Since arriving in Melville Bay, Gove, late Sunday we have had a busy time. Most of Monday was taken up with clearance procedures. This all went very well. Customs and Border Protection were happy with us and did a quick check below, opening cupboards, etc. We had nothing to hide so no problems. The Quarantine man just took our fresh vegies which were by then quite minimal. He did a visual check of other items I thought may have been confiscated but they all checked out OK. A hull inspection and a check under the floors also found nothing of interest so we paid our $330 and we were free to go ashore.
We are anchored off the Gove Boat Club but unfortunately the club was closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It is manned by volunteer staff so is not open every day. The only other notable sites around the bay were the bauxite processing plant, which is huge and is lit up at night like a large cruise ship, and the very long loading jetty off the end of the point. The bay is huge, quite shallow and very protected. There are a lot of local boats moored or anchored here with some liveaboards. Seven boats were cleared in on Monday and two the previous Friday. All from Indonesia. Some of these have already left to cross the Gulf, more are leaving this afternoon and others tomorrow.
The closest township is Nhulunbuy, about 15 mins by car. We have shared hire cars while here which has worked out well. We have all had to purchase diesel and more food and the local Woolies has been great. They keep their prices the same Australia-wide so we were surprised at the lowish prices. The barge full of fresh produce had arrived on Monday so the shelves were full of a good range of fruit and veg as well as meat. We did buy some meat from a local butcher and the Scotch fillet was the excellent - very tender.
Tuesday, eleven of us enjoyed a Melbourne Cup lunch at the Arnhem Club. $25 for a hot and cold buffet plus a complimentary drink. Pam won $60 on the sweep so that was a nice bonus for the day. Most people in our group seemed to win something. All good fun.
We hope to catch some fish in the Gulf. We are loaded with new lures which are guaranteed to at least catch a mackerel. Time will tell. Also have a new crab pot so looking forward to fresh mud crab along the way down the Queensland coast.
We will be leaving this afternoon about 4:00 for the 360 NM crossing and hope to arrive in Seisia on Monday. We will keep a watch on the winds on the tip of Cape York and maybe even get around there.
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We are anchored off the Gove Boat Club but unfortunately the club was closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It is manned by volunteer staff so is not open every day. The only other notable sites around the bay were the bauxite processing plant, which is huge and is lit up at night like a large cruise ship, and the very long loading jetty off the end of the point. The bay is huge, quite shallow and very protected. There are a lot of local boats moored or anchored here with some liveaboards. Seven boats were cleared in on Monday and two the previous Friday. All from Indonesia. Some of these have already left to cross the Gulf, more are leaving this afternoon and others tomorrow.
The closest township is Nhulunbuy, about 15 mins by car. We have shared hire cars while here which has worked out well. We have all had to purchase diesel and more food and the local Woolies has been great. They keep their prices the same Australia-wide so we were surprised at the lowish prices. The barge full of fresh produce had arrived on Monday so the shelves were full of a good range of fruit and veg as well as meat. We did buy some meat from a local butcher and the Scotch fillet was the excellent - very tender.
Tuesday, eleven of us enjoyed a Melbourne Cup lunch at the Arnhem Club. $25 for a hot and cold buffet plus a complimentary drink. Pam won $60 on the sweep so that was a nice bonus for the day. Most people in our group seemed to win something. All good fun.
We hope to catch some fish in the Gulf. We are loaded with new lures which are guaranteed to at least catch a mackerel. Time will tell. Also have a new crab pot so looking forward to fresh mud crab along the way down the Queensland coast.
We will be leaving this afternoon about 4:00 for the 360 NM crossing and hope to arrive in Seisia on Monday. We will keep a watch on the winds on the tip of Cape York and maybe even get around there.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
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