Sleeping with
Whales- Island Head Creek
WE arrived
after sailing for 14 and half hours, 110 nautical miles on our 38th
Wedding Anniversary. This was necessary action plan for safety, in anticipation
of the forecast of 30 knot winds and large sea swells. It was a dead calm out to sea, no swell,
glass seas and no wind……………..the calm before a storm.
Whilst it was a long day it was not
arduous and the sightings of dolphins and whales kept me occupied whilst Capt
Teza read a book. As we entered island head creek in calm conditions we took
advantage of anchoring on the first beach upon entering the headland.
To call this
large body of water a creek is not a good description. Beautiful blue water, sandy beaches and
sheltered inlets make this body of water one of the best safe anchorages along
the Queensland coast. It is under the control of the defense forces and is uninhabited by humans.
Upon anchoring we
were greeted by 3 turtles paddling around and checking us out. We were ever so
tired, a quick sundowner cocktail and early dinner.
At about 7 pm I could hear the familiar sound
of a long “Pish” of a whales breathing
hole. In the darkness just 50 meters from the boat was the silhouette
of three whales backs gentle rising up and down. They weren’t moving so our guess was they
were having a rest before embarking further on migration path southwards.
We went to sleep with the whales.
The gentle sound as they blew out of the breathing holes was constant
until about 3 pm when the tide changed and they made there way out to sea. I Was a little nervous about being so close
to these giants who are known to sleep against boats or rub against anchor
chains but so exhausted after our days passage it was quiet soothing as I lay
my head down I put my hands on the hull and felt the vibration of these
magnificent animals of the sea. WOW
Not sure what the vibrations were, could have been whale calls or movement of these creatures of the sea that can weigh up to 40 tons.
In a state of gratefulness.
Even on the hard
days at sea I am next to the man I have loved for 41 years and tonight I am
also "sleeping with whales".
The next day we
went exploring the beach combing for shells and as we do collecting any
rubbish. Other than one lonely
basketball, Yes, “Wilson”, that we
disposed of, there was little rubbish on this well known collection sand spit.
A few shells and 4 kilometers of walking the isolated beautiful beach we had an enjoyable lunch and made a move as the winds had now reached
25 knots and building. Being on the leeward side on an exposed beach was not
going to give us a comfortable night.
We headed to a
tributary which is tricky because of the shoals. Tidal Changes in this area can be more than expected.
Latter at night, despite our best
calculations in tidal depths we hit bottom at 1 pm on a dropping tide. I awoke
to being squashed against the starboard hull by the Capt sleeping on top of me.
This is not the first time we have been
keeled over on our hull with viewing portholes just under the deck looking into
water whilst at anchor . Certainly, we have blue water viewing through these
port holes when sailing. But on this
occasion all rationale thinking that we would pop back up again did nothing to
calm my nerves. The howling wind, light
showers and the water chop banging against the hull resulted in me having what
I can only describe as an anxiety attack. In fact so nervous was I as I leaned
on the cabin lounge at a 45% angle waiting for the tide to pop us back up again
that I became ill with a raging headache and nausea. It did indeed, as the Capt said from his slumber ” it will
pop back up again” at 4.30 am.
The next day I
was so sick with a headache that I slept for 15 hours and started questioning
if I had the mental stamina to do the whole sailing experience. We work well as a team on board Sens de la
Vie, she is built strong and has weathered some difficult situations. We have experience some exhaustive, adrenaline fueled days but they our outweighed
by the extraordinary experiences we have cruising the coast.
Diligence in checking conditions of sea and
weather, the engine and all the running
equipment to ensure we don’t get into trouble
and we are safe, is exhaustive and if we overthink the “what
ifs”, we would never leave the dock.
The “anxiety
attack”, which I am pretty sure that was what I experienced which is more than
just nervousness left me feeling very flat and reflective.
Maybe, I do not
have the mental stamina and fortitude
for an adventurous sea journey. That probably a more sensible alternative to
travelling the coast line at our ages with my physical shortcomings is to do
the whole Camper travelling thing.
4wd camper
trailer is planned when we sell our yacht and although we decided to do the
sailing adventure whilst we could, certainly, after this episode of me having
such anguish when we were not in any real danger, just very uncomfortable left me questioning my capabilities and gave
cause to be reflective.
My love of the
sea does sometimes override all sense and sensibility. I have swam, snorkeled and dived with sharks, turtles, rays, large fish in a mass spiraling shoal, moray eels and had venomous
curious sea snakes tapping on my googles all the while in a mental state of
excitement and awe of sea life.
I do take precautions and I am not
reckless.
Whilst, I recognize and appreciate that this is not for everyone to
undertake a vessel to sea, in my experience the
good days which are many that I have had on various sailing vessels
cruising the pacific islands and the coast of Queensland, certainly , outweigh
the bad days which are few.
Both Capt Teza
and I in our lives have not been risk adverse and will have a go at most
things, making opportunities to challenge ourselves.
Sometimes we have not achieved the expectations we hoped for in our endeavors but all experiences both rewarding and challenging, the good
and the bad, have enriched our lives and shaped us both
individually.
Tomorrow as
they say is another day and in my opinion, or to justify my anxiety attack episode, if
you don’t experience the not so great days how do you recognize, be grateful
and appreciate the truly great days in your life.
Life upon the
sea is not always easy
But when you
have experiences of spectacular sunrises and sunsets, beautiful scenery, diving
into crystal clear waters of coral reefs, catching fish (well a few on this passage and a couple of sharks), walking remote and isolated beaches, walking through forests on uninhabited Islands, eating oysters that
you foraged from the rocks and the once in a life time experience of “sleeping
with whales”, it is truly magical.
I remain
forever grateful for all that I have experienced.
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