Dropping Anchor in Gove, Northern Territory

Back in April 2024, we sailed from Darwin at the “Top End” of Australia to the mining town of Gove, with headwinds most of the time. We managed by sheltering along the way within bays, behind capes and taking benefit of the changes of wind direction.

However, we realised the next leg would be more difficult to handle. It would mean crossing the Gulf of Carpentaria, tacking all the time without shelter, for several days in a row, then sailing north and round the Cape York, against the trade winds all along. We would then be faced with sailing down the Queensland coast, with full exposure and little shelter.

So, we made the decision to put an end to our current trip, proceed with the necessary repairs as much as possible, then go back to Europe and come back at the right season.

Anchoring in Gove, Northern Territory

When you drop your anchor in Gove, it is a very protected bay. However, there is only the Boat Club, plus a small camping ground run by the Club, and that’s it! We went to the Gove Boat Club, which was fully open at this time.   Most of the boats there are leisure fishing boats, only a handful are sailing yachts. We were directed immediately to another yachtie, Rick, who sails a catamaran with his wife Sally and friend Dave. It was our lucky day.

The nearest town to Gove is Nhulunby, which is about 12 km away. Plenty of huge trucks go back and forth to the bauxite conveyor entry, close by Gove.

There is no regular bus service. The road is dry red, the temperature so hot, the dust, the potholes…..this is not the place for a bike run to the town. To get us started Rick gave us the key to an old pickup which belonged to Dave – it was rusted but doing well and it was for free! So, we could go and do our many errands during our stay.

Then next step was to discuss about a safe mooring for several months as we did not want to leave Manuka on anchor for that length of time. Rick knew about a guy who owned a catamaran, who had set up his own mooring, then went off sailing to Indonesia for a long time. Rick called him and thankfully he agreed that we could could use his mooring and no payment was requested, no way!

Mining and Gove

Back to Gove. This is a small town with a short history. It was developed to host people working at the bauxite mine plus the aluminium plant. The latter was closed a few years ago, as a consequence the population dropped from 5000 to 3500 inhabitants today. In order to attract workers to this very inhospitable place, they built all of the services allowing families to settle down: proper housing; schools; hospital; sport facilities etc. It is the mine which provides most of the jobs.

There is only one supermarket, supplied by the barge from Gove once a week. You want mangos, there are papayas only, you’ll have papayas ‘til the next time, maybe. No butcher, no real bakery.

There is no chandlery for sure! When you need something, you have to find a workaround, some place where they might have something similar. Oil for servicing your sail drives? You go to the place they run maintenance for the big Caterpillar engines, they have that specific thick oil.

Welding stainless steel? Yes there is a small business, we had a chainplate in need, the job was done very professionally. The “Gove Tackle and Outdoor” shop keeps a few shackles and pulleys.

The unique general hardware store holds some marine plywood from time to time and there is a warehouse that has, among camping and gardening stuff, or house goods, some useful components for boat repair.

Unfortunately we were left to fend for ourselves in the middle of a job and had to to undertake the repair ourselves. At the bottom of the mast, we had to rebuild the walls between deck and hull and the shelves along where the windlass and the anchor davit are fixed. We had to buy plywood, fiberglass, epoxy, plus the necessary tools.

The staff in the stores were of great help, inquired about our needs, delivered the big stuff and assisted in every way. There was a strong support, beyond the trio (Rick, Sally and Dave) cited above.

Gove Boat Club – The first place to go:

Gove Boat Club. Tel. +61 (0) 8 8987 3077. Temporary membership available. Amenities and laundry at the adjacent camping ground, bar, dinner 4 to 5 days per week. Small pontoon for dinghy access and ramp for tinnies/dinghies. At the beach there are poles to steady your boat when beaching and water is also available.

There is a supermarket – Woolworths – in town with a liquor store just beside (you need to apply for a permit to have alcohol – which is a requirement everywhere in the Northern Territory).

Fuel

Diesel is available at the commercial wharf upon prior notice, with no minimum quantity anymore, or in town at the BP petrol station.  Petrol is only available at the BP, but you can get gas in town at the Woolworths supermarket.

Other places to go for boat supplies

• GIS (Gove Industrial Supplies) 11 John Flynn Drive (tel 08 7938 2200) Industrial area
• Gove Warehouse : Captain Cook Center 9 Arnhem Road (tel 08 8987 2400)
• Gove Tackle and Outdoors (beside Woolworths, Shop 7, Endeavour Square, (tel 08 8987 1748)
• Visit Larrnggay Mulka | Yirrkala Art Centre, 138 Tuffin Rd, Yirrkala NT 0880 )

While we were abroad, Rick had a regular look at Manuka, checking essentials, sending us news and details. As foreigners, we are supposed to report on the location of our boat every three months after entering the country, which we did by email.

Fridge repairs

After arriving in April, we found we needed some repairs to our fridge so we called Band Refrigeration. They came to the boat, had a look and said we needed to replace the evaporator. Arne found the Import Company for the brand and Band Refrigeration ordered the part for us, not even asking for any down payment. The part was awaiting us when we got back to Gove in November and the problem was fixed before we left. Very kind people, eager to help even if they are overloaded with work.

Cleaning the hull

Coming back in November, we undertook a good cleaning, as the dust is red (bauxite powder) and keeps everything reddish. Only oxalic acid cut through it.

Now, how to clean the hulls, as there are plenty of crocodiles around, plus the terribly poisonous jellyfishes (the Box ones and the Irukandji ones altogether!). Just go to the beach!

For monohulls there is a frame where you can tie your boat. For catamarans, at spring tide, just beach after the high tide, do your work in between tides and when the water rises again, you go back to your mooring. Water is available at the frame.

All in all, even if Gove is out of the regular path, it was a very positive and attractive experience. The people there are eager to help and without help we wouldn’t have made it.

Dominique Cabarroque and Arne Luehrs
SV Manuka

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Read Dominique’s previous reports for Noonsite:

• Australia, Darwin:  Report on Entry Procedures
• Indonesia, Lombok:  Returning to our Boat after an Eight Month Absence
• SE Asia: Updates from Borneo and Belitung
• Malaysia:  Competent Repair Services
• Thailand:  Anatomy of a Refit

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.

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