Formalities - Clearing out of Australia

Just like all those forms and formalities you complete when flying into and out of any foreign country, we have to clear in and out of each country we visit, too. The additional issue is that Nine of Cups needs clearance as well. The crew is cleared in and out by Immigration. The boat is cleared in and out by Customs. Depending on the country, there might be a few more officials involved for clearing in. Australia has AQUIS (Quarantine). Other countries have Health Officers, Port Captains … sometime the list is quite extensive. The forms and formalities can be either simple and efficient or tedious, cumbersome and expensive.  

We're pleased to report clearing out of Australia was a breeze. I called the Geraldton Customs Office in advance to ascertain the correct procedure for departure and what exactly it entailed. It was pretty easy. Debra was pleasant and a fount of information. Once I gave her the vessel name, she was able to pull up Nine of Cups on her computer system immediately. She knew that we'd been diligent in completing our quarterly position reports to Customs for the last three years (good on us, huh?) and that we'd last reported in from Mandurah at the beginning of August. She had a picture of the boat on file. She also knew it was about time for us to leave Australia … three years is the maximum time the boat can stay without being imported. She asked that we send an e-mail to give her a couple of days notice for departure clearance and provide the information she needed to complete her side of the paperwork. They would handle the stamping of our passports by Immigration there as well. I can remember trudging from office to office to get heaps of paperwork completed and stamped. This was as good as it gets.

Since arriving in Geraldton, of course, we've had to purchase and install a new windlass. Beaucoup $$$. Australia is gracious enough to refund the GST (10%) paid on large purchases within 60 days of departure. They'll even credit the amount to our credit card! Customs advised they'd be glad to handle this, too. In advance, we were asked to send copies of our passports, as well as a list of electronic equipment with model/manufacturer and serial numbers via e-mail. They'd handle the rest.

So, early on a fine sunny morning, Brett, the Customs Officer, came to the marina and met us aboard Nine of Cups. He completed all the refund paperwork, stamped our passports, gave us our clearance papers and wished us Bon Voyage. No fees involved! Clearing out of a small port with friendly Customs officers definitely has its benefits.

Thank you, Australia! It's been grand. Next stop … Cocos Keeling Islands ... 1423 nm away!

Escape from Two Rocks, Western Australia

After nearly a week at Two Rocks waiting for southerly winds and for the swell to be down enough to negotiate the narrow exit from the marina into the Indian Ocean, it finally looked like escape day. We trudged to the top of the hill before 0700 to see how things looked. Much improved from the huge waves of the past two days, but still every once in awhile a breaker of some import made its way to our exit path. Time's a'wasting. We decided to go for it.  

Easier said, than done. After yesterday's torrential downpours and 40 knot winds, we had a lot to do this morning before departure. We'd put out extra lines. The sail cover was sopping wet. And before we could leave the tiny harbor everything needed to be stowed securely … all the lines, fenders, fender board … or we were afraid we'd lose them overboard.

There's always a strategy to getting off the boat off the dock unscathed. In this case, the wind was blowing us off the dock which was good, but there wasn't much room for maneuvering. The bow was facing into the fuel jetty and turning the bow into the wind is not easily accomplished in tight quarters. We sprung off with a bow line, let the stern swing out and around and the bow came into the wind nicely. I hauled in the spring line as we passed the dock and then began tidying up lines. David did circles in the harbor while I coiled lines and stowed fenders. We couldn't procrastinate any longer. We headed for the exit. I said a silent prayer to Neptune to hold off on any breakers until we were clear.

David revved up the engine and we shot out … about as fast as a sailboat can go. There was no turning back and as I peeked around the corner and saw a breaker coming, I held my breath. We made it around the corner in time to take the wave on the bow. David kept us into the waves and managed to keep Cups on our incoming track with the leading lines aligned behind us. It was only 3.5 nm over the reefs to open ocean, but we were barely making 3 knots … it was a long, exhilarating hour and we were both queasy by the time we got through. The sky was grey. The sea was grey. The day was grey. In fact, our faces were a bit grey, come to think of it.

Because we'd spent so long waiting for weather in Two Rocks, we gave up on our plan to day-hop up the coast and instead, decided to do an overnight to Port Denison to save a little time. The winds were forecast to be light and we thought we might have to motor yet again. In fact, we had fickle winds which fluctuated between 6 and 16 knots which meant we were either lolling along at 3 knots or making miles at 7 knots. It was so pleasant to be sailing again, we decided we'd ride the winds as long as we could. Every once in awhile, a bit of blue sky peeked through the grey, but more often the scattered showers, showered on us.

We saw several whales … humpbacks, we think … making their way south. We could see the spouts from a long distance and only caught a couple of pix where the whale is actually almost discernible.

Day turned into night and the winds stayed with us. We were still feeling queasy and though I'd made a chicken-rice passage soup, neither of us was interested in eating. A cup of tea and a granola bar sufficed for lunch and dinner. We started our watch schedule early. Sleep seemed to be the best thing to overcome feeling crappy. A long, cold night lay ahead, but the sky cleared and a sliver of waxing crescent moon shone brightly midst a million stars. We saw only one ship during the night … 11 miles away … just a light on the horizon and a blip on the radar screen.

Morning dawned sunny. Having each been up half the night, we were sleepy, but feeling much better. Still, tea and granola bar seemed the only palatable breakfast. We counted 15 different whale sightings during the day. Wow! (but still no good photos!). The wind left us mid-morning and we cranked on the engine, arriving in Port Denison by late afternoon – just before dark. The tiny harbor is well-protected by a breakwater and filled with moorings and pens. It was calm and inviting. It's a lobster fishing port, but there was room for us on the jetty. Hallelujah! We're going to sleep well tonight.

Another day...or two...in Two Rocks

The swell was up, but it was sunny and the wind was southerly. We thought we might leave, but then we saw huge combers breaking over the sea wall quite regularly. We walked up the hill to get a better view of the marina entrance … oh, man, it didn't look good at all. Breakers were making their way around and over the reefs and pounding the breakwater and shore. We watched as several large waves broke at the harbor entrance.  

We decided to ask a local crayfisherman and get his take on the situation. The cray boats go out everyday, no matter what the weather. The Alba Marina III had just come in. We asked the captain for his recommendation and I quote … “You'd be fucking crazy to go out in that today. I haven't seen it this bad in two years. We had to go five miles south to find a clear way in through the reefs.” He further explained that if we could do 24 knots like he does, there would be no problem since we could outrun the waves. 24 knots … not in our wildest dreams. However, we'd be running into them and not surfing down them and getting turned around, knocked beam-to the wave and broached seemed a real possibility.

The forecast shows similar swells for the next couple of days and northerly winds, perhaps settling down over the weekend. We may be here for a few more days. Get used to it. Patience and prudence are a big part of the cruising life. We'll figure out how to make lemons into lemonade in the next few days … I've got plenty of sugar aboard.