July 24, 2005 - Darwin to Kupang Rally-Day 2
by George Backhus

Hi Everyone:

Well it seems as if we had just gotten settled into life at sea when we spotted the island of Timor 60 miles ahead on the horizon. Todd called "land ho" just before lunchtime today.

Our second full day at sea has been pretty uneventful. The fluky winds have teased us into hoisting the spinnaker a few times, only to fade away, causing us to kick over the engine once again. We've spent 80% of the last day motorsailing. It's not all bad, because the seas have been calm, making life aboard very comfortable and easy, and with a 60% power setting, we've been able to average 9 knots of speed over the bottom. Between sailing and motorsailing, we've covered 207 miles of the course in 24 hours. As of 1100 hours, this left us about 80 miles to go to Kupang, which should get us there in time for a late dinner and a few bevvies.

We've noticed some subtle changes since we left Darwin. First off, its hot! The temperature has slowly increased along the way, especially when there's not much breeze. The water has gotten much clearer and there's even a bit of bio luminescence. We spotted a small pod of dolphins yesterday afternoon, but they were a bit standoffish and didn't come over to swim near us. There are heaps of flying fish, which we haven't seen since we sailed across the Coral Sea last year. Last night we sailed by a group of offshore oil rigs in the middle of the Timor Sea. In addition to lights resembling a small city, they had some pretty wicked tiki torches burning.

Merima has assumed the role of snacktician with a vengeance. While the boys have been plying with the spinnaker, driving and trimming, she's been putting the galley through its paces. On top of some great meals, the between meal snacks of scones, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, baklava, etc. have prevented any weight loss during the passage.

As of the morning sked, we were out in front of the fleet about 18 nautical miles ahead of the Farr 58 Imagine. The third place boat, Lady Emma from Auckland, was a further 9 miles behind.

If you happen to be in West Timor, come on by the Moonshadow as there will be a bit of a party on board tonight.

George, Merima, Graham and Todd