Tiare Taporo III getting ready for the journey north

Things are very uncertain here because we are looking at Cyclone "Tim" which headed out into the Coral Sea a few days ago and now according to most predictions will come back onto the coast anywhere between Townsville and Cooktown. In Cairns we are right in the middle of that geographical spectrum!
"Tim" isn't supposed to generate destructive winds but almost certainly will contain substantial rain which will cause us a problem as we intend to haul out for antifouling on 21/03. You can't paint in the rain and at around $A100 per day for the hardstand we don't fancy existing on the hard twiddling our thumbs for days on end. So, we are keeping a close eye on developments and watching 4 different weather websites to try to come to some sort of conclusion. Information overload probably.
If we don't haul out on the 21st. we will carry on with provisioning for the 2 month passage to Darwin and haul out before we leave in late April. So, the time will not be wasted.
On the provisioning front we have discovered a range of preserved meals from an Australian suppler, "Happy Camper". They aren't dried or freeze dried but rather preserved, just the same as UHT milk. There are lamb shanks and all sorts of other delicacies! We can't carry sufficient frozen or canned supplies for that length of time so the UHT products will fill a gap. And we might catch some fish.
After leaving Cairns we will have 1400 miles to travel to Darwin. The only convenient place to re-provision would be Seisia (Bamaga) on the west side of the Cape York Peninsula. But we'd only want to replenish the basics and maybe the luxury of some fresh fruit and veges because by all accounts the prices aren't what you'd expect in your neighbourhood Coles or Woolworths. And getting ashore in a 2.2. metre rubber dinghy with a little 2 hp outboard in croc country is not for the fainthearted. However, they say that crocs are very habitual and will watch you for several days before making a move. So, you don't do the same thing at the same time every day. Not sure whether that's re-assuring or not - time will tell!!! Hopefully we'll be gone from Seisia within a couple of days - far too soon for the crocs to have formed any pattern of our behaviour.
After Seisia it's 300 miles across the top of the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Wessel Islands and then Arnhem Land. We will coast hop anchoring every night to experience as much as possible. We are looking forward to it and it will be an adventure, even before we leave for Malaysia. We have the passage plan more or less sussed out on the chart plotter, but like all these things they are subject to change. Arrival in Darwin will be interesting because, as a result of the tidal range (up to 7 meters between low and high water), the marinas have a lock system which you can only access at high tide. They then close the lock again to maintain the water level inside as the tide drops away.
Anyway, all this will be regaled in great and fascinating detail as we progress north. On that note, because of lack of internet access until we reach Darwin, we will just be sending progress reports to our website, www.tiaretaporo3.blogspot.com and if you have the inclination you will be able to learn of our progress from there. You will of course be able to email us on this address.
We won't be leaving Cairns until late April when hopefully the last of the cyclone threat will have passed.
Until then watch this space................
Lots of love from us,
Jim and Jean (Gina)

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