Crossing the Blownapart (aka Joseph Bonaparte) Gulf to wonderful Darwin

Yachties have nicknames for lots of places and things, and the Blownapart Gulf is another one, named so because there is normally a howling south easterly wind which blows 30+ knots during the dry season.  We were dreading the two night passage  from the King George River, across the Gulf, but S2ee timed it well - although we did end up motoring much of the way.  It was so windless on day two and three that we stopped the boat and jumped into the deep blue, inviting water for a swim, confident that there were no crocodiles so far offshore.   

We sailed into the Fanny Bay anchorage, off the Darwin Sailing Club, in the early afternoon and had a very long nanna nap.   As temporary members we then made full use of the lovely restaurant and laundry facilities at the Club.  

After a couple of nights on anchor, we moved into Cullen Bay marina for 4 weeks.  Because the Darwin tides are large (7 m), each of the marinas has a lock to maintain water levels.  It was our first time using a lock - as we entered at a very low tide, we rose quite a few metres to enter into the marina. 

I had not been to Darwin for 35 years, S2ee not at all, and we had great fun exploring this vibrant, multicultural city.  Getting around was easy using the electric scooters and bikes that are available - very cheap and convenient, not to mention heaps of fun.


We visited the amazing markets, attended the famous beer can regatta, and visited Litchfield National Park. We also had numerous boat jobs and a fair bit of restocking our dry food.  Having made the decision to sail on to Queensland, I also took the opportunity to fly back to Perth to visit my wonderful sons, Tim and Matt - not seeing them has been the difficult part of our sailing adventures and who knows what the covid situation will be in Queensland and whether we will be able to get home for Christmas. 





Darwin got hotter and steamier during our almost 5 weeks there.  The locals said it was an unusually early start to the wet season.  It was with some relief that we upped anchor at 2 am on 25 September for our journey east to Gove, which is where we are now. 

We had an amazing 2 week sailing to Gove, visiting anchorages on the Coburg Peninsula, in Arnhem Land, and the Wessel Islands, before were arrived here on 7 October.  The next blog will feature some of these special places. 

Sampai jumpa
Naomi and S2ee



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