Wallabi Group.
Saturday - 31/08/2013
(Pigeon Island with
the fisherman's houses and jetties with the sun trying to show through. These
houses are only used during seasonal work, however, some fishermen are on the
island and go out daily)
(Full view of Pigeon
Island)
(Little Pigeon Island and Alcatraz Island just in front)
A very windy day and the waves are crashing out on the reef
we are lucky to be where we are. Had a relaxing day not doing very much. Glen
and Nigel off 'Banyandah' came over for sundowner's and stayed for dinner. No
sooner we had sat down for a nice beer we heard the sound of a large boat, I
had seen it coming in and was hoping that the mooring I had picked up was not
theirs but just had a feeling it might be, Well it was so we quickly got
organised and started the engines and instruments before releasing the mooring
and anchoring a little away from where we were. The boat was 'Island Leader II'
a charter fishing boat.
('Island Leader'
coming in to the anchorage)
(Waves breaking on the reef)
After anchoring we put the covers down and returned to the
more important stuff of having a beer followed by a number of red wines, Nancy
told the boys they were staying for dinner and she would not accept any
argument about it. So the night went on and we had a very good night.
(Chart showing anchorage, waypoint as per chart)
The following website gives information from the Department of
Fisheries in relation to what you can do at these islands.
http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/Documents/recreational_fishing/fhpa/abrolhos_islands_information_guide.pdf
This website gives information about Pigeon Island.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigeon_Island_(Houtman_Abrolhos)
Sunday - 01/09/2013
We thought we would head down to Rat Island today as the
high winds had ceased although the seas were still up around the 3 to 4 metres
and at sometimes 5 to 6 metres which are the usual run of three waves after six
or seven of the smaller ones, however, they were not bad as they were around 12
to 15 seconds apart which means you just go up and down waves a lot.
(Rough seas against the island as we were leaving the passage)
It was only a short distance of 16NMS but this makes
tomorrows sailing a little shorter when we head to Geraldton.
As we neared the Easter Island Group we headed towards Rat
Island, again this is another island that has houses and jetties for the
fishing season and is private property so we cannot go ashore here as like the
islands yesterday. 'Banyandah' was ahead of us and they checked out the
anchorage near Rat Island but was not happy about it so we headed for the
public moorings on the inside of White Bank to the north of Rat Island and
'Banyandah' followed, we both picked up the moorings although later 'Banyandah'
let theirs go and anchored because the mooring buoy kept knocking the hull.
As we approached White Bank which is a small white sandy
island with reefs all around it I noticed sea lions on the beach so I called
Nancy to get her camera. There are five or six on the beach and it was quite
funny that after we picked up the mooring they came around our side of the island
to see what we were up to then they started romping around and swimming.
(Sea Lions on White Bank)
We did not leave early this morning and arrived at lunch
time so after lunch I had to go to work as one of the heads water inlet was
blocked and after a couple of hours swearing I finally retrieved the piece of
seaweed that was the cause of the problem. These items are not easy to work on
because they are in small spaces and below in the bilges.
(Chart showing
anchorages and moorings near White Bank and Rat Island, White Bank is the small
island just to the north of Rat Island)
The moorings at this place is in very calm waters although
you can see the waves crashing on the reef not that far away, around White Bank
there are four moorings two on the inside waterway and two on the outside.
There are more moorings around Easter Islands placed in strategic protection
areas.
We had a quiet night as we will be leaving at first light
for Geraldton as the winds and seas abate a little tomorrow. The swell will be
up still but there are no wind waves.
(Pleasant sunset near White Bank)
Monday - 02/09/2013
Easter Islands to Geraldton
We slipped the mooring at first light and motored out
through the Easter Islands via the Rolland Passage the water in the islands
were flat calm and I noticed quite a few moorings for public use through the
passage. The islands are very attractive but to go ashore you need written
permission from the Fisheries Department in Geraldton and then you are not
permitted to go near jetties or dwellings as they are private property.
(Two crosses on the
end of Campbell Island)
We noticed a few graves on the islands as we went by these
islands having quite a history and makes for some interesting reading, the main
topic being that of 'Batavia' that ran aground and what happened to the passengers
and crew, and later the 'Zeewijk' which was the last Dutch ship to sail near
the west coast as the Dutch has lost many ships of this coast. The following
websites tell the stories of both ships a must read.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batavia_(ship)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houtman_Abrolhos#Wreck_of_the_Zeewijk
As we left the East Passage moving away from Easter Islands
the swell rolled in but not heavy as the islands tend to protect the waters
between here and the mainland.
We were able to sail at a close reach to start with but
later as we progressed the wind died and we had to motor sail, the swell was
basically behind us a little to the starboard side, height of around 4 metres
but around 14 seconds apart so it was not giving us much of a problem.
(These whales surfaced
off the starboard beam they continued to play and totally ignored our presence)
As we neared Geraldton I noticed that there were fish traps
set and quite a number of them about 4 NMS off the coast. The fish traps have a
set of three small round floats two white one orange or green these can cause a
problem when night sailing they can be a problem if you pick one up on a
propeller.
(The large swell
crashing in the shallows near Geraldton Harbour)
(In the channel it was
a lot calmer but not without swell, it was the first time I had seen markers
like this one actually pivoting and rolling with the waves)
As we neared the leads into Geraldton we could see the waves
breaking on the reef each side of the channel, the waves were huge and rolling
in. As we entered the channel to the harbour the waves just rolled, 'Banyandah'
was about 200 metres in front of us and they would almost completely
disappear behind a rolling wave ahead of
us. When we turned starboard to follow the channel into the harbour the rolling
waves were on the beam which made us roll a lot but the waves had been reduced
in height by them breaking on the reef. We exited the channel just before the
main harbour and steered to the anchorage near the sailing club and boat ramp.
This anchorage is well protected from the swell as it has the harbour walls and
a breakwater. The only time we had a bit of wave action was when the wind came
around to the northern sector.
There are two entry channels to the harbour, there is the
northern channel , not advisable to use this one in such conditions, if in
doubt call the duty pilot he is very helpful, we phoned him from the islands
and he even suggested that Monday would be the better day to go in.
(Chart showing the
track in the southern channel)
(Chart showing
anchorage, a marina berth can be organised through the port authority if there
is one available)
The following website is Geraldton Port Authority, if you
copy and paste this address then click on the weather tab it will give you the
report for Geraldton including wave heights etc.
The anchorage area is not that large and is around 3 metres
in depth it is good holding in sandy mud.
Cheers
No comments:
Post a Comment