Trailerboat's Tropical tour: PNG to Cooktown

Nine days, 900 nautical miles and two-metre high waves are conditions which many would question David Howard's motivation for travelling from Papua New Guinea to Cooktown, Qld, in a 6.5m alloy plate boat.

While not the first person to complete this epic journey, it is probably the first time the trip has been completed in such a small vessel.

In December, Howard captained his Joshua 6.5m Deep Sea series alloy plate boat from Port Moresby to Cooktown with three of his mates.

After working in PNG for two years, Howard was relocated to Canberra and decided against shipping his beloved rig back to Australia, opting to drive it there himself.

Howard's custom-built Joshua boat was well equipped with a Raymarine E-Series chartplotter/radar/sounder/autopilot, and DSC VHF radio fitted prior to departure.

A liferaft, 400MHz GPS encoding EPIRB, satellite phone and networked laptop with Raymarine navigation software were also fitted.

Howard chose a Suzuki DF150 four-stroke outboard to power his boat with a Suzuki DF15 for backup power. The engine data from the DF150 was shown on the Raymarine E-Series display via a Suzuki SMIS interface.

Departing from Port Moresby on December 5 last year, Howard and his crew set out in perfect conditions on the initial 200nm leg to Baimuru, west of Port Moresby.

PIE RIVER
After a day spent unsuccessfully fishing the Pie River for the famous Papua New Guinea black bass, the crew set sail for Daru on the northern side of Torres Strait.

While the trip started off well, the crew soon found themselves battling difficult conditions in the exposed waters of the Gulf of Papua.

"On the third day we were contending with 15-knot southeasterlies and waves about 1.8 metres high," said Howard.

"Both the boat and engine performed faultlessly, which was a great relief," he said.

Subjected to more hammering from the southeasterlies, Howard made a fuel stop at Lockhart River on Cape York Peninsula and then anchored up in an idyllic position behind Lloyd Island just in time to catch a picture-perfect postcard sunset.

"The only thing that could have made that night even better would have been a nice cold beer - but we'd run out and there was none to be found in Lockhart River," said Howard.

It was a choppy ride again on Day Eight, seafaring out of Lloyd Bay and around Cape Direction, but once in the lee of the reef it was smooth sailing.

"We spent hours trolling with the 15hp auxiliary pushing us along at five knots. There were no signs of human life which was magic," said Howard.

PRINCESS CHARLOTTE BAY
It was all too good to be true, though. Once out of the shelter of the reef and crossing the entrance to Princess Charlotte Bay, the crew were given a belting by short two-metre stand-up waves blowing in from the northeast against an opposing tide.

"The last 15nm to the Flinders Island Group had to be negotiated at about nine knots," said Howard.

"The islands gave shelter from the wind, but there was no escaping the biting midgies," he said.

After an extremely rough crossing from Cape Melville to South Warden Reef, Howard and his crew were soon on the homestretch to Cooktown.

Swells reflecting off Cape Bedford gave the crew one last pounding before they finally pulled into Endeavour Wharf at Cooktown at 6pm - nine days and 900nm after leaving Port Moresby.

After the adventure, Howard opted to tow his boat from Cooktown to Brisbane before heading south to Canberra.

While the Joshua boat is definitely seaworthy and suitable for offshore trips, Howard said it was not what most would consider an ideal vessel for this trip.

"The boats that have done this trip have been larger vessels and sail boats," said Howard.

"The Joshua vessels are really sturdy boats and have a brilliant hull design, providing a perfect balance between ride and stability, even in choppy conditions.

SAFE SUZUKIS
"There were times when we relied on the Suzuki outboards to get us through the chop and to our destination.

"The displacement of the DF150 provides exceptional acceleration and velocity, but is still light and compact.

"The boat never felt cramped with four people living on board, although most nights at least two of us camped ashore," Howard said.

Back on terra firma, Howard said that while he loves getting out on the water, it will be a while before he undertakes another mammoth voyage.

"I'm happy sticking to Jervis Bay for now," said Howard.

To read more about David's journey, visit www.joshuaboats.com.au/pngtoaus.htm

Words: Prue Leng