Thursday Island to Darwin and then Darwin to Broome

Dear Cracklin Rosie fans,
Apologies for the big gap in correspondence - but having got to Darwin and then returning to Perth, the tale of our travel from Thursday Island to Darwin just got overlooked.  Hence this blog is in two parts - (1) TI to Darwin, and then (2) Darwin to Broome.
(1) After taking on fuel, water and indifferent food supplies at Horn Island (just over the water from Thursday Island), Jim, Wayne Fletcher and Don left on the morning of July 29 for the long haul across to Darwin, a distance of 727 nm.  We sailed non-stop with the night watches divided into Don (2100-2400), Wayne (0000-0300) and Jim (0300-0600) and this arrangement worked very well.  We had a very good run with arrival in Darwin five days later on the morning of 3 August. 
We were blessed for most of the trip with good trade winds enabling relatively high speeds and generally comfortable travelling.  On a couple of days, we did have some squally weather requiring adjustments to the sails, but otherwise it was very good.  The daily runs (over 24 hours) - in nautical miles of course - 151, 140, 156, 146, and 134.  We ran a small competition at estimating the daily runs, with wins by Jim and Don on two days.  On one day we were all so far out, the prize was not awarded!
Fishing continued and we were rewarded with a modest-sized tuna that provided sashimi to accompany pre-dinner beers, and one good fish meal.  We decided the sashimi, accompanied with horseradish sauce and soya sauce was a real hit! 
Cooking was something of a drama en route, given the boat was rocking and rolling, with some spectacular spills in the galley, and Don managed to upend at least one complete meal onto the cockpit deck. 
After all this excitement, it was something of a relief to come into the placid waters of Cullen Bay Marina (via a lock system which was very interesting) and prepare for three weeks R&R in Perth.  Before we left, we serviced two of the winches and organised for the purchase of more anchor chain (to cope with the anticipated high tides in the Kimberley) and additional jerry cans for fuel (given limited fuel supplies in the Kimberley).
Overall the trip across from Thursday Island was a great experience, and Jim and I are very grateful to have had Wayne's enjoyable and experienced assistance on this first long non-stop ocean sail.
(2)  After completing R&R duties in Perth, Jim, Don and Georgina Wilson arrived in Darwin on 25 August to prepare for the trip across the Kimberley to Broome.  Having loaded up with all resources required (we hoped), we passed through the Cullen Bay Marina lock on the morning of 27 August, said goodbye to mobile reception and emails and set course for Cape Londonderry (280 nm), the northern-most point of WA, which we anticipated would take three days non-stop sailing.  Unfortunately, the winds were not cooperative and we had a slowish passage, mainly motor-sailing (i.e. a combination of sailing and engine to maintain speed in light winds).  In fact, we had to change plans slightly, and our first landfall on 29 August was at the appropriately named Jim's Bay, just east of Cape Londonderry.  This is a very attractive location, and we went ashore to claim the area for the occupants of Cracklin Rosie! 
From there, we have proceeded relatively slowly along the extremely convoluted Kimberley coast, anchoring adjacent to islands, and in various bays.   The scenery in general is excellent, and Georgina as our team photographer has taken untold photos of cliff faces, sunsets, sunrises, island beaches, wildlife (when they cooperated) and the like.  We visited some ancient Aboriginal art (more photos) and a wonderful retreat at Silver Gull Creek where our hosts Mal and Shelley invited us to have a swim in a spring fed freshwater tank - our first decent freshwater wash for several days.  It is of course genuine wilderness and on many occasions we had the sea and the gulfs, sounds, harbours and rivers to ourselves.  Having seen no other travellers for several days, we had afternoon drinks with other yachties in the magnificent environment of Prince Frederick Harbour and then on the following day in Ivy Cove, another great anchorage. 
It was slow travelling - apart from fluky winds that always seemed to be coming from the direction we were headed in, the tides are amazing.  On one day we hurtled between Mary Island and Two Rocks with the flooding tide at up to 11 knots, and later that day we battled around Cape Bougainville at about 2 knots pushing into the ebb tide.  Planning for the tidal flows meant that on some days we started at 5.00 am to catch the right flow, and others, we sat anchored for several hours during the day waiting for the right conditions to go.
Catering for 21 days without supplies was challenging.  We did catch a Spanish mackerel early on our travels which provided for 4 meals, and we had several feeds of bangers and mash.  Under-catering on bread required strict rationing, and the breakfast cereal and milk supplies have just held out.  Alcohol supplies were strictly rationed to one beer ppn and one bottle of wine between the three of us.  And chocolate was available only every second night at 4 squares pp.
Ok that is about it - we are all glad we have seen and experienced the remoteness and splendour of this region, but perhaps next time we might like to do it in the comfort of a cruise vessel, several of which we saw in the area!
So we say farewell to Georgina here in Broome., and we will be collecting Alec Holm and Ros Mackinlay for the next leg of this epic - from here to Exmouth where we will report in about 10 days time.
regards
Don and Jim