Carnarvon – Mindarie 469 miles
Wednesday 28th November
The wind had been pretty constant but it looked as though it would ease on Thursday before coming in with renewed strength on Friday & Saturday. We needed to take the opportunity to get as much distance south as possible in this weather window and the plan was to use the lee of Dirk Hartog Island to make our way down to Sheltered Bay, where we would anchor waiting for the wind to drop.
I paid our dues for the privilege of using Carnarvon as a refuge for 3 days and we left just before 10 on Wednesday morning at pretty much low water. It is a narrow and winding channel and it was interesting to see it in daylight as our entry in the dark had been a little confusing with the myriad of lights where the channel splits.
We had studied that morning’s marine forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology and would have to run with that as we were not anticipating getting any internet coverage at the southern end of Shark Bay and therefore wouldn’t receive any further updates.
The depth of water generally in Shark Bay is 10-12 metres and the colours were truly spectacular. Tim remarked that the water reminded him of the Bahamas. The scenery was gorgeous with sheltered sandy coves fringed by an azure sea and I wondered how it would look in 20 years with a few resorts and an airport. The beauty of the place is such that it should be shared by many people but preserved at the same time without all the infrastructure and convenience paraphernalia that the modern tourist demands.
We encountered 3 pods of whales and stopped each time but they did not want to show off for us and we left them to their glorious habitat. There were lots of dolphins and at one stage two broke the surface just in front of the port hull but these are such agile creatures they would have easily avoided any contact or collision.
The water was so clear that it was easy to pick out the reef on the western side of the southern passage. A fishing boat swung into view from the south west and appeared to be heading straight for the reef. We were in the safe water of the marked channel and he was heading towards us from the other side of the reef. He obviously couldn’t see what we could see. Maybe the light was different from his perspective and he was much lower down in the water. He was 400 metres away and we discussed whether we should alert him in some way to prevent his impending doom. In the event we did nothing and awaited the sickening crunch of metal being mangled on coral.
The fishing boat then did the impossible. He appeared to levitate over the reef. Whilst we saw hazardous coral, the local boat knew exactly what he was doing and we felt pretty foolish in our anxiety for him. The water was so clear that it disguised the depth to us.
We anchored up in Sheltered Bay at 14.30 in a stiff breeze to await the predicted wind drop the following morning. Had we been a little closer in to the shore, I would have gone for a swim as the water looked so inviting but the beach was 400 metres away and I figured this wasn’t called Shark Bay for nothing. There was a solitary camper van on the beach that looked as though it had been there for some days as the occupants had pitched a tent and there was laundry drying in the wind. We had seen a ranger’s hut a couple of miles to the east, but apart from that, there wasn’t another living soul in any direction as far as the eye could see. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
As I was too scared to share the water with the local marine inhabitants, I opted for a beer and a nap. I was awoken at 17.00 by Tim who had good news and bad news. He had managed to establish an internet connection so we now had an updated weather forecast. The bad news was that the weather window had now closed. The forecast had now changed to a fresh to strong southwesterly on Thursday with strong southwesterlies forecast for Friday and Saturday.
Sitting here at anchor for 3 days, beautiful though it was, didn’t seem an attractive prospect particularly as it looked as though conditions would deteriorate further on Sunday and Monday. And I certainly didn’t want to beat the retreat the 85 miles back to Carnarvon.
Tim wanted to leave immediately and I was happy to go along with that and then make a decision when we got out into open water when we were able to ascertain what the true sea state was. We upped anchor and came out gingerly around the headland. The sea was confused with an easterly wave train rebounding from the cliffs and mixing it up with the predominant southwesterly.
It certainly wasn’t comfortable but we agreed to run the boat at 12 knots through the night. Sleep was elusive due to the constant crashing and frequent slamming. I was laying on a cheap air mattress and was trampolined off it a dozen times.
I was alone on the bridge at 02-15 when there was an almighty bang on the port bridge wing. My first thought was that the wooden housing for the navigation light had come adrift but when I opened the door and checked, we still had a red running light. Tim and Dave both appeared in seconds asking what the hell had happened. All I could tell them was that something had hit the deck on the port bridge wing and been blown straight over the wall. Subsequent investigation revealed that a Cowley float, a lifesaving device strapped onto the roof of the bridge, had broken loose and taken it’s leave from us.
By 06-00 the seas had moderated somewhat but there was still a residual swell. We opened her up and Spirit was soon running at 21 knots towards Geraldton. By 08.30 we were picking our way through the cray pots that lie on the edge of the channel into Geraldton. We found the fuel wharf and took on the minimum safe level of bunkering to complete the passage and reviewed our options.
We had the latest marine forecast, which confirmed the previous evening’s - fresh to strong southwesterlies today, strengthening on Friday and Saturday. However the conditions that we were experiencing were more benign than the forecast. Tim was keen to press on and I enquired about the possibility of a berth at Jurien if we needed a port of refuge in the event that the wind came in as predicted. We were now close enough to Perth to be a bus ride away or someone could pick us up if we needed to leave the boat for 3 or 4 days. If this was to be the case, I wanted to leave the boat at Geraldton rather than Jurien.
We decided to take advantage of the better than expected sea conditions and left Geraldton at 09-30. We could be down at Mindarie that evening if the weather held. On this occasion the forecast was wrong and Spirit romped south at 22 knots. Dave rustled up one of his authentic Asian dishes for lunch and by 18.30 we were safely alongside the boardwalk in Mindarie. Spirit was secure in her new home and we celebrated the end of our passage with a couple of beers and a bloody good curry from the local takeaway.