Krsshhhhhh. This is Tipperary Waters traffic control, Krssshhhh.

Darwin, wierd place, its still quite a long way (groan) to Tipperary Waters Marina.

 
Approaching Darwin

Blue Striped Muscles live in the water pipes of boats, the salt water pipes. The fisherfolk of Darwin don't want them. Due to blind luck, more than planning we turned up just in time for the Muscle clearing dive boat to give the boat an enema. Then we have to wait 14 hours before we're allowed into the Marina. With the fridge, heads, generator, aircon and engine off.

Non sailors should be aware that marine engines, gensets etc are cooled by sea water, and especially on larger boats so are refrigeration systems. The heads, that's nauty speak for bog, on most boats is a bowl with a double action pump. One side of the pump pumps the sea water in to flush the toilet and the other side pumps the shit out.

It was all very efficient, a diver with a greasy spoon ketchup bottle, complete with star shaped squirter, who it turned out under all the diving clobber to be female, though it was difficult to tell, squirted the ketchup equivalent into our bottom.

There, again more by luck than anything else, were 10 BWR boats here for the muscles yesterday. Now Darwin is V titdal, upto 8 meters, in extreme cases. Tiparrary Waters is up by my old haunt of Dina Beach CYC. Up a muddy creek full of logs with teeth. It appears from the chart to be almost exactly where the Ornen was hauled out 11 years ago. No marina back then. Because of the mud we can't get in at low water, and we have to lock in. So with 10 boats to go through we have orders to leave every 15 minutes and call "Keith" when we get to the Main wharf so we don't have a hoard of yachts stuck in the mud outside Dina Beach CYC.

Its like air traffic control out there. I mean us raylists are a pretty radio happy bunch at the best of times, with everyone liking to be in charge its like Gatwick air traffic control out there.

 To give a better idea of what I mean about stuck in the mud, DIna Beach CYC is a Yacht Club. It by Sam's account grew organically. From a mangrove swamp. Sam's boat is called Ramprasad, its named after a lanteen open decked Indian fishing boat he owned in the early 80's in which he arrived in Darwin. It was still remembered by the folk at Dina Beach CYC here when I came 11 years ago. By that time the boat was either rotting in the mangroves, or in a museum. Nobody seemed sure. The Mangrove swamp full of yachtists had grown a boat yard, a bar and a hut selling cheap Thai food. Looking forward to seeing if its evolved further. Not too far i hope. Its budget beer and magroves were part of its charm.