Darwin: by Dad

G'day,

I hope you are all well.

Just stepped off the plane at 7:00am so am a little jet lagged but here we go. I was last in Darwin in 1985 and what I remember is how hot, humid and isolated the top end is. Although when I was there it was the wet season, also referred to as the crazy season. After four days, not having any way to escape the intensity of the heat and humidity I climbed into the Austin 1800 and drove non-stop (stopping for fuel only) to Cairns.

The Darwin that greeted us on this trip was certainly much kinder. Jen, the photographer, and I arrived prematurely and occupied our time with researching the area, contacting media and finding some fun things for Zac to do once he arrived. Jen and I were the only crew on this trip as our resouces did not allow for the production crew or Marianne to fly out. So between Zac, Jen and myself we tried to capture all the footage and photos that we could in the time that we had. In our frustration and lack of patience we decided to get some arial footage of Zac out there sailing since his last position report still put him two days out and we had already been waiting three days. Just after booking the tickets the weather had lightend and Zac's progress had slowed so this was like a little boost of morale and added necessary footage at the same time. We caught up with Zac fifteen miles out of the Dundas Strait. He was 'merrily' sailing along in about a 10-15 knot afternoon breeze. I made radio contact with Zac once and then my handheld VHF died. He waved at the plane as the pilot made numerous passes alowing us to maximize footage on equipment. By the way, if you have never tried capturing this type of footage, it is a lot harder then it might seem. The time passed al too quickly and it was time to head back to Darwin through the Dundas Strait, down the side of Melville Island over the Veron Island and back to the airport.

The following day, Dan, the owner of the Capricornia Motel where we were staying offered his father in law's boat that he had at his disposal to go out and catch up to Zac. What a great opportunity! John knight also came along. John has been helping and advising with much of the navigation up at the top end. We caught up to Zac, who was just clear of the Vernons with an unfavorable tide change and was being swept back towards them. We took all our photos and footage and tossed him a big beef roll and a cold drink. It was a little more personal than the plane the day before and with his position and conditions we worked out that Zac would be in Cullin Bay, Darwin in the early hours of the morning. John Knight and I had arranged to meet at the yacht club and keep in radio contact giving advice and way points to Zac until he was at anchor because of the complexity of the anchorage and tidal situation. Around 3:00 am the hook was down and time for all to catch up on some well earned rest.

Customs spent the best part of 2 hrs on the Intrepid and cleared them into Australia. Then up with the hook and over to the dock where the media had been waiting for the best part of two hours. Although tired Zac was in rare form answering all the questions. We fueled and filled the water tank of Intrepid and had good meal at a resteraunt close by. We took Zac around and showed him the motel, yacht club and the Spot On Boat Yard, which was where Zac would haul his yacht. Mike and Sue, the owners, have been so helpful and generous. Zac had to wait for the high tide before they could haul his yacht due to the sand bars and shoaling areas. Mike made a phone call to a friend of his, Allistair, and we met the following day. Allistair is a shipwright and keen sailor and before I could look around he just started getting stuck into what needed to be done. What a huge blessing. Sunny, Allistair's helper, and he are top tradesman. They are fast and efficient. They knocked out a huge portion of the work very quickly and voluntarily. I was extremley relieved and pleasantly surprised. When Zac had rested, he went off with Jen to do a bit of sight seeing compliments of the NT (Northern Territory) Tourism Board. Zac swam with crocs, had a tour around with aborigines, had a trip up the Adelaide River and saw the jumping crocs. He has been having a great time in Darwin. Thanks to all the awesome people and support he's been getting. I left a little prematurely to get back to the states due to our economic climate and it's effects my business. There was still much work to be done to Intrepid, and I trust that Zac will see the importance of executing the list before heading out across the Indian Ocean. My last day in Darwin was spent picking up supplies all day long and checking out of the motel. That evening, Zac and I went to Allistair's house for dinner and met up with his family. What a fine meal! It was great to really relax in good company. We left Allistair's house and headed for the store to reprovision with the nonperishables and went back to the Intrepid to say our good byes.
Now on to the next chapter. The Indian Ocean awaits. A young man is purposefully finishing his preparations. The tide will turn at 4:00pm Dawin local time Friday. God-willing he and Intrepid will be on that tide.

Below is a list of the work that intrepid had done in Darwin:


1. Clean fuel tank (problem still occurred after Port Moresby)

2. Change Racor fuel filters (Intrepid has dual Racor 500s)

3. Tighten tiller arm

4. Tighten packing gland

5. Fix or replace faulty bilge pump

6. Caulk all leaking areas

7. Put on repaired genoa

8. Lubricate wind monitor, change out chaffed lines

9. Fill alcohol resevoir for stove

10. Paint antifoul on bow

11. Attach main sail to out haul

12. Fix port cockpit scupper

13. Replace Raymarine 1000 & 2000 tiller pilots (replaced 2000 waiting for the 1000)

14. Replace computer

15. Replace computer keyboard

Thank you all for praying and being a big part of what Zac is doing.

Cheers,

Laurence