Just Awesome.......!

My last blog was pretty weak I must admit. My bad if it came off really whiny, you've got to understand that I was just using it as a means to vent so as to avoid creating unnecessary conflicts in our little home away from home. But now I hope all that business is way behind us.

This last week has really made the expedition for me. The sights - Restoration, the reef, the coast, the cape, the cays - incredible. The people we met on Restoration, as well as those we met in Tonga, it was just an amazing experience to hear their rich and interesting and diverse stories. The food! Ah, huge crayfish tails, plenty of chicken stew (I had five portions...both nights) and freeze-dried meals that were a real tasty change from ship's biscuits.

What has struck me is the great consequence seemingly unimportant decisions have had. Our choice to stop at the Cay the other day, which led to a great meal and Dave W's apology. What if we had just continued on in search of a coastal anchorage? Would he still have got up and apologized? Would the crew still be in the same high morale? The same goes for a lot of things, one tiny decision changing everything. I could have never looked at the paper on that fateful April afternoon, never read that article calling for crew members. Then where would I be? Talk about chaos theory...

By far, the best thing about this trip has been the people. Even if you stripped everything else away and just left me the opportunity to meet them all, I'd be more than content. Just hearing their stories has opened my eyes to lifestyles and ways of thinking that I'd always just brushed off in the past.

Another thing that has surprised me is just how friendly everyone has been! I mean, when we pulled up on the Cay, with the Cossack Pearl in anchor nearby, I just swam over to say hey and before I knew it they were so generously offering us a load of free crayfish. That's the sort of friendliness we've experienced right the way across from start to here, almost at the finish.

I feel so indebted to the other guys for their support all the way, especially Don, without him I'd still be sat at home daydreaming about things like this. Whereas now, there's a new excitement in the pit of my stomach as I'm just aching to get back and sort my life out.

Only ten days to go and we've all got smiles on our faces. Rejuvenated and with some incredible experiences under my belt, I'm all set for this last burst across the Arafura Sea to Kupang. In the words of Bruce, the skipper of Wild-card, "These boys have a back yard as far as the eye can see. And they don't even have to mow the back lawn."

Put simply, everything is just awesome.

Cheers,
Chris

Top Day...Kupang Here We Come

The bounty boys hit the tip of Australia!

It was a slow night with 10kts of breeze but again very enjoyable..there were no surprises like reefs or islands and at around 0800 we were alongside Turtle Island where Bligh hid from some very strong winds....at that point he became very confused as to what or where Cape York actually was...the Nav publication he had put it about 23miles further south than it actually was...we just stuck to the coast and went through a narrow pass just as we saw the tide turning...there was a two knot current against us but we stuck to the edges of the pass and got some back eddies which helped..only one scare when reef came up very quickly...

About an hour later there it was...Cape York...we were sailing about three miles offshore and then saw a small pass between the Cape and two islands north of that...we decided to cut through it as we are shallow draught and thought we could anchor off it which is exactly what we did..about 15 mtrs off the very tip of Cape York!! what a buzz..I let all the crew swim ashore first as we were in a two knot current and very exposed...they took their pictures and came back so I could do the same thing...it was all over in 20 minutes and we were underway again to Horn Island .

Half way across we met up with Stu in the chopper who flew around us for a bit over an hour...both he and I doing some crazy stuff in this time ...then it was all speed to the anchorage arriving at about1800 as the sun was setting...what a great day with plenty of memories..we must have seen 25 turtles during the last hour of approach here...

We spoke to Customs today and we are set to clear Customs and Immigration tomorrow at 0930 on the wharf which is really convenient for us...Bob and Margaret are picking us up in their dingy in the morning to transfer us ashore and if all goes well we should be back on board and away by about 1100 and then it is off to Kupang....we are all really keen now to head back out into the Ocean..Bligh had some real issues with the weather on this leg so we are not expecting our run of good weather to last forever...the boat is good to go and so are we.....a big sleep tonight will top that off big time..!!

We part company with Stu here and he will fly to Kupang ready to film our arrival...Touch wood..not sure when we will get there but we are only two days behind Bligh now....so it may be a close thing...we managed not to eat our normal rations so have at least nine days of rations left....I reckon we may be there on the 16th ??? so it will go close...

Big day tomorrow...Tonga seems like so long ago!!...Don

Parallel Universe...!

Bligh's plight with eighteen men crammed in his tiny boat near starvation still seems along way from ours but I am amazed at the parallels. Last night as we ghosted through the reefs a sea snake swam by and sure enough Bligh had seen one in this area during his voyage 221 years prior.

Last night we also passed Sunday Island unable to stop in the dark. It was here that Bligh's authority was challenged by one of his men and to settle the matter Bligh in turn challenged him to a duel on the beach. The stop at Restoration Island at the end of the epic crossing had lifted the lid on interpersonal frictions and this came to a head as they crammed themselves back into their tiny boat and resumed the voyage.

We were all keen to be on our way again from Restoration Island despite the amazing hospitality and company there. The final stage of our voyage beckoned but like Bligh's men, returning to the tiny bounty boat raised interpersonal issues. Wilco's on again, off again struggle had left a dent in the team I feel and yesterday felt horrible as we all grated against each other like gears that just wouldn't quite mesh. While we missed Sunday Island last night we found our own cay today that Bligh would have loved. 221 years on a duel on the beach wasn't the path to conflict resolution and instead we resorted to frank discussion. I take my hat off to the humility of my crew mates in the way the matter was addressed. An evening of eating crayfish on the sand cay under a stary sky around a driftwood fire, there seems no doubt we couldn't be better placed as a crew to really revel in the final stage. Not to say it wont be a struggle and there wont be moments of frustration but it looks like we have the ability to deal with what may arise.

The race to catch Bligh resumes again. A few moments after sending this blog around midnight we will push off from the beach and head off into the night on a course we sighted today during daylight across what seems like clear water for at least enough distance to keep us safe in the dark hours.

A warm breeze beckons so I will see you next week.

Dave Pryce / Quilter

Leaving Restoration Island & More Dramas.........YUK

What a time at Restoration Island but we are all happy to be underway chasing Bligh once again...we departed at 0700 this morning after just a few hours sleep last night ..we had delays trying to send out High Def. pictures to some media outlets..anyway all done and the other thing was that yes we got hit by sand flies last night and the night before so I have very itchy legs again..these are the Aussie flies..bigger bites..or Pee I should say as they do not bite but pee on you...so that will be fun for the next few days...

We had a very touching ceremony at sunset beside the Talisker Bounty Boat when about 25 local Aborigines from Lock-hart River all came across to the Island to give us their best wishes for a safe journey and present us all with very special "Giddy" beads...I said a few words about Bligh and what he would have been thinking when here and how good it was that about 2600 sq. Km of land all around that area had recently been returned to their ownership..everything is so untouched up here.

We had one more stew our only food for the day and managed to get quite a few jobs completed..the good news is that the solar panel problem was located..a failed Regulator which we replaced and all is functional again so we have power!!

Now a whole new set of challenges..how to sail through the reef without charts....well we have our planning chart which shows all the next leg to Cape York in about 1 inch so that is useless but I do have then chart that Bligh drew while in the boat..it shows where he stopped but it is going to be tough...especially at night...we have already this afternoon had a very close call!!

Dave Pryce was on the helm...Dave Wilkins was on the bow looking for reefs as we were close inshore..I had told Dave W that it is very serious now so stay alert and said look for colour changes..

I was under the Dodger when Dave P called out 'Fish".we hooked up big time...as I rushed up the line broke but I looked over the side and to my horror we were sailing at 5kts over coral about 1mtr below the keel!!

I shouted out to all we were over reef..dropped all the sheets and asked Dave to head up to starboard as the edge was clearly 140mtrs to windward...it was very tense as the dept occasionally dropped to less than 40 cm under the keel and a few Bommies were passed to leeward that we would have hit...we got away with it but it was close..this was in the middle of the day in excellent conditions..Dave W was very apologetic and said he noticed the change from water to reef but thought we had enough dept....??

Not sure how we will go or what we will do tonight..we look like not being by an anchorage at dusk so may have to sail on...we are in a big Bay that nearly trapped Bligh..Sunday Island is on the other side of this big bay so in about 20 miles we will be in the dark and not be able to see what is going on..we have shipping around and also some beacon lights so will not ignore them...so who knows what will play out tonight?? but we have to keep going now..it is currently 1700hrs..

We are eating Mackerel tonight..a small one but Chris filleted and skinned it..a first for him..very clever..he also had his first for deck workout today setting sails , Gybing and booming out etc so getting to be quite the sailor now ..but still no good with ropes..we all laugh about that but still a long way to Kupang!!.

Stu has been filming our departure this morning..met up again with Bob and Margaret on the boat about 10am..then left us for a few hours. They are backs along side filming now but they leave at dusk and head for Horn Island so we are on our own for those that worry we have an escort boat to help us navigate!

No Moon...Dark night..15kts wind..half Mtr sea...at least the sailing is dry..we are now doing 3.5kts...this is another serious challenge tonight and yes I am little uneasy so will try to be very Cautious..but if Bligh could get through so will we!! He leaves the top end tomorrow to head for Kupang and spends tonight on anchor so we are only 100 miles behind him..the closest we have been for a long time..that feels good.

Our wildlife event for the day was very special..huge schools of Mackerel ripping the water apart all around us when a large school of big Trevally huddled under the boat as we sailed along at 4kts..this was the school that the Mackerel were after so they cut in and our around us killing many and then a huge 3mtr shark cruised into the school from behind only a mtr or so from our rudder..all very exciting to watch!! right under us..plenty of large turtle and Dugong too..

This part of the world is very interesting an very alive..I love it..

We just rigged our radar reflector for the first time..some of these huge tankers are moving very fast!!!

Look forward to reporting in tomorrow...stay tuned!!...Don

What a Difference A Day Makes ...........!

Dave welcomes Bounty on arrival.

Feet finally on the ground for two nights in Restoration Island, frankly, I do not know how Bligh left, or why.... This is the closest Ive been to heaven... Once we sailed into the reef I was completely silenced by its beauty, had I lived my life and never seen this part of the world, my life would have been an utter waste.... seriously.. the views are spectacular, the people remarkably Friend, I feel completely at peace with myself here and I could happily stay on Restoration Island with several good books for weeks to come. David Glasheen's hospitality has been a welcome gift after spending the last 30 days or so on Talisker Bounty Boat and the locals have been very supportive of our expedition. Last night I enjoyed so much the company and discussions with interesting people, such a refreshing change for all of the crew having spent 24 hrs a day for the last month in each others company... no offense intended and I know we will all feel the same, I am proud to be a part of the Bounty team. But... Dear Don McBligh can we stay just a little bit longer? Alas no... We set sail again at sun rise tomorrow for the last leg, 1400 miles to Timor.

I have thought a lot why I seem to find the expedition so far harder than the rest of the crew and come to the conclusion, that as David Quilter and Don are seasoned adventurous they are simply used to discomfort, they know when it is unpleasant, this too shall pass, and the gems are around the corner, I couldn't see them, only my return flight home. Chris is at a lovely age, when life is an adventure and approaches everything by throwing himself in with that lovely playful curiosity and I admire him for that... oh to be 18.. Ive been around enough to develop an unhealthy "why am I putting up with this sh**" when the going gets tough, when its really miserable, I cheer myself up by reminding myself this trip has cost me enough for a world cruise and instead I am hungry, wet, tired and aching from head to toe... However, I will share that I am so.... so.... grateful for the experience... I suspect I will only grasp the real value once I am at home reflecting upon the whole event.. Unlike the rest of the crew, I have children who I have left at home, and I miss them terribly, not even talking with them is horrible...

We all have different ways to manage discomfort and stress, by planning my departure I gave myself a slip road, escape route and rather than counting 26 days to go I was able to count down to restoration Island (7/8 days) knowing I then had the option to depart, as crazy as it may sound this made it much more manageable for me, I really struggled, with both the diet, and surprisingly, the boredom, with no books or music to fill time, sitting for what felt like years in the crippling heat was slowly driving me insane... With so much time and nothing to fill it with I found myself worrying about matters completely unnecessarily, my home, family, business, , anything I could find to worry about I did, then all I wanted to do was leave... I am pleased I couldn't and I am learning so much about myself, though its not all pleasant, I would much rather report that I have discovered I am invincible, a strong man who can conquer the world... maybe not, but you know what I mean.. I am not going home and will be leaving with Talisker Bounty Boat tomorrow morning, when in doubt, I need to dig deep, have faith in my team and business partners at home and meditate... easy said looking across the beach from this arm chair!

Upon arrival at Restoration, I immediately went and found the material to make a small camp/bed for myself, which I must say for a Hong Kong pen-pusher this is not small achievement, I was then advised to move it further back from the beach as crocodiles are less likely to go across the grass... CROCODILES..... OMG..... I hadn't considered being eaten by crocs.. How on earth can I sleep.. But believe me, after our yummy chicken stew, the first meal since Tonga, I lay down under my make shift home and slept like a baby for 7 hours... It was wonderful, I didn't even see the stars, I passed out to quick and awoke too late, with a BIG fat smile on my face, not least because I hadn't been eaten by crocodiles..

I estimate I have lost at least 8kg and other than my pants keep falling down, I confess to being very happy about that, (the weight not the pants) the challenge will be to keep it off when I return. I know I shall take much greater care of myself and seek more balance in my life. This afternoon, someone asked if this expedition will make a real difference to my future, my reply was surprisingly prompt and I think sums up precisely how I feel. " I do not know what my future holds, I only know it will be very different from what I had previously imagined, I am looking from a different perspective and that really pleases me"

David W (not David Q)

MESSAGE TO MY DAUGHTERS - Hi Lucinda and Isabelle - You wont recognize me when I am home, much more handsome, slim, tanned with a really cool beard... I am missing you both very much... Love Dad x

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"REPLIES TO BLOG COMMENTS"

Hi All...been a bit of fun catching up on a few of the comments that Stu our Blog master has forwarded to Restoration Island...looks like some will have to get a copy of the book one day when it finally comes out..it will tell many things but we will try to cover everything here but as you can expect it is challenging when at sea...anyway just to cover a couple of points...

I ring Margie twice a day..once in the morning and once at night..she is our Expedition headquarters.it is all about safety and expedition logistics...not just to check up on what is going on in the world...so yes it is very appropriate to stop the rest of the crew from using the phone for anything else other than logistics..which is what I have done..what happened with Dave he twisted that to be following his business and family interests which was unfortunately for him as it stops him from enjoying the experience out here and he knew the rules...so I have no problem with that..in fact I have bent all my own standards to try to accommodate him and let him satisfy his own mind...

Margie has now gone to Europe for 6 weeks on business and pleasure so I will not be ringing her each day any longer as Marketa is our new expedition manager and she will get my check in calls..all part of our sophisticated crisis management planning and we have a large team of qualified people handling that...

Seems to be some confusion from a member of the 1983 Child of Bounty trip as to why should the Govt. pay for the helicopter to Restoration Island and that we have it easy with sat coms etc...well firstly we are the fifth expedition now..one in 1975.Child of Bounty was the second in 1983..another in 1990..another in 1995 and now us..our is different than all the others..no big deal..not better or worse..just different...Customs have been great helping with a helicopter and correct me if I am wrong but in 1983 I thought the Govt. did the same thing and paid for a customs ship to be waiting at Restoration Island to clear them??..so a helicopter today is a lot cheaper than that and isnt it good that the Aust. Govt. is so forward thinking that they support this type of endeavor for the good of all..we were impressed yesterday with how efficient and friendly Customs and AQIS really were..NO we did not use their helicopter for Arial for our Documentary!..we will charter one from Horn Island later for that at our expense..yes we have GPS for safety reasons just as in 1983 I believe the Child of Bounty used an Argo satellite tracing system and the best Charts , Sextants etc of the time for navigation..that is all that they had in those days, but I do not believe Child of Bounty went off blind into the ocean like we have in many parts...that is why we were nearly wrecked on a reef twice on the way to Fiji..and stumbled across some banks in the Pacific!

Reine seems a bit confused about our approach to a few things so let me use the torch issue as an example...we set out not to use torches as Bligh had non...we we still have torches for safety reasons..what are the rules of engagement for torches..only to avert a high risk situation or official business...so if we are writing a blog at night we have to use the head torch..if we have been struggling at night in big seas trying to control the boat and it is getting dangerous and we may capsize the boat...then we will use our head torch to look at the compass...don't worry we have had plenty of very frustrating black nights and plenty of times using torches too when it hits the fan so it is a juggling act...

With the GPS..as an example...we set off from our unexpected Fiji stop ( not scheduled!) knowing our departure point...like Bligh we have a voyage plan..he had been planning his for three months before the mutiny to get the Bounty home..all the best publications at the time and previous voyage journals of many ship before him were studded hard to make that plan..we are using our one planning chart that cover half the world...we set off and immediately get into what is called "Plain Sailing"..all the westing is simply an addition of the hourly speeds listed in the ships log...that is it...then occasionally I take a noon sight to check the Latitude..north south position..which is no big deal as there is nothing to hit for a long time..so unlike Bligh I only do that occasionally...we are just Dead Reckoning our position to the west....the current adds a new dimension...I do not calculate my Latitude and longitude each day by tables as it is Plain sailing a very simple and very basic....so when the bottom appeared last week we were surprised and I was needing to get a noon sight to work out our latitude...north south position asap..to work out which bank it was...as it turns out we quickly found the sand cay and then saw on the one chart we have we were about the latitude of Diane Bank..so that had to be it..Bingo!..we have a fixed point...the funny part about all that was that our DR positions in the next few days went way out again with currents from everywhere...so I am not navigating like Bligh but I am doing it the same way...every day noon sights..this all become irrelevant when we then have to get to Boat pass and restoration Island...I have to use the GPS just to get there as I do not have an almanac or Tables to compute longitude..neither did Bligh..but he never needed to get anywhere specific...so it is different for us...

The other way we use the GPS is for safety..when we were pressed hard on a lee shore on a very Dark windy 2am morning with surf only minutes away we struggled to get off..once that was in progress I jumped below and immediately turned the GPS on the find out where the reef was going..it showed us on the reef!! and about half a mile from the end..that info was critical to our survival....When we got to Bligh water between the Fiji islands we planned to go through in daylight but in the end we were caught in very bad weather,..far too dangerous to slow down in or we would have capsized so we were trapped heading up into a blind alley and we were going to be there at night..no option but to use the GPS or we would have been wrecked...not a good idea...

It is hard for us to truly do things exactly as Bligh..he had to..we are volunteers..it starts from there...but we are forcing deprivations and hardships on ourselves but we are no being foolhardy or reckless....we know when the boundaries have been met...we have been doing it tough often...we are having it much better off than Bligh so I will not standing up at the end and saying we did it exactly like Bligh..I will be saying we have experienced some moments very similar to Bligh in a little boat ....I will watch the sixth re-enactment of Bligh's voyage with great delight as it is truly one of the greate3st open boat journeys of all time...I am loving it and am very happy to share so much of it with so many...makes for some interesting conversations but wait till you see the Book!!!!

Please keep the comments coming..good and bad...better to have an opinion that say nothing all your life...we are out of here tomorrow something I am really looking forward too....Half of Bligh's men were right and half were wrong when the crew were split on leaving or staying!!!...you work it out....Don

Arrival Restoration Island........

Too much wind would have been a good problem to have a few days ago..but not the night before we are due to go through Bligh Boat passage...it picked up to 30kts plus with up to 3.5 mtr breaking seas and we had to try slowing down or risk overshooting the pass...when I came on watch at 2200hrs we only had 20 miles to go yet could not get there till 0700 the next day...I dropped all sail except for the jib then continued to ride the seas precariously beam on to the North to North East..away from the pass.. till I saw a big set coming in the moon light and headed off Down wind to the west ish?..it was a long watch as I needed to steer all the way...Chris was there ready to assist but it was potentially dangerous..so I gave it to him for 30 minutes at 0130 in the morning and he did a great Job..he continues to amaze me every time..he love all the challenges and is going to be a changed person when all this is over...after four hours we had held position bit and were now only 17miles to the pass...Quilter and Wilco took over and the conditions settled a bit so in the end we made a rendezvous with Supr at 0730 about 5 miles outside the pass..took some great footage then headed into the flat blue lagoon of the Barrier Reef at 0900...it was amazing to think of Bligh going through this little passage..a touching moment for all...did I tell you flat water is great!!

A few hour later another coast watch plane came by then we met up with the 60 minutes film crew boat as the customs chopper buzzed us. we slowly sailed up to the most amazing Beach at Restoration Island..Bring on the Stew!!

We dug a ditch in the sand below the low waterline , started the fire , chopped up the Chicken, covered with water, boiled,added potatoes, peas and latter the cabbages...we had two gallons of it and it was gone in two hours..Dave apologized profusely and tucked in..it was superb!!..we then sat around all night with Dave from the island and some of the trawler crews, Bob and Margaret and had a very social occasion...Chris was the only one that slept on the boat..I slept on the beach with NO!! sand flies or mosquitoes!!! it was heaven..

All our cameras, computers, phones and in fact the batteries off the Talisker Bounty Boat we transferred to the 60 minutes support boat for charging over night so I could not write this blog!!,,...sorry...now the sun is shining, blue sky..good breezes and plenty of anticipation about setting out from here...with Dave I am happy to say...at first light tomorrow..still a long way to go so ???

At the moment life is good...big party planned for tonight but we are all still on Bounty Boat Rules...so we watch them all getting into everything...I want to get going already...Don