Thursday on a Wednesday

While we had imagined that our last restful stop in an Aussie town, would be a blissfuly relaxing stepping stone to spring us across Torres Strait, our stay in Thursday Island has had a few too many moments of angst, panic and hard work to be quite the holiday we needed.

We had arranged to receive more equipment for repairs and some new cameras but freight delivery to TI is not even as dependable as cheap Chinese wristwatch that came from a gumball machine. After 3 blood-boiling days of hassling the post office, the freight contractor, the shipping company and the local postie we finally discovered our new cameras had, after all, been sitting for at least a day in some random corner of the freight depot. Yep, it is all about efficiency up here.

One of Lain's rudder cables had snapped not long before reaching the tip and a closer inspection revealed that the other one, and both of my cables (like my nerves) were almost worn through too. Some dodgy engineering later and we have newly replaced, and friction-proof rudder cables in place.

Like school kids wagging class we were called in to the police station to have a meeting with the head of search and rescue for the region. Convinced he would be rescuing us in an expensive helicopter within days of our departure, the officer relaxed a little only when he heard of Lain's SAR experience and of our thorough preparations.

We have scrambled around the small town for last minute supplies and have sought info on the tides and currents of the Strait from all and sundry. We've busily organised our official departure from Australia, and for an official to meet us for a stamp in the passport in a week or so in PNG.

Like the rest of our trip, we have been told we are crazy, bold, stupid, courageous and downright dangerous by different members of the TI community. We've met some great people and, yes, we found enough time for a few cheeky beers. The water is the most brilliant azure, the sunsets have been spectacular and the history of the area is as colourful as the tropical fruit being guzzled off the trees every evening by armies of bats and other rowdy creatures.

Now we are running the gauntlet through Torres Strait. With currents scheduled over the next week to be over 7 knots, or double our speed, in places (we're not quite sure where!), and with 20 knot headwinds we could be in for a rough ride. One paddle after another, one day at a time. We'll get there.

Picture: Lain checking if they still fire live rounds from the guns at Thursday Island.