Having a Wicked time in the Darwin-Ambon - one crew's tale
By Robyn Dix
The Darwin to Ambon yacht Race & Rally had some very serious racing competitors this year, well, sort of! Some were more serious than others. I caught up with one of them, Dan Foley, to hear his story.
For skipper Dan Foley, racing his 10.3m Crowther catamaran Wicked in the racing multihull division, it was his first race of any kind.
“I'm pleased to say I didn't embarrass myself with my start of the Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race & Rally, crossing the line about 11.01am, a minute after the start gun aboard HMAS Ararat. It's the first time I've entered a race of any kind, and my first international sail, even though I've sailed for 30 years," Dan said.
“We got our spinnaker flying with no trouble, and headed out of Darwin Harbour doing six knots towards the back of the fleet.
“Saturday night was fairly uneventful, and Sunday found Wicked in the company of Maralinga, Shady Lady and Solace III. The wind dropped to zero and we all luffed around the whole afternoon.
“We finally managed a tack, doing about three knots, with Wicked and Maralinga heading north and the other two yachts heading west. We stuck on Maralinga’s aft until about 8pm when she kept on sailing and left us floundering just off Cape Faucroy.
“About midnight Darlene, my sister, came up on deck and said we were in exactly the same position we were at 7.15pm earlier. This was not to be my finest hour. At the same moment, I was throwing up and Jenny, my friend, has discovered water in the bilges – fortunately or unfortunately, I guess, it was fresh water. All our drinking water supply was now sloshing in the bilge, the result of a split tank. John, our fourth crew, said it was a safety issue, and we all agreed.
"It seemed a pretty easy decision at the time with Darlene now green, me continuing to throw up, and no forward motion - I turned around and headed south for Darwin. I was beat! Sailing through the Indonesian Archipelago was not meant to be.
“As I watched the sun come up Monday morning, I was pretty disgusted with myself. I woke the crew and called a meeting. I told the crew, 'If we go back I'm selling the boat.'
"John pointed out we had no water, but Dan countered by saying we had two 20ltr drums of emergency drinking water, about 20ltr of milk, 20ltr of rum (just for emergencies) and 20ltr of beer.
“Jenny sat quiet, and said nothing. I knew she would go north under any conditions.
"The unanimous decision was "Ok, let’s do it.'
“At this point we were so far behind that we looked like missing presentation night as well as all the other celebrations, so I started the engine and we took off north, doing nine knots.
“I'm pleased to say I didn't throw up again and the wind picked up, 15–20s, dead east. That afternoon at about 4pm we were back at the same position we were the night before at midnight - at least a full day behind the rest of fleet.
“About 2am on Wednesday the diesel ran out. I had 80ltr in reserve, but I was saving that for a real emergency.
“Then around 8am Wednesday morning, Jenny spotted a mast on the horizon. Wicked held 7-8 knots and we soon reeled them in. It was Solace III. I was very pleased to see them. After exchanging pleasantries we raised the spinnaker, said goodbye, and took off.
“We had squalls during Wednesday night and Thursday morning and had to drop the spinnaker.
"Then Solace III caught up with us again. We had to beat someone in so up went the spinnaker again. By then we were 20 miles off Ambon Harbour.
"But our problems weren’t over yet. About half a nautical mile out of Ambon Harbour the spinnaker disintegrated into millions of pieces. We reckoned Solace III had put a curse on us!
"With the iron spinnaker again in use, we crossed the finish line about 10.30am Thursday morning and had finally made it!
“Turning around and finishing the race, although in the rally division, was the best decision of my life. The fun we've had since, with the best group of mates you could ask for, has made it all the event of a lifetime.”
The Darwin to Ambon yacht Race & Rally had some very serious racing competitors this year, well, sort of! Some were more serious than others. I caught up with one of them, Dan Foley, to hear his story.
For skipper Dan Foley, racing his 10.3m Crowther catamaran Wicked in the racing multihull division, it was his first race of any kind.
“I'm pleased to say I didn't embarrass myself with my start of the Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race & Rally, crossing the line about 11.01am, a minute after the start gun aboard HMAS Ararat. It's the first time I've entered a race of any kind, and my first international sail, even though I've sailed for 30 years," Dan said.
“We got our spinnaker flying with no trouble, and headed out of Darwin Harbour doing six knots towards the back of the fleet.
“Saturday night was fairly uneventful, and Sunday found Wicked in the company of Maralinga, Shady Lady and Solace III. The wind dropped to zero and we all luffed around the whole afternoon.
“We finally managed a tack, doing about three knots, with Wicked and Maralinga heading north and the other two yachts heading west. We stuck on Maralinga’s aft until about 8pm when she kept on sailing and left us floundering just off Cape Faucroy.
“About midnight Darlene, my sister, came up on deck and said we were in exactly the same position we were at 7.15pm earlier. This was not to be my finest hour. At the same moment, I was throwing up and Jenny, my friend, has discovered water in the bilges – fortunately or unfortunately, I guess, it was fresh water. All our drinking water supply was now sloshing in the bilge, the result of a split tank. John, our fourth crew, said it was a safety issue, and we all agreed.
"It seemed a pretty easy decision at the time with Darlene now green, me continuing to throw up, and no forward motion - I turned around and headed south for Darwin. I was beat! Sailing through the Indonesian Archipelago was not meant to be.
“As I watched the sun come up Monday morning, I was pretty disgusted with myself. I woke the crew and called a meeting. I told the crew, 'If we go back I'm selling the boat.'
"John pointed out we had no water, but Dan countered by saying we had two 20ltr drums of emergency drinking water, about 20ltr of milk, 20ltr of rum (just for emergencies) and 20ltr of beer.
“Jenny sat quiet, and said nothing. I knew she would go north under any conditions.
"The unanimous decision was "Ok, let’s do it.'
“At this point we were so far behind that we looked like missing presentation night as well as all the other celebrations, so I started the engine and we took off north, doing nine knots.
“I'm pleased to say I didn't throw up again and the wind picked up, 15–20s, dead east. That afternoon at about 4pm we were back at the same position we were the night before at midnight - at least a full day behind the rest of fleet.
“About 2am on Wednesday the diesel ran out. I had 80ltr in reserve, but I was saving that for a real emergency.
“Then around 8am Wednesday morning, Jenny spotted a mast on the horizon. Wicked held 7-8 knots and we soon reeled them in. It was Solace III. I was very pleased to see them. After exchanging pleasantries we raised the spinnaker, said goodbye, and took off.
“We had squalls during Wednesday night and Thursday morning and had to drop the spinnaker.
"Then Solace III caught up with us again. We had to beat someone in so up went the spinnaker again. By then we were 20 miles off Ambon Harbour.
"But our problems weren’t over yet. About half a nautical mile out of Ambon Harbour the spinnaker disintegrated into millions of pieces. We reckoned Solace III had put a curse on us!
"With the iron spinnaker again in use, we crossed the finish line about 10.30am Thursday morning and had finally made it!
“Turning around and finishing the race, although in the rally division, was the best decision of my life. The fun we've had since, with the best group of mates you could ask for, has made it all the event of a lifetime.”
The Darwin Ambon Race & Rally left Darwin on July 23. For full results visit www.darwinambonracee.com.au
- Caroline Strainig
Please send your cruising news to carolinestrainig@yaffa.com.au
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