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| Day 108 |
24 July 2000 |
| Arafura Sea |
| "Fish Marks the Spot" |
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Some time in the next two or three days the suspense will be
over. We will either be tied up in Gove taking on fuel, or
trying bravely to sail the remaining distance against the wind
having run our tanks dry. We have 150 miles to go and not much
fuel left, but I think, I hope, we have enough.
I have just spent an interesting few hours playing at
cartography, which seems an appropriate occupation aboard
Duyfken. Since we did not plan to call at Gove we have no charts
for this side of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The only chart we have
of this area covers the entire north coast from Dampier to
Bowen, and includes all of Papua New Guinea and a good
proportion of Indonesia. Needless to say it is not very
detailed.
We have on board the Admiralty Pilot Book for this coast which
contains a detailed description of the coast, islands and
dangers. I have been carefully reading and re-reading each
paragraph and making a sketch as I go. To call my handwork a
chart would be too generous. Let's say it's a mud-map. It should
get us to Gove in any case.
This exercise is another reminder of the gulf that exists
between the task of the true cartographers, the explorers who
drew the first maps, and navigators like us who have the benefit
of detailed information compiled by those who went before. I
have some anxiety about the rash unprofessionalism of arriving
in Gove without proper charts, but at least I know that Gove is
there. At least I know there is a lighthouse on Cape Wessel and
another on Truant Island to guide us past the shoals. Contrast
the luxury of this knowledge with the bold confidence of Jansz
and his uppersteersman as they sailed into these waters knowing
nothing about what dangers lay ahead. It makes my anxiety over
not having a chart seem like a gross over reaction.
Across the middle of the Arafura Sea is a purple line drawn on
the chart about 200 miles from the Australian coast. It has
little purple fish drawn along it and it represents the limits
of the Australian Fishing Zone. Plotting Duyfken's position I
notice that we are right over one of the little fish pictures on
the chart. I call out to those on deck: 'Watch the fishing lines
closely because there's a fish marked on the chart and it is a
big one. It's about ten miles from head to tail.'
Not long after this attempt at humour we catch two bonito. Ben
complains that neither of them are anywhere near ten miles long.
Then John gets a strike that he can barely haul in, but the fish
gets away. He pulls in the line to check the lure and all the
hooks are straightened out. So the big one is still out there.
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Peter Manthorpe
Master
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