Watery End for Shady Lady
Vanessa Marsh, Bundaberg NewsMail, 30th August 2011
After 81 years, Bundaberg-based yacht Shady Lady has met her final resting place in 600m of water 290 nautical miles north of Darwin.
After taking out third in the international race, skipper Mr Charles, along with his crew Catherine and Mark Clancy, set off back to Darwin. Read more>>>
Having a Wicked time in the Darwin-Ambon – one crew’s tale
Robyn Dix, MySailing.com.au, 01 Aug 2011
The Darwin to Ambon yacht Race & Rally had some very serious racing competitors this year, well, sort of! Some were more serious than others. I caught up with one of them, Dan Foley, to hear his story.
Skipper Dan Foley was awarded the Rally Trophy for outstanding achievement, sponsored by the Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race & Rally committee. The award is pictured here being presented by Chairperson Rick Setter. Read more>>>
Walk on the Wildside smashes own Darwin-Ambon record
Caroline Strainig, MySailing.com.au, 27 Jul 2011
Ambon in Indonesia is in full-on party mode as boats continue to finish in the annual Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race.
Yesterday spokesperson Robyn Dix said 11 of the 19 boats had finished, including Garth Curren’s Walk on the Wildside, which smashed her own monohull record set in 1997. Read more>>>
Darwin to Ambon Rally kicks off from Darwin
Sail-World Cruising, 26 Jul 2011
The annual Darwin to Ambon Yacht Rally has kicked off again to a great start last weekend and many of the yachts have already arrived in Ambon in Indonesia. Read more>>>
Darwin-Ambon record battle starts today
Caroline Strainig, MySailing.com.au, 23 Jul 2011
Nineteen yachts will line up to do battle in the famous Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race when the start gun goes at 11am this morning, including race monohull record holder Walk on the Wildside, back to defend her record against strong competition. Read more>>>
Fifty years on the high seas.
Mike Derry, Bundaberg Newsmail, 25th August 2010.
Navigator Peter Charles won line honours in the Darwin to Ambon International Yacht Race.
YACHTSMAN Peter Charles has had some exciting – sometimes too exciting – experiences at sea in his 50 years of sailing; so winning a race to Indonesia ranks as a pleasant change.
All systems go for the 2011 Darwin-Ambon
MySailing.com.au, 14 Mar 2011.
Thinking of sailing to SE Asia? Why not join the 2011 Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race and Rally?
“Last year’s start had spinnakers flying, sending yachts 634nm to the village of Amahusu, for an enormous welcome by the locals,” Robyn said.
School children receive books donated by Darwin-Ambon participants. Photo courtesy Reza Syaranamual.
Surfing from Darwin to Ambon
25 Aug 2009, Cruising Helmsman, May 2009
Caroline Strainig shares some memories and pictures of the 2008 Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race & Rally and reports on plans for this year’s event.
Oh what a feeling! Celebrating after crossing the finishing line: Mathieu, Marie-Eve, yours truly and Anthony (some of us had already changed out of wet-weather gear).
Darwin to Ambon
By Cherie McDonald, 105.7 ABC Darwin, 2010 1:46PM ACST, 6 August,
The Darwin to Ambon Yacht race is a dream race for many sailors. What is the reality like?
Flags and decorations adorned the streets of Ambon as our sister city joined in the festivities.
Racing the high seas to Ambon
By Cherie McDonald, 105.7 ABC Darwin, 6 August, 2010 12:18PM ACST.
It’s the Top End’s equivalent to the Sydney to Hobart, but with less chance of biting winds or maxi yachts. ABC Local was there to catch the end of the 2010 Darwin to Ambon yacht race and help out with the celebrations.
Sailing the Top End (NT)
By Fiona Harper, Travel. Boating. Lifestyle – An online travel magazine to inspire you, Feb 4, 2010.
Sailing into Darwin, which must surely be Australia’s most remote city, encompasses all the challenges, lowlights and highlights generated from the necessarily lengthy sea voyage. Cruising through some of the most isolated, sparsely populated coast in the country calls for an enthusiastic landfall celebration….
Australia’s War 1939 – 1945
The Fall of Ambon
The Japanese landed on the island of Ambon on 30 January 1942. After just four days of bitter fighting the under-equipped and poorly prepared Australian and Dutch forces on the island surrendered.
William White died before he knew he had been recommended for the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his skill and daring on operations in CELEBES-AMBON areas. His DFC was presented to his mother at Government House in Sydney on 13 January 1946. It is held at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
http://www.ww2australia.gov.au/japadvance/ambon.html
Australia Attacked
The Japanese first attacked the Australian mainland on 19 February 1942 when they launched a devastating air raid on Darwin in the Northern Territory.
In the first raid on Darwin the SS Neptunia, loaded with munitions, exploded and burned. In front is the patrol vessel HMAS Vigilant rescuing survivors, while to the right the corvette HMAS Katoomba sits in a floating dock in which it was undergoing repairs. In the right foreground is SS Zealandia, also loaded with munitions, which caught fire and sank.
http://www.ww2australia.gov.au/underattack/index.html
Planning underway for Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race
By Fiona Harper, Travel. Boating. Lifestyle. – An online travel magazine to inspire you, May 2, 2011.
Down at the Dinah Beach Yacht Club planning is well underway, both in Darwin as well as on the Indonesian island of Ambon, for the annual Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race and Rally. Departing Darwin Harbour on 23 July, the annual event is the only international yacht race held in northern Australia.
The Banda Islands – Cruising the Spice Islands after the Race.
Written by Sue Woods aboard Solita, Photos by Robyn Dix aboard Marrawudi, The Costal Passage, 48th Edition, page 19 & 20, May – June 2011.
The Banda Islands are a collective group of 6 small islands in the middle of the Banda Sea. They make a wonderful stopover on the way home from Ambon… safe harbour… excellent anchorage… history… unique atmosphere… bronze cannons lying in the streets… diving , snorkeling… spice plantations… cold Bintang… restaurants… guesthouses… friendly and welcoming locals… markets…