Shark Bay
Coral Bay to Denham
Tuesday May 11 - Wednesday 12 185nm, 34.5hrs
Tuesday we rose at 0530hrs and were on our way by 0615hrs. Delirious with the joys of rising before dawn, I heard this from the helm:
“Give us 5 knots Scotty.”
“She won’t go any faster captain.” (in a Scottish accent)
The morning breeze made for pleasant sailing, even by my standards. Deciding it was time to make a serious attempt at fishing, Colin set up a lure. When a fish hits the lure it is known as a ‘strike’, and this is how the day progressed…
1000hrs – Fish and lure lost due to a kinky wire trace - the weak spot snapped
1125hrs – Strike one. Fish gets off the hook
1215hrs – Strike two (and it’s a big one). Fish gets off the hook
1315hrs – Strike three. Fish gets off the hook. Three strikes you’re out!
I disappeared downstairs, consulted my downloaded page about catching Spanish Mackerel, and returned to the cockpit a fishing pro, advising Colin he needed a lure with chemically sharpened hooks (not the current rusty ones which I had already suggested may be inadequate), a heavy wire trace at least a metre long, and to keep the speed below seven knots (a given for FatBlueSky). And guess what? We’d landed two fish within an hour! I can assure you, the captain has me to thank for this. Never mind that he already had a shiny new lure and long heavy trace rigged up when I emerged from my research.
Although we could make many meals from the first fish - a 900mm Spanish Mackerel - I reminded Colin we would have visitors on board soon, and we don’t have a great track record when it comes to serving our guests fresh fish. Best to stock the freezer while we could.
Whilst cleaning the fish and the cockpit with the recently installed salt-water high-pressure hose it dawned on us that we could use the hose to cool ourselves down, rather than bucketing off on the duckboard as we'd done earlier in the day. It came in handy a couple of times for just that.
Between strikes there were other delights to behold, like a small school of flying fish. I’d only ever seen them in the singular, so to see many in flight was a rare and wonderful sight. The fish spend so much time above the water I’ve previously mistaken them for birds! Sometimes they even bounce off the water and keep going. A true marvel of nature.
It wasn’t just the flying fish out of the water either. There was a fish frenzy with large fish leaping a foot out of the water, presumably being chased by a much larger one.
I was also entranced by a few butterflies that fluttered around the boat, sometimes landing long enough to take a photo. I had never paid attention to how they fly, and was surprised to see they flap their wings for a while and then glide on the air currents. I rescued one from the front cabin where it was trapped from the previous night. After beating itself against a window that couldn’t be opened, it accepted my outstretched hand and I placed it at an open window. Not a usual occurrence having a butterfly on my hand. It felt very special.
We conserved water by using salt water to wash our hands and bodies, rinse the dishes, brush teeth, wash vegetables, and just by being super mindful when using the fresh water, as we should always be. We weren't in dire straits yet as we still had three quarters of one tank, and an unknown amount in the tank we were running off which has no guage.
Colin kept a lookout for the yachts racing up from Fremantle and spied the first one on AIS (automatic identification system) around 1600hrs. We knew our friends Deb and Geoff, on Tilt, were in the race/rally, and we had last spoken to them while they were stopped briefly in Denham. We had been planning to rendezvous around the North-west Cape after the race, and thought maybe we would see them in Denham instead. However, it was not to be. They were moving north while we were tracking south, just ships passing in the night...literally. Calculations had us port to port around 2230hrs, so we kept a look out and Deb and I waved our lit phones at one another in acknowledgement as we met on the same latitude for but a moment. Fair winds and safe travels, dear friends.
Click images to enlarge
“Give us 5 knots Scotty.”
“She won’t go any faster captain.” (in a Scottish accent)
The morning breeze made for pleasant sailing, even by my standards. Deciding it was time to make a serious attempt at fishing, Colin set up a lure. When a fish hits the lure it is known as a ‘strike’, and this is how the day progressed…
1000hrs – Fish and lure lost due to a kinky wire trace - the weak spot snapped
1125hrs – Strike one. Fish gets off the hook
1215hrs – Strike two (and it’s a big one). Fish gets off the hook
1315hrs – Strike three. Fish gets off the hook. Three strikes you’re out!
I disappeared downstairs, consulted my downloaded page about catching Spanish Mackerel, and returned to the cockpit a fishing pro, advising Colin he needed a lure with chemically sharpened hooks (not the current rusty ones which I had already suggested may be inadequate), a heavy wire trace at least a metre long, and to keep the speed below seven knots (a given for FatBlueSky). And guess what? We’d landed two fish within an hour! I can assure you, the captain has me to thank for this. Never mind that he already had a shiny new lure and long heavy trace rigged up when I emerged from my research.
Although we could make many meals from the first fish - a 900mm Spanish Mackerel - I reminded Colin we would have visitors on board soon, and we don’t have a great track record when it comes to serving our guests fresh fish. Best to stock the freezer while we could.
Whilst cleaning the fish and the cockpit with the recently installed salt-water high-pressure hose it dawned on us that we could use the hose to cool ourselves down, rather than bucketing off on the duckboard as we'd done earlier in the day. It came in handy a couple of times for just that.
Between strikes there were other delights to behold, like a small school of flying fish. I’d only ever seen them in the singular, so to see many in flight was a rare and wonderful sight. The fish spend so much time above the water I’ve previously mistaken them for birds! Sometimes they even bounce off the water and keep going. A true marvel of nature.
It wasn’t just the flying fish out of the water either. There was a fish frenzy with large fish leaping a foot out of the water, presumably being chased by a much larger one.
I was also entranced by a few butterflies that fluttered around the boat, sometimes landing long enough to take a photo. I had never paid attention to how they fly, and was surprised to see they flap their wings for a while and then glide on the air currents. I rescued one from the front cabin where it was trapped from the previous night. After beating itself against a window that couldn’t be opened, it accepted my outstretched hand and I placed it at an open window. Not a usual occurrence having a butterfly on my hand. It felt very special.
We conserved water by using salt water to wash our hands and bodies, rinse the dishes, brush teeth, wash vegetables, and just by being super mindful when using the fresh water, as we should always be. We weren't in dire straits yet as we still had three quarters of one tank, and an unknown amount in the tank we were running off which has no guage.
Colin kept a lookout for the yachts racing up from Fremantle and spied the first one on AIS (automatic identification system) around 1600hrs. We knew our friends Deb and Geoff, on Tilt, were in the race/rally, and we had last spoken to them while they were stopped briefly in Denham. We had been planning to rendezvous around the North-west Cape after the race, and thought maybe we would see them in Denham instead. However, it was not to be. They were moving north while we were tracking south, just ships passing in the night...literally. Calculations had us port to port around 2230hrs, so we kept a look out and Deb and I waved our lit phones at one another in acknowledgement as we met on the same latitude for but a moment. Fair winds and safe travels, dear friends.
Click images to enlarge
Denham
Wednesday May 12 - Monday 17
Wednesday Colin phoned Glen, his new best friend, as we arrived in Denham around 1645hrs. He said we could use a mooring named ‘Sandman’ on the other side of the channel, but the approach was too shallow as we looked for it, so we hooked up on the 'Whale Song' mooring for the night, intending to check out ‘Sandman’ the next day.
I really sleep soundly after these long passages, and dozed through my morning cup of tea, kindly brought to me by the captain, was stone cold.
Thursday Colin’s first mission for the day was to try and identify the problem with the water-maker. He removed the high-pressure water pump, took the valve tops off which all looked fine, and discussed this with a specialist in Queensland who suggested it would have to be something like an airlock stopping the pump from getting enough water. To work Colin went, and low and behold, he discovered the salt-water inlet hose had been kinked by some diesel jerrycans stored in the same locker. They'd been there the entire trip, but must have shifted when we shoved them back in the locker after refilling in Denham.
This was Colin’s message to the specialist, Dave, from Stella Systems.
“Found the problem! HP pump feed hose kinked by storing diesel jerry cans down next to it. Put an elbow bend and reran hose. Making 3litres per min. As we speak.
Don’t I feel like a complete idiot! Sailed 185 miles to get close to water before attempting to fix as you suggested first! Oh well.”
This was Dave’s kind reply…
“Good result! You’re no different to me mate!”
We’d come 185nm over 34.5 hours to do a fix that could have been done in Coral Bay. “Colin”, I said. “I’m going to have to kill you. And I’ve been reading a novel about a serial killer so I have a fair idea how to do it…slowly and painfully.”
Then this song popped into my head…
I really sleep soundly after these long passages, and dozed through my morning cup of tea, kindly brought to me by the captain, was stone cold.
Thursday Colin’s first mission for the day was to try and identify the problem with the water-maker. He removed the high-pressure water pump, took the valve tops off which all looked fine, and discussed this with a specialist in Queensland who suggested it would have to be something like an airlock stopping the pump from getting enough water. To work Colin went, and low and behold, he discovered the salt-water inlet hose had been kinked by some diesel jerrycans stored in the same locker. They'd been there the entire trip, but must have shifted when we shoved them back in the locker after refilling in Denham.
This was Colin’s message to the specialist, Dave, from Stella Systems.
“Found the problem! HP pump feed hose kinked by storing diesel jerry cans down next to it. Put an elbow bend and reran hose. Making 3litres per min. As we speak.
Don’t I feel like a complete idiot! Sailed 185 miles to get close to water before attempting to fix as you suggested first! Oh well.”
This was Dave’s kind reply…
“Good result! You’re no different to me mate!”
We’d come 185nm over 34.5 hours to do a fix that could have been done in Coral Bay. “Colin”, I said. “I’m going to have to kill you. And I’ve been reading a novel about a serial killer so I have a fair idea how to do it…slowly and painfully.”
Then this song popped into my head…
|
Pshycotic beats, Pati Amor - Killer Shangri-lah |
There were silver linings however, and who better to point these out to the disgruntled first mate than the somewhat sheepish captain? “The weather was going to be awful up there for the next few days”, and “We caught two fish on the way here”, and " We can finish watching Wakefield (our iView drama)" and “We’ll have another chance to catch squid and swim with the dugong in Denham.” And all this was true. We saw the resident dugong Thursday night and dined on delicious Spanish Mackerel after an incredible sunset. One has to appreciate the good things, and they weren’t just good, they were fantastic!
However, it is hard to get a song out of your head once it's in there, as those of us who suffer with ear-worms will understand.
Click images to enlarge
However, it is hard to get a song out of your head once it's in there, as those of us who suffer with ear-worms will understand.
Click images to enlarge
Friday morning we knocked off the chores first, meeting Glen with another bottle of scotch in payment for the mooring. I commented how I loved that the drivers gave way to the galahs on the road, and Glen delighted us with a story of a pet galah and its cute antics. He then told us about his little fluffy white dog that sleeps on the bed with him, and how it woke up whimpering the previous night, wanting to get under the covers as it was too cold with the air-con on. It reminded me of Mum and Dad with their dog that was never going to be allowed into the bedroom, but very quickly ended up sleeping on Dad's pillow!
My treat in Denham is coffee and cake at the local café, and whilst there we bumped into a lovely couple we’d met from Mad Fish, a catamaran anchored near us. We chatted about diving, cruising, and other such critical issues.
Fuelled up and cool we embarked upon a hot walk through the back streets to find the hardware store, where I found the perfect clothes wringer – a large mop bucket with a mangle. The captain, however, put his foot down (and not to try the wringer) and refused to have it on the boat. Hmff!
Later on I thought I’d get in the water ahead of the dugong, and took my camera with me. He didn’t appear, but I found an anemone with a lone fish. It was challenging for me to take a photo on breath hold, and it wasn’t until I saw the photo later that I realised there were tiny shrimp in the anemone as well.
Click images to enlarge
My treat in Denham is coffee and cake at the local café, and whilst there we bumped into a lovely couple we’d met from Mad Fish, a catamaran anchored near us. We chatted about diving, cruising, and other such critical issues.
Fuelled up and cool we embarked upon a hot walk through the back streets to find the hardware store, where I found the perfect clothes wringer – a large mop bucket with a mangle. The captain, however, put his foot down (and not to try the wringer) and refused to have it on the boat. Hmff!
Later on I thought I’d get in the water ahead of the dugong, and took my camera with me. He didn’t appear, but I found an anemone with a lone fish. It was challenging for me to take a photo on breath hold, and it wasn’t until I saw the photo later that I realised there were tiny shrimp in the anemone as well.
Click images to enlarge
Saturday. A morning of washing and an afternoon of squidding. Washing 3 - Squid 0.
Sunday. A morning of football and an afternoon of provisioning and gas bottle refill at the Caravan Park. Dockers 61 - Essendon 68.
Click images to enlarge
Sunday. A morning of football and an afternoon of provisioning and gas bottle refill at the Caravan Park. Dockers 61 - Essendon 68.
Click images to enlarge
Street Art - Denham
Broadhurst Bight
Monday May 17 - Tuesday 18 27nm, 6hrs
Refuelling was first up before leaving Denham, having used a bit of diesel on the trip down. There was a man on the jetty with a bag of squid, and I asked whether he’d caught them that morning. He had, but before first light. He gave me a few more tips before he headed home for a breakfast of squid. Looks like we’re just gonna have to bite the bullet and stay up past 9pm one night.
Mad Fish left the bay around the same time as us, but at a more leisurely pace. Though we had both planned to dive at Broadhurst Corals on our way to the anchorage further north, Colin and I had not done our homework or discussed a plan with Stuart and Naomi (from Mad Fish), and it wasn’t until we approached the site that we finally read about it. This is not the way to plan a dive, folks, and the description advised a drift dive with a reliable boat and a good lookout/boat skipper. Well, we had a reliable boat. Deciding we’d had enough drama without adding in a sea rescue, we carried on to the anchorage.
I had thought there was somewhere to dive near at Broadhurst Bight, but it turned out to be little more than a few small but beautiful coral bommies, which we only admired from the surface by dinghy. Meanwhile, Stuart and Naomi arrived and invited us aboard for drinks. Once again we chatted about highly important issues, such as who caught what whilst trolling (Naomi caught two Flatheads and Colin caught a School Mackerel), and once again I left with catamaran envy.
Click images to enlarge
Mad Fish left the bay around the same time as us, but at a more leisurely pace. Though we had both planned to dive at Broadhurst Corals on our way to the anchorage further north, Colin and I had not done our homework or discussed a plan with Stuart and Naomi (from Mad Fish), and it wasn’t until we approached the site that we finally read about it. This is not the way to plan a dive, folks, and the description advised a drift dive with a reliable boat and a good lookout/boat skipper. Well, we had a reliable boat. Deciding we’d had enough drama without adding in a sea rescue, we carried on to the anchorage.
I had thought there was somewhere to dive near at Broadhurst Bight, but it turned out to be little more than a few small but beautiful coral bommies, which we only admired from the surface by dinghy. Meanwhile, Stuart and Naomi arrived and invited us aboard for drinks. Once again we chatted about highly important issues, such as who caught what whilst trolling (Naomi caught two Flatheads and Colin caught a School Mackerel), and once again I left with catamaran envy.
Click images to enlarge
Herald Bight
Tuesday May 18 - Wednesday 19 15nm, 3hrs
Dolphins approached the boat as we pulled anchor, and rode the bow wave over to say goodbye to Stuart and Naomi, who were undecided whether they would stay or move on. The dolphins continued to ride the bow wave as we left the bay, a mother teaching her calf the joys of cruisers while we enjoyed the delights of cruising!
Making our way around Cape Peron to Herald Bight we were just about at our anchorage when stopped by Marine Safety. Two officers checked for life jackets, in-date flares, Colin’s Recreational Skippers Ticket (which he couldn’t find), fire extinguishers, and an in-date EPIRB. They were pleasant and friendly women just doing their job, but their timing couldn’t have been worse in terms of marine safety, as we ended up trying to anchor in gale force winds! Okay, not quite gale force, but still strong, and they became strong in the time it took to drop the anchor…the first time. After two attempts Colin thought it best to hover further out until the storm passed, but we gave it one more try and held fast third-time lucky. Colin kept an eye out until he was certain we weren’t dragging, then we ate lunch and rested.
Later we put the dinghy away and made water, and I washed my hair. I was just telling the Mad Fishers yesterday that I felt like things were crawling out of my hair onto the pillow, which meant I'd need to wash it in a few days, but since the motor had been on I took advantage and used the fresh water while it was still hot.
Click images to enlarge
Making our way around Cape Peron to Herald Bight we were just about at our anchorage when stopped by Marine Safety. Two officers checked for life jackets, in-date flares, Colin’s Recreational Skippers Ticket (which he couldn’t find), fire extinguishers, and an in-date EPIRB. They were pleasant and friendly women just doing their job, but their timing couldn’t have been worse in terms of marine safety, as we ended up trying to anchor in gale force winds! Okay, not quite gale force, but still strong, and they became strong in the time it took to drop the anchor…the first time. After two attempts Colin thought it best to hover further out until the storm passed, but we gave it one more try and held fast third-time lucky. Colin kept an eye out until he was certain we weren’t dragging, then we ate lunch and rested.
Later we put the dinghy away and made water, and I washed my hair. I was just telling the Mad Fishers yesterday that I felt like things were crawling out of my hair onto the pillow, which meant I'd need to wash it in a few days, but since the motor had been on I took advantage and used the fresh water while it was still hot.
Click images to enlarge