Prince Regent River and approaches, July 8 - 14
Hanover Bay Inlet, Hanover Bay, July 8 - 11 25nm, 3hr 45min sail
Hanover Bay Inlet, spectacular with its high walled gorge of red rock, clear calm waters, easy fishing, and single white sandy beach that can serve as a helipad. Monica and I even snuck in a quick swim in the turquoise waters while the boys did "croc watch". It was a sad farewell to Mon and Paul, our most bodacious and excellent crew of the last sixteen days, and a warm, wet (champagne) welcome to our new crew Fiona and LLoyd.
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Hanover Bay Inlet, spectacular with its high walled gorge of red rock, clear calm waters, easy fishing, and single white sandy beach that can serve as a helipad. Monica and I even snuck in a quick swim in the turquoise waters while the boys did "croc watch". It was a sad farewell to Mon and Paul, our most bodacious and excellent crew of the last sixteen days, and a warm, wet (champagne) welcome to our new crew Fiona and LLoyd.
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Saint George Basin, July 11 - 12 26nm, 4hr sail
We make our way through whirlpools and eddies and get 10.4kns on an incoming tide, a record for "The Esky". We’ve barely dropped anchor when we’re visited by the friendly folk from Fisheries. I obligingly show them the fish in the fridge, but decide discretion may be the better part of valour (cough) and neglect to mention the fish in the Engel. My mother always laments “My poor daughter. She doesn’t know how to lie!”, but withholding information, well that’s not really lying is it!? Besides, all fish in the Engel was legal, honest…
Purulba Creek (tributary of Prince Regent River), July 12 - 13 10nm, 3hr sail
It’s somewhat rainy and overcast so we hunker down in Purulba Creek for the night, half way to King Cascade, hoping for brighter weather tomorrow. It turns out to be a spectacular and interesting spot as we watch the water climb up and down the rock-face during an 8m tide, and the boat swing North to South in a narrow creek with, really, barely enough room to swing a boat! You can smell the mud at low tide, and we see our first croc! The reflections at slack tide are breathtaking and the Captain serenades us with bagpipe tunes that echo down the creek.
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King Cascade, Prince Regent River, July 13 10nm, 3hrs
King Cascade is heralded as one of the highlights of the Kimberley, made famous by the death of Ginger Meadows in 1987, who panicked and tried to swim to the dinghy at the approach of a crocodile. Though a rainy day and a cruise boat might not be what you would wish for at the falls, it turned out to be to our benefit as:
- we had a well worn "path" to follow up the Prince Regent River once the Reef Prince passed us
- we got guidance from the Reef Prince crew to navigate the entrance for the climb to the freshwater pool at the top of the falls, a favourite swimming hole
- the climb was too risky for the “blue tip” passengers of the Reef Prince so we had the pool to ourselves!
Saint George Basin, July 13 - 14 20nm, 3.5hrs
We get back from King Cascade a lot faster than we get there, since we can follow our track back out. We spend the night once again in Saint George Basin before heading South the next morning.
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