Over the last few days we've been enjoying all the festivities here and yesterday we went to a small Island about 40nm to the North of Ambon. And today we finished off by sailing back to Ambom which took us right around the Island completing a circumnavigation of Ambon. We had some great winds and great sailing. Here's a little from the last few days in and around Ambon. Been having a great few days out around Ambon sailing and seeing some of the small off lying islands. Nash is with us until the 21st so we thought we'd make a run for it and have a few days away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the pollution of the harbour. It's probably the one thing that really depresses is here. There is just so much plastic and pollution in the water you could never fathom it unless you see it. There's litter everywhere and plastic bottles and bags are seen in every part even the remote offshore lying islands, which just kills you to see as you know that's it's an issue that won't be solved until plastic is abolished its the norm here and a way of life for the locals so we need to either accept it or move on.
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Two weeks were spent in Darwin where we fixed some small items and prepared Spirit for the run to Ambon. After two months we were pretty excited to be there and couldnt wait for race day. I had arrange for two good mates to come along and race with us. One of them Murray had done the race nine times previously and is a great sailor and Nash has done bow on yachts such as Wild Thing and Living Doll and is more used to punching his way to Hobart than reaching into the tropics as we hoped to for the 600nm to Ambon. This is pretty much what the race is known for the 600nm of blast reaching in ideal tropical conditions and one of the main reason we wanted to do the race. A few hours around the cans is fun but days of reaching deep off the wind with blue skies and warm winds is hard to beat! My parents had also decided to join us in darwin and we our shore race crew and support, which definitely helped things run smoother prior to race day. The weather was watched daily and it wasn't looking good. The forecast was light..... super light with deep angles. Not great but hey it was warm and we were going to have loads of fun. Unfortunately the boat we thought may give us a good run for line honours was unable to race and so we were left to tussle with the two large monos, one being the year previous winner and race record holder for monohulls Antipodean the Santa Cruz 72 and the Inglis Walk on the Wild Side, which also once held the monohull race record. Our game plan was easy get out and away from Darwin as quick as we could. If the grib files and weather forecast was correct we only had until 6pm to get around Bathurst Island after that we would be sailing into a huge hole. The start was a bit crude and we along with nearly all the other mulihulls missed the one minute gun so ended up being a little late for the start, thankfully we had 600nm to go! It was a slow drift out of Darwin harbor and up to the channel. From there the wind went north west and slowly as we sailed out into the bay swung around to the sw and increased to about 10-12kts. Once the wind had swung and settled it gave us around a 40-50 apparent angle which was pretty hot for our small reacher but we carried it as far as we could and slowly hauled in the big two monos which had put an early lead on us of about five miles. Just as the sun was setting we rounded the sw corner of Bathurst Island sitting on 14-16kts it was at this time we slid under both Walk on the Wild Side first and Antipodean second. The feeling was incredible to be getting passed them while on such a great angle and at such speed. For a time we were a little worried about what would happen once we had cracked off and started to run deeper. Even though Spirit is an ex-formula 40 she's now got all the mod cons and is more so a cruiser so her weights a little on the heavy side, which in turn really effects her speed in the light and even more so when running deep. This to us was our archillies heel. So it was good to find out just after sunset and after we had all turned to run along the rumb line north that we were able to hold them off and run just as deep if not deeper and just a little faster. The first night brought with it up and down conditions. At times the wind died to near nothing and we just floated along at the mercy of the sea then a zeffer would come in and wed start to move again. We just hopped that the boats behind had similar conditions to us. Both Walk on the Wild Side and Antipodean had AIS transponders onboard so when they were within about ten miles we could see them but over night we had lost them and as the wind had pushed us further west we werent sure that they hadnt passed us to the east. which was feasible if they'd managed to find a spot more wind. Thats the big problem when racing in super light airs it doesnt take much for you opponent to get passed you if theres next to no wind all they need is some! After a few hours we spotted Antipodean on the horizon astern of us and also on the AIS again. It was reassuring to see that overnight we'd gone from 4nm to 7nm lead and that they didnt seem to be gaining on us. It was abouth noon when we had to decide on a route through the islands. Do we stay on this course and go in between two islands where theres a small passage about a mile and where theres bound to be major currents and wind effects or do we come up and run hotter and go to the east in the clear of land masses and in clear breeze. As you can imagine we opted for the safer and latter one. And as the day progressed the wind got light and made the choice easier allowing us to remain powered up and doing good speed for a few hours. It was during this time in the afternoon that we made some more progress on the other boats. We were sitting on solid 14-16s again for a few hours which got us a solid nine to ten mile lead on the larger monos. The night again brought shifty conditions with the wind osscilating from SSE to S and from 6-10kts true speed, which makes going fast hard work. when the winds changes direction and the boats are on your tail you question the gybe your on and are always looking for what you can do to get things going faster. Its hard work and is very consuming this is where the experience of the crew comes into it. Having murray and nash whom have both done an incredible amount of top level sailing with some big names supplying solid tactics comes into its own. Racing really is a team sport and to have fellow crew whom can give good positive input about how the boats going with regard to wind and sea conditions is crucial and something we are very thankful of. it Just gives a more unified feeling onboard and gives confidence to the decision being made. The next morning we felt good but we felt as though we werent able to pull away as our lead didnt seem to extend more than ten miles. The light breeze made it hard but as we approached Ambon having murray onboard proved to be a godsend. We were running well high of the rhumb line and were pretty much on a course for the eastern side of Ambon. Ambon harbor is on the west coast 30nm away so we needed to gybe. But when to gybe was the question. With Murray firmly believing that the wind would go east as we closed the coast the decision was made to carry on and head high of the rhumb line. About 60nm out from Ambon we got some cloud cover in small patches, it was just becoming dark now and it was our second night at sea. The green glow from the phosphorus was incredible as it peeled its way from the centerboard below the mainhull and blitzed off the rudder flying out from the stern as though we were being powered by a large water jet. We had dolphins jumping alongside and with the green streaking off them it was like someone had shot torpedoes at us. The cloud cover approached us and once we were below these little puffy white balls wed get an extra few knots of wind and leap forward hitting 18kts. The large reacher was still up as it was for 99% of the race but early on once the wind shifted east we dropped it and went for the small flat reacher. it was pretty much perfect condition for the little reacher as we neared ambon. We had about 14-16kts true, which gave us well over 20's apparent coming over the deck. Spirit was hitting high teens and we were loving it. We knew if we could hold this up we'd be pulling away some more and giving ourselves a good margine for the light air sail into Ambon. Anyone thats done this race knows that its pretty much three races in one. Getting out of Darwin being the fist big challenge, the Timor Sea and getting to Ambon the next and finally into Ambon harbor which I believe has taken some boats in the past a day to complete the final 6nm from the entrance to the finish. This was a place we knew we could loose if we got parked and the boats that were sailing close behind caught up, so the lead up to Ambon was a little nerve racking. The other fun part is Indonesias love for FAD's, which are virtually anything they like tethered to the bottom to attract fish. these floating fish attraction devices are anchored as far as 20nm off shore and in water 2000m deep, since being here we've seen them made from bamboo and steel and the size of cars. So as you enter Ambon sitting on 14-18kts with the other boats close behind you never feel like you have it in the bag as you know theres so much that can go wrong. Again this is where having Murray onboard was essential. He'd been there and done the race so many times he knew what to expect. The FAD's around Ambon seem to mostly be lit so with sharp look outs posted we weaved out way into the entrance of Ambon harbor. More solid advice from Murray was to stay well wide of the southern shores of the entrance here the wind creates a hole and leaves you dead in the water. We crept along the norther side of the harbor unbelievably staying in the breeze. We put the reacher away and drifted in under jib. As we made our way slowly up the harbor we felt incredibly lucky to have wind most the way and as we neared the northern shore and spooted the finish to the south the wind came in from the north west and gave us a great angle to the finish. You couldn't have asked for more it was as though we had someone watching over us and just as we sailed into the finish the wind died completely and we ghosted over the line. The hooter went off and fireworks blasted into the sky. We'd done it two days and ninteen hours to complete the 611nm that we had covered. Finishing was such a relief as we had been on edge the complete race with the large monos nipping away at our heels the pressure really was on for hte whole race. With the Darwin to Ambon now comlete we have had lots of time to let it all sink in. The welcome we got from the locals and friends we have made is priceless. For anyone with a dream similar to ours I can't recommend this race more. Whether your on a fast trimaran, solid old mono of something inbetween this is a race where everyone wins. The prize here is the experience at the other end. The smiling faces of the kids the amazing Indonesia food, the welcome Ambon gives, the parites at the mayors and govenors homes it just cant be desribed in words it's an epereience and one we can't recommened more. Not only for us has this race been unforgetable but also for the lcoals we met and that get to share in the race. For the people of Amahusu this race is something they love dearly. They love welcoming the yachts and meeting all the crews and they show it with the open hearts and huge smiles. Spirit will be back and next time we hope for stronger winds and a race record! From Ambon Spirit has continued her crusing west and now she lies in Lombok for the off season. We launched Spirit after an intensive refit in the Whitsundays on the 26th of June 2015. After six months of hard hot work we had turned the boat into our perfect cruising machine. we'd made the interior larger and created a cockpit that could hold more than two people at once and where you actually had a place to sit comfortably. It was a great time hard work but well worth it even after a week of sailing around the <whitsundays as our shakedown sail. For some months we had been debating what to do once we were in the water. Our cruising permit was running out in October and we only had three months to get to wherever it was we were going to depart from. We looked at sailing to the solomons and up to png but couldn't really find a suitable place to be able to leave Spirit in December if work commitments panned out. For some reason there was a still an itch from when I was a kid and used to read my old mans multihull magazines and the amazing stories and photos that would always accompany the race article about Darwin to Ambon yacht race. My partner Claudia and I looked it up and found that this year they decided to postpone the race until September the 5th, super this fitted in with our timeline and allowed us a good amount of time to sail from Airlie Beach to Darwin. It also allowed for us to have an easy entry into Indonesia to as the race organizers very helpfully do most of the hard yards and organising for you. The race fee is also very modest and they welcome all kinds of sailing craft, which we love. The winter months were starting to show in the Whitsundays with nightly temperatures down below 10! it was with much haste that we departed Airlie Beach bound for the north. We made fast time to Magnetic Island where we caught up with our good mate Wazza onboard Barefoot, his awesome green machine. From here we decided to take the inland route up inside of Hitchenbrook Island, something we hadn't done before but highly recommend to anyone with the time and draft. It was a quick trip from Dunk Island to Cairns where we provisioned and stocked up for the longer passages to Siesa. It was a standard trip north with cold winds blowing the normal 25kts from the south east. There's always days where it blows five more or five less but for the trade wind season it was pretty text book. As we got up to Lizard Island and around Cape Melville and Flattery it pickes up another five knots and the seas got a little steeper. After a beautiful few days in Lizard Island we high tailed it to the Flinders group and then from there Cape Grenville and onto Albany Island. What made the trip really good was the fact we could do all daylight passages from Airlie Beach to the top of Cape York. one of the biggest benifist for us is the ability to do high averages. We truly love to sail and to be able to sail fast in light airs. with the maximum passage distance from Airlie Beach to Albany Island being 110nm all we had to do was average 10kts to make the trips during daylight and when its blowing 20-30kts this is easily and safely maintainable. There was some lovely stops on the way north and we really feel like we have to get back to this part of the world again when not in such a rush. Australia is so vast and has some many good anchorages and secluded places it takes years of cruising to see the majority of them. Siesa was a good stop and it was a surprisingly nice spot to be stopped for a few days of rest before crossing the Gulf. Theres good provisioning there and there's a lot of things to do like a trip to the top of Cape York should you have the need to get off the boat for a day. The fishing is good and theres some nice spots to anchor in the general area of Cape York. charts are good and the fishing is excellent just watch out for the crocs! After waiting for the weather we decided to head out and make a run for Darwin direct. We had the options of stopping at the Wessels or Cape Don should the weather turn or we need a rest. As it turned out we had a great run apart from some residual swell that was coming from the southern end of the Gulf where they had strong winds. This is something to watch out for as it can be pretty short and steep even though you have god weather in the north sometimes they can have solid 30s in the south and it funnels up the Gulf. With the following winds and good time being made we bypassed the Wessels and headed for Cape Don. We were getting into Darwin during the late night so felt that wed stop at Cape Don and leave early in the moring allowing us to enter darwin during the afternoon We did the last 100nm from cape don in twelve hours and it was one of those perfect afternoon sails as we entered darwin with the sun setting to the west in a blood red sky. Been flat out lately trying to haul ass on the refit. Boats coming along well now with the small items being fitted and fairing and pairing starting to happen. Not long now we hope four more weeks and we will be looking at slipping into the water 😊 Since our last blog entry we've been going crazy working on Spirit. We've managed to finish the interior and exterior work with fairing and painting to go. Over the coming few weeks we will fair and dry fit all the electronics and wiring along with pipes, pumps and our desalinator. The anchor winch will go on and also the anchor roller, new prodder, outboard mounting system and rigging. We've upgrade our battery system to 320ah of lithium and we'll power this with a simple system of 750watts of solar from Solbian. The decision to change the inboard diesel wasn't and light one and we gave it loads of thought speaking to as many people as possible that had used both. In the end a simple two stroke 18hp Tohatsu was purchased that will supply more power for less than half the weight of the old diesel. The whole aim for us is to make the boat as easy as we can to live on, sail on, cook on and travel on. We love to lay around and relax so the seats are wide and comfortable making a bed when the table will be down. The nets are large and the aft net will now be supported by the aft radius beam making it a much more secure place to be. Spirit will be a place of relaxation when at anchor and one that brings a smile to your face when sailing with the ease and speed at which she sails. |
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