Thursday Island to Cocos-Keeling Atoll
Posted by Graham Cox
From now on, the 2025 Mini Globe Race enters a special phase, as the fleet of 580s exactly mirror the course taken by John Guzzwell on the original TREKKA (a Laurent Giles design, not Ertan’s 580). After Thursday Island, the fleet sails to Cocos Keeling Atoll, Rodrigues, Mauritius, Durban, Cape Town, St Helena and on to the Caribbean. This will allow a direct comparison between TREKKA’s performance and the MGR boats.
John Guzzwell left Thursday Island on 10 September 1958, bound for Cocos Keeling Atoll, over 2800 miles distant, and over the next few days TREKKA averaged 115 miles a day. They then ran into a light weather patch; almost, John says, as if they were in the lee of continental Australia. It was not until 1 October, 20 days out, before a frontal system heralded a return of fresh SE trade winds. TREKKA then began to gobble up the miles. So far on this stage of Leg 3, Renaud, Dan and Pilar are outpacing John Guzzwell’s daily averages, with 129 miles, 122 and 125 respectively.
The early days of week 3 saw the safe arrival of the rest of the fleet at Thursday Island (TI), anchored in the lee of Horn Island. Once again, the little boats made an impressively fast passage, with Josh on SKOOKUM taking about 19.5 days to sail just over 2100nm to secure 7th place. Only Gary Swindail, on QUESTION 2, will be going on to Darwin, where he plans to retire. For the rest of the fleet, next stop is Cocos-Keeling Atoll.
Despite rising winds and sea as the tail end of the fleet approached the outer Great Barrier Reefs, most of them shot through Raine Island Entrance into the relatively sheltered waters inside without incident, and then headed north through the reef-strewn waters of Far North Queensland, colloquially called FNQ.
Raine Island is known as the most prolific breeding ground for seabirds and green turtles in this region, and can be identified by a conspicuous stone tower built on the island by HMS FRY in 1844. It was even occupied between 1890 and 1892, when phosphate was mined there. Today it is just a lonely outpost that has been reclaimed by nature. There is no decent anchorage, and besides, the 580’s were racing!
Eric Marsh chose to take SUNBEAR further north to Bligh Passage, and The Great North East Channel (GNEC). He laid to rest the argument whether this might be a faster transit, arriving at TI behind Jasmine on NUMBATOU, and alongside Christian on ARGO, after earlier being neck and neck with Jakub on BIBI, who came in 6th. It is unlikely that any entrant will choose this option during the 2029 MGR.
Jasmine had been contemplating entering through Bligh Passage as well, given the freshening trade winds, but the fact that the others had made it past Raine Island OK, combined with the amount of shipping she encountered, and additional information gleaned from the pilot book, led to her change her mind.
Jasmine’s timing at the Raine Island entrance was perfect. She approached the reef mid-morning, the tide was slack tide, and the wind fresh enough to keep NUMBATOU moving smartly. Thanks to Susan, Jasmine’s mother and manager, for the following report:
“A huge welcoming pod of dolphins at her bow saw her through the first stage. Beyond the reef, the water calmed a little, but the there was still a big swell, and winds mostly around 25 knots, gusting to 35. This meant a fast, nerve-wracking, wave-surfing passage, complete with heavy squalls and big currents for the next 80 miles.
“At one point in the dark, ARGO caught right up to NUMBATOU, then they diverged around a reef, where Jasmine found a favourable current and regained distance, flying along at insane speeds, averaging 6.9 knots at times. With only the chance for a few 20-minute cat-naps, Jasmine needed to be alert, but was also aware that she was tired and could easily make mistakes.
“Beacons and nav light information on the charts were hard to determine in reality. ‘Wait, was that a flashing white beacon or was it blocked by the waves, so it only looked like it was flashing?’ Land, sea and sky merged into one. Rounding Cape York on Horn Island for the final stretch of the Torres Strait to the anchorage, the weather continued to be wild and squally but it was daylight again at least. She wasn’t prepared to risk going on deck to hoist the Mini Globe Race flags, as she preferred not to chance falling overboard!
“There were dugongs in the bright, turquoise-blue water – apparently Thursday Island has one of the largest populations of them worldwide. Jasmine safely anchored amongst the other 580s at 9:45am local time on 14/08/25 (12:45am UK time).
“Eric and Christian arrived together one hour later. Josh had arrived a couple of hours earlier. They all then had to wait several hours for Australian Border Force to clear them into the country. The water looks inviting, really clear, but a 3m crocodile has already been spotted, so there’ll definitely be no swimming. It’s a case of calling up the aluminium-hulled water taxi to get to land.”
On 18 August, she did one last trip ashore to top up provisions (there must be a good supply of chocolate at the local store). She planned to pick up her outboard motor batteries, which were ashore on Horn Island for charging, in the morning, then prepare to leave when the tide suited. She was a bit concerned about clearing the adjacent reefs due to the strong tidal current, even though it would be flowing in her favour
Jasmine says that the passage from Fiji was the nicest one she has had since leaving Lagos, Portugal, and she is really looking forward to the next stage, especially once she gets clear of the reefs and islands, and into open water. She is looking forward to Cocos-Keeling Atoll, and already beginning to wonder what she will find there.
The anchorage at Horn Island proved to be reasonably sheltered, though the 580s could be seen rolling a little at times, and to add a local touch, Adam saw a 3m crocodile shortly after coming to anchor, as well numerous sharks. Luckily there was a water taxi service between Horn Island and Thursday Island, so nobody had to tempt fate by paddling ashore in their inflatable toy boats, and were able to explore both islands, not to mention carousing in the pub with Captain Coconut.
It is interesting to note that John Guzzwell was not troubled by crocodiles here, despite only having a tiny plywood dinghy (5’ 6”) to get ashore with. He even antifouled TREKKA at low tide, careened alongside a set of piles at Horn Island, starting at 0500 when it was still dark! He knew about crocodiles, as earlier, in an anchorage further south called Portland Roads, a local warned him that a crocodile had eaten his dog a few days earlier. There were significantly less crocodiles in the 1950s, as they had been hunted close to extinction before a ban on killing them was introduced in 1971, but all it takes is one!
The water taxis are a game-changer for small boats visiting TI, but they were not always available, and too expensive to use several times a day. Therefore, everybody spent a lot of time alone on their boats. They were keen to get going after their 5-day mandatory layover, and a suggestion that they stay an extra day to slow the fleet down was met with strong disapproval. They will have to stop extra days somewhere, either in Cocos Keeling Atoll, Mauritius, or Durban, as they cannot arrive in Cape Town before December 1st due to logistic reasons. These 580s are just too damned fast! Or is it the skippers?
First in, first out, as the stages of a given Leg are a pursuit race, so Renaud was first out with CAPUCINETTE in the early hours of 17 August, beneath glittering moon, followed soon after by Keri and ORIGAMI. By late that evening, they were up to their usual shenanigans, with Keri hot on the tail of Renaud, both averaging more than 4 knots, with about 10 miles between them. Dan, on IMMORTAL GAME, was also out of the gate, about 60 miles behind Keri.
Interestingly, all of them were sailing north of the rhumb line, despite this course taking them closer to Indonesian waters, where occasional acts of opportunistic piracy have been reported over the years. In a video post on Sunday, Keri discussed this tactic, saying that some of the fleet wanted to reach agreement to stay above (that is, further south) of 10° but he was unwilling to make such a commitment.
He was asked how far north he might go, and said he was tempted to reply, “up to the two-fathom line,” that is, just off the beaches of Indonesia. His point being that he did not want to be restricted in his decision-making, both for seamanlike reasons and because he goes sailing partially to experience the freedom of the ocean.
By noon of the second day out, ORIGAMI was indeed heading further north than CAPUCINETTE, though Keri had lost a further 6 miles to Renaud, and by the 19th he was 30 miles behind. Whether his tactic will pay off in the long run is too early to say.
He was repairing the foot of his A5 while making the video, quoting the old Navy tradition of ‘make and mend’ on Sundays at sea. He mentioned that the sea-state was a bit sloppy, but that the motion wasn’t too bad. He also noted that the sun felt particularly fierce, and his lips, ears and nose were lathered with zinc-cream. He looked happy to be underway.
On 18 August, Renaud reported that he planned to sail the direct route across the top of Australia, close to the shipping lanes, weather permitting, as cargo ships always sailed the shortest distances! Renaud has a reputation for leaving a straight wake himself! He added that the wind was gusting between 8 to 25 knots, changing every hour or two. The general weather was also unstable, with rain and heavy overcast in the early morning giving way to some sunshine, which was helping to recharge CAPUCINETTE’s batteries again.
The sea was about 1.5 metres and choppy, as one might expect with such squally conditions, not to mention the strong tidal currents. He noted that it was hard to go fast in that sort of sea-state, but he was pleased with CAPUCINETTE’s performance. He was having to work very hard to maintain speed, though. At the time of his call, he had two reefs in the mainsail plus the A7, but an hour earlier had the A3 and full mainsail hoisted. He was constantly trimming, putting in reefs, shaking them out and changing headsails.
Although he was sailing near the shipping lanes, he had not seen a lot of traffic, just 2-3 cargo ships and a few trawlers. He was still managing to sleep well, as both types of vessels were well-lit, and displayed reliably on his AIS and Echomax units. It was better than the alternative further north, where there was no guarantee that Indonesian fishing vessels would be detectable either to the eye or electronically. Some of these boats are operated by very poor fishermen who cannot afford modern aids to navigation.
As always, Renaud was happy to be back at sea, perhaps even more so on this occasion. He has often noted that for him the MGR is a race, not a Grand Tour of the world. He enjoys catching up with the other skippers for a bit of social life in port once the work of preparing CAPUCINETTE for the next leg is in hand, but is not one for sightseeing. Like the other skippers, he noted that TI is not the ideal place, anyway, for small boats like the 580s, where they had to anchor a long way out, it was always very windy, and one had to rely on a limited water taxi service to get ashore. He is also delighted with the close racing that has developed since the start of Leg 3 in Fiji.
Dan reported that he only had about 20 knots of wind over the deck, but that the sloppy sea conditions made it seem worse, with IMMORTAL GAME being slapped around a bit by the waves. The boat was self-steering but was often knocked off course. He was flying the A5 with three reefs in the mainsail, but, like Renaud, had been kept busy with sail changes. He estimated that he’d occasionally seen 35-knot gusts, and had changed down to working jib a couple of times, before shaking out a reef in the main and rehoisting the A5 when the squall passed.
When asked about his decision to head further north, he noted that there seemed to be a large wind-shadow, stretching for 100 miles, coming off the mainland, and he hoped to stay east and north of it, as well as possibly pick up a stronger favourable ocean current.
He had no desire to go too far north though, and risk meeting a hungry or opportunistic fisherman. He’d had that experience before, during the 2018 Melbourne-Osaka race, and had no desire to repeat it. He would have been happy to adhere to the informal northern limit proposed by Jakub in TI, if the rest of the fleet had agreed to abide by it. Since that did not happen, he would have to find a balance between risk mitigation and his competitive instincts.
Thursday Island was a logistical success, with Dan collecting a fresh supply of ready-made meals that he had shipped up. He now has enough food to get through to Mauritius at least, though joked that by the time he got there he’s be looking forward to something fresh to eat, like a burger and a beer! He was looking forward to getting out of these restricted waters into the Indian Ocean and completing this penultimate leg of the race.
Ertan was not leaving TI until the evening of 19 August, but he was looking forward to getting underway. He’d made good friends ashore and enjoyed his time off the boat, but there had been precious little of it due to the difficulties of getting to and from the boat. Plus, he had lost an anchor that fouled on the coral-strewn bottom, forcing him to look for a replacement ashore. Now he faced almost 3000 miles to the next landfall, which once again would be an isolated outpost. Ertan does not like to look too far ahead, an admirable quality, but he gives the distinct impression that he is going to be pleased to reach Mauritius.
Jakub was late with his scheduled call because, once again, BIBI demonstrated an uncanny attraction for fishing boats and their gear. A large chunk of seaweed, entangled with fishing line and hooks, lodged itself on BIBI’s anchor rope. While trying to disentangle the obstruction, it slipped off the anchor rode and wrapped itself around the keel. He managed to clear most of it, but one hour before his scheduled departure for Cocos-Keeling Atoll, there was still some of it clinging to BIBI. Given the stories he’d heard about sharks and crocodiles (he did not see either during his stay), he was understandably reluctant to dive overboard.
Asked about his entrance through the Barrier Reefs at Raine Island, he said, “I had to decide, should I go to TI via Raine Island or by Bramble Cay? I really didn’t want to go so far north (to Bramble Cay) because the weather was predicted to get worse, and the sea might be even bigger up there. Nonetheless, I was worried about approaching the shallows at the outer edge of the Barrier Reefs. All of a sudden, I saw a weather window opening and Adam and I decided to push hard to get there. Once I was past the Great Detached Reef, the sea flattened out, even a few miles beforehand.”
He was sailing in close proximity to Adam on LITTLE WREN. Adam managed to squeak past just before they arrived at Raine Island, and the two of them sailed in close proximity, enjoying each other’s company, as always. They had considered anchoring for a rest if needed, but the current was with them, so they pressed on, sailing very fast, sometimes doing between 6 and 8 knots over the ground. Having entered the pass just on dusk, they made it to Thursday Island very early the next afternoon without sleeping, with Adam taking 5th place just ahead of Jakub.
Jakub’s take on his sojourn on TI was, as usual, unique and amusing. He said he felt at times that they were like prisoners in their cells, each confined to their own space but able to communicate with each other by shouting back and forth. Then, once a day, they were let out to stretch their legs (courtesy of the water-taxi) before being returned to solitary confinement. Not that prisoners usually get to go to the pub, drink beer and play pool! The water taxi ceases running at 1800 local time, but one night they made a special arrangement with the driver, and enjoyed carousing until late into the night.
Jakub was the one who wanted the skippers to agree to an informal limit on how far north they would go, but since this did not eventuate, he will just sail his own race, staying further south and enjoying the lighter winds that will possibly be experienced there. He feels that accepting mitigated risk is reasonable, but has to be weighed against one’s responsibility to the people who love you.
Instead, he is going to invoke Bernard Moitessier’s philosophy as he crosses the Indian Ocean, and focus more on the relationship between himself, BIBI and the sea. He did say that he was hoping to get in front of Adam again, but this is still within the Moitessier spirit. Bernard often claimed he was not racing the other skippers, just the seasons, but he kept throwing things overboard to make JOSHUA go faster. I am sure that if fellow 1968 GGR contestant, Nigel Tetley, had appeared astern, surfing down the waves on his trimaran, VICTRESS, Moitessier would have piled on every stitch of canvas that JOSHUA could carry!
Josh sounded his usual, upbeat self. SKOOKUM’s skipper was the only one I spoke to who loved his visit to Thursday and Horn Islands! He spent two days aboard, and three on land, going ashore in the morning aboard the water taxi, then returning on the last service in the evening. He found the islands beautiful and the locals super friendly.
He was also delighted to find that the local supermarket had a good range of food on offer at prices that were similar to his hometown, Seattle. “They had a great selection, and just about anything I wanted, and a couple things I didn’t even know I wanted, so it all worked out really well. So yeah, I should be well stocked for the run to Mauritius.”
He did have a bit of work to do on SKOOKUM, as an involuntary gybe broke one of his spreaders while coming up to TI after passing Raine Island. Keri had the same issue aboard ORIGAMI (again!), but luckily Keri located a good welder who did an excellent repair for both skippers, and their spreaders are now much stronger than they have ever been.
Like many MGR skippers, Josh had some trepidation when closing with the Barrier Reefs from the Coral Sea, wondering what the sea-state would be like when approaching soundings, but it all turned out just fine. The wind was blowing about 20 knots, with 3m seas offshore, but as soon as SKOOKUM came into the lee of Great Detached Reef, the swell flattened out to around 1m. The reef serves as a huge, natural breakwater. He timed his arrival perfectly for slack water.
After a brief lull inside the reefs, combined with an adverse tide that slowed SKOOKUM down for a few hours, the wind returned at about 20-25 knots. SKOOKUM made the whole 120 miles in about 24 hours. With the current, they were making 7 knots over the ground, with two reefs in the mainsail and the jib poled out on the other side. All this with a broken spreader! Luckily, the cracked spreader was still attached to the mast by its pin, and the cap-shroud remained under tension.
His only other issue was a bent wind-angle indicator on the masthead. Like many of the skippers, he had been plagued by seabirds on this passage, and was pleased that he’d managed to shoo them off successfully, until the very end when one got the better of him while he was asleep and bent the starboard flag. He had planned to go up the mast at TI and fix it but conditions were too windy. Josh did not fancy SKOOKUM heeling to a sudden gust and dumping him into crocodile-infested water.
His plan on leaving TI is to stick pretty close to the rhumb line, maybe a little further north. He is looking forward to the long ocean miles ahead, the calms and the gales, and rounding the Cape of Good Hope eventually. Josh loves a challenge.
By the end of 19 August, all the MGR fleet will be once again at sea, heading for the high seas and high adventure. Besides Captain Coconut and his trusty Lello 34, COCONUT, who have been with them since the start, they now have a virtual escort, the spirit of John Guzzwell and TREKKA. It is impossible to sail these waters on a micro-yacht without thinking of him. But can they go faster over the long-haul? Watch this space!
