weather was mostly sensational with calm sea and light to moderate wind. Occasionally early in the morning the wind and sea got a little feisty but usually subsided by 9 or 10 in the morning.

After a great nights sleep, fueled up then off to Darwin. Arriving 4 days later we entered the marina via a lock which was unexpected but well managed by both the lock master and ourselves.

Leaving Darwin in great conditions again, another 3-4 days to Broome and we arrived on Sunday night just 11 days after departing Cairns and on my birthday. Owners Cameron and Valerie being delightful people met us in the dark at our mooring and were armed with birthday cake and candles!

Along the way as well as prior to departure Cameron was fantastic to communicate with and was an absolute pleasure to work with. They own the local whale watching business www.broomewhalewatching.com.au which I recommend you visit if in the region. It is a very well run business and certainly there have been thousands of very happy clients.

Finally a huge thank you to crewman Rocky for his tireless efforts on watch and continuous work creating multiple treats in the galley.