Christmas Island to Exmouth

Christmas Island to Dampier
Sat 9th August-Sun 17th August

Left Christmas Island at 8am, just as another yacht comes in. It would have been good to meet them, but we decided it was better they have our mooring which was further from the lee shore. We were prepared for strong easterlies as that is what we always get, despite the forecast and went out with a second reef. OOPS! The wind is more than we estimated. Fancy that. A quick duck back into the bay and we put in a third reef and set off again. Much better! Pity about the 2.6 knot current against us #!!$#$#!*!&
At 10am, just as we are clearing the south end of Christmas Island, we get a call from Rod on Berri Millar. They have been heading back to Geraldton from CI for 2 days and are coming back, playing it safe. They are in a cat, and it has been a hard slog for them as the seas are big and it is blowing 35 knots. They have to motor sail and are afraid that they will run out of fuel, if they continue. We are glad they play it safe; they are a nice bunch of guys.
They suggested we should turn back also, due to the appalling weather. They are 90 nm from us, in the direction we are going. The final decision was to keep going as the seas were less than the trip from Cocos to CI, and we are used to the heavy winds. The boat was sailing well, and at this rate we would have a fast trip. Glad we did as we only took 8 days to get to Dampier. In fact it took less than five days to enter Australian Waters, west of the NW Cape. We tried to contact Berri Millar on the radio when we figured we would be in range, but ‘no go’. Once we were in mobile range near Dampier, we found out they made it safely back to CI, and flew home after putting the cat on a ship.
When we were out of Australian Waters, we saw the inevitable Indonesian Fishing Boat. Seen one, seen them all, but they do add interest to the day. At one stage we sailed through a wall of rubbish, mainly plastic bags, and 500 miles from the nearest land. Upon closer inspection, when removing plastic bags from our trailing lures, we found they had Asian writing on them. The wall was deep as you see down and as far towards the horizon as you could see. On our trip to Cocos we had a similar occurrence where 2 currents met. Freo is easier to sail this trip as we have and extra reef in the main and we are managing the leaks better. Much more comfortable. As we approach Barrow Island, we lose the trade winds; in fact we lose any wind and are forced to motor! Sacrilege!!! After motoring for 8 hours the wind comes in again and builds up to our usual heavy style (40 knots) which is with us until we anchor at Dampier.
Dampier
Back to Dampier after being away for nearly 2 months. A whole new set of boats in the harbour and we find it hard to find a place to anchor. While clearing customs, Austmaid sails in. Austmaid was one of the states great racing yachts and is being delivered to a new owner in QLD. The heavy winds forced them to head back to Dampier and stay there until they abated, which took awhile. Max, who used to sail on Battlestar was onboard so we now had someone familiar to talk to at the club.
After thinking it would be safe to leave Freo, we head off for a walk. We didn’t get far. We met up with Babs and Beth. Babs is off to Indonesia soon and Beth is heading down to Hillaries. As we were gossiping, Beths Husband, who was on the cat next to us, called on the phone to say we were dragging. OK. Better fix that fast and re-anchor. We were lucky as Freo just missed a boat on her merry way to freedom. Once we were safe, went to thank Mike and was introduced to their 2 boys, and shown over their lovely cat, ‘White Magic’. They also have a pen at Mandurah so we are hoping to see them there. Also met Andre from Misty Rose who also plans to head south with his family. Andre has been one of the Dampier clubs assets and it has been decided it was time to retire and do some cruising. He had been planning to head off for a while now, and every Wednesday there was a ‘going away party’ for them. He was very well liked!
Rod from ‘Berri Millar’ introduced us to his brother Shane, who lives in Dampier. Shane took me into Karratha and traipsed around everywhere trying to find a couple of parts for the boat. If it wasn’t for this help, we would still have leaking windows, or a dodgy outboard. He was fantastic and I also enjoyed his company. He was just like his brother. Pity he had a busy work schedule and we couldn’t spend time with him on our boat.
We were waiting for a part for the wind generator to come in the mail, so decided it was a good time to fix the leaky keel. The keel case packing had fallen out, and Steve intended to use some foam and silastic to replace it. Dampier port was a bit murky, so off to the islands to do this as well as have a look around. The sailing waters around the Dampier Islands are wonderful and vast. After a messy job on the keel, which was only a stop gap and no idea if it would work, we started exploring. On Enderby Island we found a lure in a sea eagles nest area. It is what we call a ’Nicole Kidman’ as it had a white body and red head. Stan had been told they were good, but had not been successful using one, but Steve thought it was worth a try. That night we had freshly caught mud crab as a mornay. Very tasty. We headed for Angel Island after Stan telling us that a part of Nyari, which was lost a few years back, is washed up on the beach. We have both sailed on Nyari, with Steve spending some time Ocean racing on her. She was a Mandurah boat and we had fond memories of her. After spending all day trying to find her, following Stan’s PRECISE##**^ directions, we came across her at sunset the next day. hh;l’’;ljgdfdfhfhghjklj On the way to Nyari we passed an Oil Platform parked in a channel amongst the islands, we are assuming it was in having an overhaul. That day, Steve also caught 8 Crays (yummy) and a fish. No more seafood drought!
The next anchorage was at Whalers Bay, and you guessed it, there used to be a whaling station there. Pretty basic though with a couple of BIG boiling pots set in rock! We met up with John and Chia there who sail a Trimaran called Nothing too Serious. They came on board and were so easy to talk to; they ended staying for a feed of crays for lunch. We were both heading back to Dampier that afternoon, The Tri for another of Andres going away party’s (it was Wednesday)and us to get the mail. That afternoon Steve was off over the side looking under the water, so I went in for some goggling as the day was warm enough. The honeycombed coral reef was brimming with large Coral Trout. It was a good day!
The part was in the mail on Thursday and it looked complicated to install, but as Steve is so clever, he managed it and by Friday afternoon we had wind power. Yeah!!! It’s off to the Montes tomorrow, Andre said he would join us there on Wednesday, if we were still there.
Leaving Dampier 30th August
Forecast was good, following winds, perfect. We head off at 10am and catch up to another yacht, Enigma in the channel. They are heading for Serrurier Island. We play chasies with them in the Mermaid Straights, with the wind playing games with us both and a yacht further ahead. Once we clear the straights, we realise the wind is on the nose, AGAIN! The weather bureau lied....Oh well; we are used to this, though not with such light winds. By the time we get to the Montes it is dark and we anchor in Main Bay, like we did before. After spending the night there, the wind finally comes in, a day late mate! No boats here....I think they have all headed south already. Most cruising boats want to be south of Geraldton by October to miss the big winds.
Maybe there are some boats in amongst the islands. We need to share some fish that Steve has caught. He has been banned from fishing till we eat what we have!
A look at the chart and we decide to try Stephenson’s passage. It is very tidal and the anchorage is rocky. The entrance is shallow and we have to go in just before high tide. Well we get there, it is heavy winds (of course!) and the tide is roaring in. We try 3 times to anchor without success and decide to head back to Main Bay. While anchoring in Main Bay, Steve yells out to me, look, ‘it looks like a whale beached over there. I look over and since I have not seen a whale yet, comment that it looks a bit small. Steve replies that maybe its a baby whale, look, there is another hovering in the water. So with due concern, we pack the camera to certify the situation so we can inform Fisheries on the facts. Surprise! Surprise! It was not a whale!!!!!????? It what a Turtle (female), in fact the other body was a male turtle wanting to play and we embarrassed them and they decided to play in deeper waters. As we went ooooh! Ahhhhh! Another turtle came to watch. Turtle city here! After that little drama we retired back to the boat for a good laugh.
Next day the wind had died down. Yeah!!! So we try again for Stephenson’s channel. It was soooo good, we went further into the maze and anchored at Brandy Bay. We knew we would be stuck there till tomorrow, but it looked like a nice spot. Off we go exploring. It is magic. There were birds, fish, rays and turtles everywhere. The water was clear and the scenery magnificent. We also did some exploring through the mangroves in Willy Nilly Lagoon. By the time we get back to Freo, there is a fisheries boat at the DEC camp in Brandy Bay. The guys there spent all afternoon going to and through between the boat and the camp. Their boat was high and dry by the time they had finished due to the spring low tide. Meanwhile Steve had gone to explore Willy Nilly at low tide. During this time, I had the pleasure of a visit from the water police; they just called to say hi. They had come on their big boat (50ft) Delphenous towing the fisheries boat from Dampier. Steve came back just before dark raving about how wonderful it was and dragged me along to show me. He was right. The low tide had concentrated all the marine life into a small area and it was so lovely to be there. When we got back to Freo, she was sitting in a puddle of water, just a bit bigger than she needed. Judged that well! It was lovely in Brandy Bay. We were content. The sun was warm, wind moderate, lots of places to go exploring and a good place for Steve to practice his throw netting tactics, but we had to go after a few days on the last spring high tide, high enough to get us out.
So off we go to Onslow, and gee did I make a big Boo Boo. I added up the legs for the course and misplaced 2 decimal points, about 50nm short. Ooops si daisy! And we did not find out until later. Just south of the Montes we spot some whales. They were playing and you could see their long fins flopping around in the water. On our journey we saw quite a few whales, in fact by nightfall; we were a bit worried about hitting a sleeping whale. The wind was against us so we made for a place where we could anchor, just SE of Barrow Island. It was not a good anchorage, but it would do until the wind changed. The winds did change, and we head off to Onslow again, anchoring there in the morning. One fishing boat and one power boat there, that’s all! I have heard it’s a nice little place, it must be as John and Chia live there. We find a typical out back town with the dry red soils, pub, service station, supermarket and tin homes. After a brief tour around the place, we were off again, headed for Serrurier Island. We had been there before and would anchor at night. On the way a whale surfaced right next to the boat, startling Steve, who first thought we must be close to a reef. The whale dodged the dinghy, then 2 trailing lures. Lucky!!
While on Serrurier Island, we found we had arrived for Turtle Mating Season. They were everywhere, lining the beach, either mating or waiting for nightfall so they could check out nesting sites. On the Northern part of the Island there were osprey with nests containing chicks and eggs as well as Terns with chicks running around the rocks. The baby Osprey would lie in their nest, not moving, their feathers camouflaging them making them seem like part of the nest. As you walked by, you could see their eyes following you. The Turtles were everywhere. They lined the shores and every now and then, you would see a Turtle head pop up, have a look around, then go below again. Some were lying on the beach at the waterline, resting. Many were in the ankle deep water, sleeping and waiting for night. And a few were mating, in a lovely slow motion dance. We spent 2 days there and it was lovely, but itchy feet and as soon as the wind was favourable, we are off to Exmouth.
It was wonderful. We had our first reach for the whole journey It lasted a WHOLE hour and during that hour we travelled 1/3 the distance to Exmouth. Then the wind died down and of course swung around to on the nose. Fancy that, it must think we like it that way? During the trip we saw many Humpback Whales with one nearly bumping the boat, veering off 1m away from Freo when he noticed us. An extra 8 hours found us in Exmouth anchoring in the dark. The winds were predicted to come from the shore, so we figured it would be a safe anchorage. There is a marina, but we had been told it was packed and we would have to raft up. By 10pm the wind had come in and it was NOT coming from the shore. The waves started crashing and the wind blew up to 35 knots. We tried moving to another site in the area, but still no good. Freo and the dinghy behind us were both bouncing and lurching all over the place. We looked at getting the dinghy on deck, but the act of getting the outboard on deck was too much of a hazard and just supporting the dinghy out of the water, next to Freo, risky that the jolting would shear the support to the dinghy. We set the anchor alarm and both of us feigned sleep. We felt like we were up all night, checking the anchor and dinghy, but I managed to sleep at 2am, Steve didn’t. When I woke early, the wind and waves had subsided. Steve said ‘Don’t go outside’ Well I am an optimist and so let’s look on the bright side, we didn’t lose the dinghy, just the OUTBOARD. Just as well Steve has the Hooker (the sort you go diving with) He dived in 12m of murky water for 2 hours. He could only see 2 feet in front of him, and all he saw were sea snakes who chased him, but didn’t bite him (thank goodness) Time to call it quits and get down to business. Organise fuel (as we are nearly out) and find another outboard. The fuel was easy with Kailis supplying diesel at the jetty for the same price as in town. The outboard we got for the same low price from the same supplier in Fremantle. We arranged to have it shipped to Carnarvon where we hope to be soon. The Harbourmaster at the DPI marina managed to find a pen to stay in overnight so I was very happy at the thought of a hot long shower to wash my hair, seeing Exmouth and washing down the boat. Exmouth is a pretty place and the people were friendly. It was a long walk into town but we got a lift both ways. In the pen next to us was a motor sailor. The owner is Ross Winzer, who I was acquainted with from when I was sailing the laser in 1996. Small world. His mate had given us the lift into town so when we arrived back to the boat, he already knew about the outboard! Next morning we are off, and on the way to Carnarvon.........