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| Capt Teza doing the "double act" at Careening Bay |
After making contact with Cool Change we departed Vansittart Bay and set sail to make uptime to rendezvous with Cool Change at Careening Bay. We spent little time at the anchorages of Port Nelson. Sea Leaf had taken a different passage to other islands around Admiralty Gulf and Montague sound.
We made passage to Krait Bay and the Coronation Islands. The tides are getting bigger and also the tidal current overflows. A tidal difference of up to 9 meters in this area makes you feel like your boat is sinking as the water shrinks below you. Careful attention to anchoring with the right amount of Chain laid out.
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| Water mark on Bay Rocks indicate to significant tidal depth changes |
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| Capt Teza catches Fish to replenish stores |
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| The job of processing fish |
Careening Bay
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| Its a long way to land your tender in these low tides |
How joyous it was to see Cool Change at anchor after our
brief catch up in the Berkley River.
Only really 10 days apart in departure timing from Darwin but how
quickly over the space of several weeks our distances from each other got
bigger. All us exploring the vast
waterways and many anchorages of the Kimberley Coast. We are now all together in the Central Region
of the Kimberley Coast. Matt and Lisa
were on shore and as soon as they saw us made way over boarding Sens de la Vie
just after we dropped anchor. Lots of hugs, laughter, and stories over a
cuppa. Sea Leaf arrived shortly after us
and we went to shore whilst they caught up with Brian and Sandra.
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| Low tide at Careening Bay |
Phillip Parker King was commissioned by the British
Government to survey the WA Coast; hence all the royalty place names and
British persons of note in the Admiralty and Science. In 1820 he careened HMS
Mermaid at what is now named Careening Bay and searched for water in this area.
The Boab is inscribed
We had a great evening with all the "Motley Tail End Kimberley Cruising Pod" together again Sea Leaf, Cool Change and Sens de la Vie. A special bond of friendship, shared experiences and like minded crew of Sandra and Brian and Lisa and Matt.
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| Sundowners on Sea Leaf |
Lisa and Matt are going to
explore the Prince Regent River which is a difficult passage to traverse. We choose not to explore with them as we did
not like the tidal information for this very tricky river that requires you to
cross sandbars and rock bars along the river and find holes before low tide exposes
and blocks your entry or exit. I was having an attack of rheumatoid and whilst
I manage this ok on a boat I am acutely aware that a difficult passage would
escalate the condition. Rest is all I
can do until my immune system stops attacking my body.
We parted ways again Sea leaf went to explore other islands in the area and we choose to go Hanover Bay.
We set sail the next day with good winds and sails set
beautifully. It was a big sail and just
as we were coming into our next destination our Headsail Furler became
jammed. We dropped the sail onto the
deck whilst underway and released it from the Furler attempting to fix the
jammed sheet rope on the spindle. Not
all afternoons are sunsets and cocktails.
Keeping the yacht to the wind so the Capt does not get blown off with
the sail into the water is challenging and nerve racking, but we managed to get
it down in the fading light and reached anchorage at Hanover Bay.
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| Capt Teza Releasing the Headsail onto the deck very challenging whilst underway |
We anchored at Hanover Bay for a couple of nights waiting for Cool Change to come out from Prince Regent River.
We anchored in the inlet near One Tree Island it was very pretty and a good anchorage in still waters with little wind to get our Furler sheets back onto furler and Headsail hoisted back up the stay.
The
tides were becoming much bigger in range as we move south to Talbot bay in the next week. This means more attention not to get stuck in inlets that have sandbars at the entrances. On the high tide the following day we moved to the mouth of the inlet for our 2nd
night at Hanover. Relaxing and doing some boat jobs.
When I say boat jobs, I mean normal daily living things that
most people do washing, meal prep, cleaning, taking time to write and sort out
photos, personal maintenance. Just a little different being on a boat some where very special and remote.
Like making a bed on a boat…………………this should be an Olympic
Sport! Then there is bilge yoga and I
can’t describe the bizarre effort it takes for your ablutions on a 45 degree
angle bobbing up and down.
I have become very inventive in daily living chores as the simplest
of tasks now involves rubber bands, tea towels, a harness that I am strapped
into and attached to the Kitchen bench (yes!! every man's dream). A balancing
act with a spoon in my mouth and cups wedged in a little wooden tray on a non-slip
mat ……………………….and that’s just to make a cup of tea whilst we are sailing.
Its all about "The Adventure”, travelling in remote wilderness,relying on ourselves to keep safe and healthy.
The challenge to our living arrangements and
being self-sufficient, on a constantly moving small space on the water just adds
another level of complexity to the adventure ………………. but that’s what adventures are all
about.
Amazing scenery, exploring new places, learning new things,
meeting wonderful people along the way, surprises, challenges, awe and
wonderment.
Getting out of our comfort zone, putting trust in our abilities and life experiences. Being disconnected a little from the outside world relying on your own resources. In an odd way we are reconnecting back to ourselves and our partnership.
There is a lot to explore but going to shore or up creeks
requires careful attention to the tides so you don’t get stuck up a creek with
a paddle, that may or may not, be useful to ward off the resident crocodiles.
Sea Leaf went exploring Augustus Island and Cool Change had
just come out of the Prince Regent River and were also making way to Augustus Islands which were nearby our anchorage.
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| Drone shot of Augustus Islands Matt Crook |
after three days we all came together again at Deception Bay. Shared
food and stories at sun-downers we spent 2 nights in the bay. Once again Lemon Sharks visited to keep us entertained. Capt Teza and I went exploring up a creek and small inlet and found a large stand of numerous Boab trees and magnificent Mangroves.
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| Lisa connecting to nature these Boab Trees are ancient |
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| Magnificent Mangroves |
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| Always on the Lookout for Crocodiles |
We discussed our next anchorage at Raft point and Sandra and Brian graciously offered to take us all out on a cruise on Sea leaf to the Montgomery Reef rather than taking 3 boats out. Lisa and I were very excited to have an offer of a day cruise with a shared lunch. Three Captains on Board, what could possibly go wrong?, us ladies having a relaxing day sounded perfect.
We all set sail the next morning to Raft Point.
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