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American Spirit II - Day 239; Last Full Day in Darwin and a Very Thorough Skippers Meeting; Monday, September 1, 2014



Up at 6:00 AM. David actually got up then. I thought about it and then went back to sleep for a couple of hours.

Breakfast at 9:00 AM: coffee, tea, eggs, potato and raisin bread.

One of the things that David delivered to me was my new American Express card. This one had a chip in it for security and was compliant with the new Australian law mandating pin numbers for credit cards or security chips. I activated it at 9:40 AM and will try it out later today.

At 9:50 AM I called a dentist listed in our Rally manual. Again, one of the advantages of being in the WCC Rally. Their having put information like that into our Rally manual. Fortunately I was able to secure an appointment at 1:10 PM today. Why the dentist? Last night after dinner I developed a tooth ache. Bad timing. Why couldn't the tooth ache have occurred 3 or 4 days ago when I had time to deal with it. The first tooth ache I've had in a long time.

I left the boat at 12:00 PM and activated my cellular data so I could use Google maps. First time I've turned on my data and roaming in months. I arrived at the dentist office a little late due to my smart phone taking me to the right address but one that was miles from the dentist office. Once at the dentist office I was in the chair in 10 minutes. The dentist, a very competent female, took ex rays and probed, iced and knocked on my teeth with a small hammer in the suspect area to find out which tooth was the culprit. Unfortunately, no cavity or abscess was found, but the culprit might be the base of a root canalled tooth that I may have traumatized at dinner last night eating a tough steak. I got some antibiotics and pain pills, then back to the boat.

Arriving at 3:10 PM, I immediately got with the crew and we met with the Customs and Immigration officers on the marina dock to clear out of the country. I also filled out some paperwork to get some VAT tax money back. The total was over $500. Not bad. Another advantage of being in the Rally. Normally we would have all had to race around town in cabs or rental cars going to Immigration, Customs and the Quarantine offices.

At 4:30 PM we had our skippers meeting for the next leg, leg number 9 (there are 17 total),from Darwin to Bali. The topics covered by the Rally personnel were numerous, specific and very helpful in planning our trip to Bali and what to do once we got to Bali. The presentation was augmented by a power point presentation. The topics included:

That 300 miles from Darwin we will go thru an area of oil derricks, and that one oil derrick ship or platform has 12 anchors, some going out 2,000 meters from the structure - so stay away from it;
That a number of navies are conducting war games around Darwin out 125 miles and we have to watch out for warship and submarines; and we learned that live fire will be practiced by the ships;
That we need to be aware of and stay away from 2 specific reefs;
That Indonesian fishing boats may aggressively approach us looking for cigarettes;
That we may encounter refuge boats;
That the harbor we're entering in Bali closes at night;
What our tour will be like in Bali (the tour is organized and sponsored by the Rally);
That once we get past 125 degrees east longitude we should pick up some wind. The first few days will be a motor sail due to a high pressure ridge over Australia;
That the time difference in Bali is 1 1/2 hours earlier than Darwin;
That the water in our marina in Bali is not drinkable. And because we don't make water in harbors or marinas, that will create some issues;
That we can get fuel in Bali but that we should consider using a filter for the first bit of fueling to make certain that the fuel is clean;
That we will have electricity at the marina, but not robust electricity. It will be limited to 10 amps;
That we shouldn't rent a car in Bali as the police will shake you down once or twice a day demanding $25 to $50 each time; and
That getting fuel in Cocos Keeling, over 1,000 miles west of Bail, will be problematic as they may only take cash for fuel, in Australian dollars. So stock up on Australian dollars before leaving Darwin.

The skippers meeting ended at 5:50 PM.

After that we had a cocktail hour and chips and salsa on our boat, then departed to run a bunch of errands in the rental car.

Dinner was at McDonald's; and we were back on the boat around 9:30 PM. Once there David went to bed; Jeanine and I each took a shower in the marina shower facility; and Joel downloaded some computer stuff, trying to use up all the internet memory or time we'd purchased. I then downloaded a weather GRIB file for the next 7 days; as Joel did the same with a different program (Passage Weather). Those of you at home can go Passage Weather on the internet and see what winds and seas we're encountering as we travel across the Indian Ocean. Its free. That may prove to be entertaining as once we leave Bali the winds and seas may be the 'most robust' of our entire circumnavigation so far. Breezy and big swells. Thank you trade winds and the Southern Ocean.

Brian Fox

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