Crossing the Gulf

---

BOM site advises that there is a strong wind warning for the SE Gulf of Carpentaria on Saturday 26^th May. Of course...Phil decides that this means perfect conditions to begin our journey across the Gulf of Carpentaria to Gove. So, as soon as the tide turns (we needed an outgoing tide to help our journey through the narrow passages between the islands) at about 9:30am on the 26^thwe up-anchor and depart our sheltered spot near Horn Island. The crossing was fairly rough to say the least. The winds actually weren’t too strong, but the waves were big (2-6m) and very confused.

Some technical information: The Gulf of Carpentaria is a very large shallow body of water that is a breeding ground for tropical cyclones during the summer months and also is notoriously rough during the strong winter trade winds. The passage from Horn Island to Gove Harbour was a total of 353 nautical miles which we completed in 66 hours at an average speed of 5.34 knots, mostly running or reaching under double reefed main and reduced headsail. Although we could have sailed much faster, the confused seas and large cross swell were more comfortable with this sail configuration. The strong winds meant ample power was generated by the wind generator and therefore the electric autohelm was able to be used throughout. We also made water on the second day and were therefore able to have hot showers on passage and water usage was not a problem. Although gusts were recorded above 35 knots, average wind speeds were between 20 – 30 knots. Restless Spirit is cutter rigged and at times I considered using the staysail instead of furled Genoa, however the conditions never got that bad to warrant it. A boom brake was used virtually all the time and this adds a safety factor to sail handling for us, and I strongly recommend their use. the AIS (Automatic Identification System) also adds a great deal of safety as we can easily identify all necessary information in regard to ships, including their name for calling them on the radio, as we have done on a number of occasions so far. The HF has also featured highly so far, enabling email communications from anywhere, and also access to weather information and even the news. We have listened to some chat channels and we will be doing more of this as we progress. Capetown in South Africa is our destination for Christmas and it lies some 6,600 nautical miles from the Torres Strait, so about 6,300 to go this year!! (we have sailed 1,148 miles so far from Townsville).

---