Benoa Outbound Day 6

Hi everyone,
We are currently motoring at 5 knots towards Dampier at position 19 52.8S 116 46.4E. There is a very light northerly as we motor south.

A small thunderstorm we managed to miss

Last night we encountered a large thunderstorm which produced 25-30 knot winds for half an hour and gave the boat a very, very good wash. Previously it had been covered in salt but is now very fresh! A couple of other thunderstorms passed us by, and apparently there was a lot of rain in Dampier itself (still 100nm away at that time).

This morning we managed to sail for a few more hours until the wind went back around to the north and lightened off. We've been motoring all day and this afternoon we stowed the main entirely to avoid furhter working the joint which is coming apart on the boom. This afternoon we motored past a moored drilling ship and then a gas platform. I believe they feed into the North Rankin A rig which I visited several simes during its construction in the 80s. North Rankin A is further to the west - pity we didn't see it. Mid afternoon we returned "into soundings" - reading the water depth for the first time since last Thursday.

This evening we're continuing to motor south. We appear to be bringing better weather with us since the sky is gradually clearing and the stars are appearing after a day of overcast mid-level cloud. Customs is waiting for us and we have a "date" at 0800 tomorrow morning. Hopefully we won't be late!