Bali to Dampier, Australia

It felt like a huge relief to leave Bali and all its 'busyness'. We left the mooring field at Serangan and entered into a very strong southbound current  in the Lombok Strait. It spit us out into the Indian Ocean doing seven knots. Immediately, we felt the calming sensation of the long, undulating, ocean swell and we started to look forward to a long, but, hopefully uneventful, 1400 mile passage from Bali, Indonesia to Fremantle, Western Australia.

The boat mostly behaved, what else could go wrong with it? We had two minor issues, the grey water pump stopped working and one of the batten cars on the mainsail cracked allowing the batten end to come out of the sail and rip the batten pocket.

We'd estimated a very slow passage as the prevailing winds are southerly, right where we were going. We made good time the first few days and thought maybe instead of the three week estimate we might just make it in two. Ha! The winds didn't go over thirty knots, but, the waves at one point were enormous, so, we decided to heave-to and wait for better conditions. We sat there for a day and a half and eventually it did lessen and we started out again. We then had a four day window of light airs and relatively calm seas which got us very close to the Australian coast. We had burnt a lot of fuel getting this far and although we probably had enough to get us all the way to Fremantle, we decided to take the prudent course and divert to Dampier to get fuel. More importantly, we could check into the country there which would allow us to stop at other places on the way down, if we needed to, without incurring a possible $50,000 fine. As it turned out, it was a very wise decision.

We had just passed through a very desolate stretch of water. We hadn't seen another ship, visually, or electronically, or heard a single voice on the radio for six days. We were entering into an oil and gas area with a number of fixed platforms and we began to see ships again. It was good timing.

G hadn't been feeling well for about three days and he was getting more and more uncomfortable. We were about 125 miles and twenty-four hours out of Dampier when we realized that his situation was truly serious and possibly life-threatening. He needed to get to a doctor, now. We called DAN (Diver's Alert Network) in the US and spoke with a doctor there who said the situation could deteriorate without warning. We debated continuing on by ourselves, but, decided it wasn't worth the risk. What to do now? We called Dampier VTS and Australia Immigration to report a medical emergency onboard. We were very, very lucky to find ourselves in an oil and gas area. There were many ships surrounding a number of oil platforms nearby. One of the ships, Edda Fides, just fifteen miles away, overheard us on the VHF and called to say they had a trained medic on board and would we like to speak with her. We did that, then Australia RCC (Rescue Coordination Centre) became involved. They said they'd call around to the other ships and see what they could come up with. In the meantime, Edda Fides called us back to say that they had located a doctor on an oil platform nearby and put us in touch with them. We spoke with the doctor and captain and they came up with a plan. They would send out their supply ship, with the doctor onboard, to rendezvous with us and take G off for initial assessment. Then, they'd decide what to do.

After that, it all went very quickly. We were about seventeen miles apart. We set a course directly towards the platform. It would be a tense three hours until we connected with their supply ship. Darkness fell just as we met. The ship, the 150m Sea Tortuga, stopped in the water and we drove into their lee as close to the ship as we dared. The night was black, the sea was still heaving and the wind blowing. A RIB (rigid inflatable boat) was dropped into the water with three men aboard. They came alongside Gjoa and G was transferred to the ship. Gjoa held station while the initial assessment was done. After about twenty minutes, it was decided that G needed to go immediately to hospital and they were leaving right now. A singlehanded Gjoa into Dampier. It was a very long night. Along the way, the doctor called to say that G was stabilized and now comfortable. After that, there was no more news of him until Gjoa landed at Dampier the next afternoon. When I called in to report Gjoa's arrival to Customs and Immigration, they said they already knew I was there, they have cameras. Officers arrived within minutes and gave me an update on G's condition. They had already visited him in the hospital! Security is tight along this coast, currently maritime level 1, but, I didn't think this extended to hospital visits. 

The commodore of the Hampton Harbour Boat and Sailing Club gave me a ride to the hospital in nearby Karratha. Just as I arrived, G was being released. He will require followup treatment which we're trying to arrange now. We are 'stuck' in Dampier, anchored in the bay, for the moment, as G shouldn't sail right now. Cyclone season starts in about three weeks, we'd like to be further south, in a more secure location.

UPDATE: Nov 13

G is fine now and we are moving on from this unfortunate event to take Gjoa further south.