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American Spirit II - Day 200; American Spirit II Finally Sees Humpback Whales, Another Sea Snake, & Arrival in MacKay, Australia; Thursday, July 24, 2014



Around midnight we passed another sailboat to our starboard. Without our AIS we couldn't see who it was. The wind was 20 knots and our boat speed 6.6 knots. We were still motor sailing because the seas were still dead astern and very sloppy.

At 12:15 AM I called home and talked to Janet after receiving her email about my cousin. I was on watch until 2:00 AM because we were making 'landfall' in the passage and Joel and I were splitting the nighttime watch as a result. So Jeanine got to 'sleep in.'

I got up at 6:00 AM and Joel and I both stayed up as we started making our way thru the entrance to the Great Barrier Reef called Hydrogener's Passage. At 6:25 AM I saw the light house on the left side of the passage. Its light flashed every 10 seconds. Saphir was visible ahead of us about a mile or so. At 7:35 AM we were in the channel doing 8.1 knots. Put a little jib out to help stabilize the boat. Still had a double reefed main up. The clouds were 'spitting' water at us a little. The sun was rising behind us.

Another rainbow abeam to starboard at 7:55 AM. Red, yellow, green and purple. On a 10 scale I'd give it a 3. Another rainbow ahead of us next to Saphir.

At 8:18 AM we were getting a help from an incoming tide and our speed increased to 8.8 knots. Our speed thru the water was 7.0 knots, so our 'lift' from the tide was 1.8 knots.

Land Ho! at 8:21 AM by Joel. A small island in the reef system. Still over 100 miles to go to the mainland.

We crossed the finish line at 8:30 AM.

Joel hosted the 9:00 AM net and was informed by Vivo that they had received some contaminated fuel from Port Vila in Vanuatu.

Breakfast at 9:40 AM consisted of scrambled eggs with curry potatoes; chilled pear halves; and bread.

Joel took at nap at 10:00 AM. The wind was on the nose and the waves were on the port bow also, pounding the heck out of the boat. The foredeck up to the dodger was taking more water over it than we'd had in 6 months, since our gale in Key West, Florida. Because of the incoming tide, our speed over the bottom was now 11.8 knots. If we were entering the passage against a tide like this, our forward speed would only be 2 or 3 knots.

Our noon position was 20 degrees, 29 minutes South; 150 degrees, 18 minutes East.

Joel got up at 12:30 PM and I went below for a nap. We turned the engine off and were sailing on a close reach.

At about 3:30 PM we crossed the 150th meridian - another time zone. So 3:30 PM is now 2:30 PM local time. We were now 10 time zones away from Florida.

At 3:40 PM the wind was 14 knots and our boat speed was 5.7 knots.

Joel reported that at 3:49 PM the sea temperature was 74.1 degrees. It had been 85 degrees before we entered thru the Great Barrier Reef. Why the drop? Joel also said that two days ago (Tuesday, July 22) that he'd observed a reading of 99 to 101 degrees; and that he'd thought it was an error in our sensor. Now he feels that we'd crossed a sea mount with an underwater (hot) vent, and that the elevated water temperature was probably accurate.

At 3:56 PM Joel saw and pointed out a 4 foot long yellow sea snake with black bands around it. Two to three inches in diameter. It was already past the boat on the port, aft side. But quite visible. Who knew that Australia had venomous sea snakes?

At 4:07 PM Joel called our Land HO! again. He'd sighted mountains on the mainland. Twice in one day. A record.

At 4:16 PM the wind was 16 knots and our boat speed 7.2 knots.

During the 6:00 PM net (5:00 PM Australian local time), Sweet Pearl reported that an Australian Coast Guard plane had flown by their boat at 60 meters above the water; and not only called out her boat's name but her name, Sandra, also. How could they know her name if she hadn't given it to them? Answer: they'd been emailed by Rally control a bunch of entry information already. That's our most logical hypothesis.

At 5:15 PM local time Joel spotted a Humpback Whale jumping ahead of the boat, 5 to 10 degrees to port. There were actually two Humpback Whales and they traversed from in front of our boat to aft of our beam on the port side; jumping 8 times with one giant tail splash and numerous blows. The actual technical term for a whale jumping is 'breach.' One or more of these 'breaches' may have also actually been a 'head lunge.' The whales gave us this show for 19 minutes (until 5:34 PM), and got as close as 500 yards. The size of these leviathans was impressive. I guess we're really not in Kansas anymore. Gigantic is an understatement! I've been looking for whales for 6 1/2 months; and now that burden is over. I'm convinced that we'll see more of these whales before we leave Australian waters. They come to Australia to calve. What was really surprising was that the depth of the water was only 141 feet. How can something that big jump in water so shallow? As the whales moved from in front of us to behind us, we could see their black 'humpbacks' sticking above the water like a submarine conning tower; and each leviathan also left a frothy wake as it moved thru the water, like a motor boat.

During this breaching display I went and got my camera, and got one picture that actually shows a big splash. Until we put it on a computer and zoom in more, we won't be able to see if its a Pulitzer Prize quality picture or not. During this whale show our position was about 15 miles east of Scawfell Island.

Dinner at 5:48 PM consisted of blackened and grilled chicken; baked potatoes; and chilled pineapple slices. In order to cook the chicken, Jeanine has to hold one of our reclining blue chairs between the grill and the wind to keep the flame in the grill from going out. To help matters, we rolled up the jib to slow the boat down and lessen the apparent wind. It worked.

The wind at 6:30 PM was 14 knots and our boat speed 7.0 knots. Dark rain clouds were observed behind us, in the area outside of the reef. Boats not thru the barrier reef yet were going to get clobbered.

A cloudy sunset, so no green flash. There were dark clouds over the continent, also.

Joel napped from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

At 6:50 PM a lume of continental Australia was visible on the horizon on the port bow.

A ship started to pass us astern from left to right at 7:42 PM. You can tell a ship's line of travel by where the two white range lights line up on the vessel. The front white range light is lower than the aft one on the ship's superstructure. A lower one on the right and a higher one on the left means the ship is going from left to right. With my binoculars I could also see a green starboard light on the vessel.

At 10:12 PM the wind had lightened enough that we started motoring again and rolled up the jib.

Shortly after midnight at 12:10 AM we tied up at the fuel dock at the MacKay Marina. We were advised by Rally Control that we would be met by customs, immigration and quarantine officials to clear into the country at 7:00 AM in the morning. And that the process of clearing in would take two hours. Wow. That's a lot of time. If true, it'd be the longest it takes to clear into a country since leaving the US.

Brian Fox

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