Tuesday - 01/10/2013
We left Fremantle late afternoon and headed over to Garden
Island, yes Garden Island WA, many people have heard of Garden Island Sydney as
the Naval dockyard well so is the one in WA. Going back many years I can
remember this Garden Island being on the drawing board, the big plan was to
building the naval dockyard here get it up and running and employ ex-service
personnel to do the ships maintenance because they were fed up with the strikes
and hold ups from the dockyard workers in Sydney. The intention was to close
the Sydney Garden Island down. In the end of the day I suppose politics played the game and therefore it
stayed, not sure if it was related though as Cockatoo Island was closed down as
the submarines are now over here.
The we anchored on the NE side of the island and had to have
a couple of goes at getting the anchor to set in the sea grass, I have worked
out that to set the anchor through the seagrass (our Rocna anchor), is to hold
the boat still until the anchor touches the bottom and only let the boat move
very slowly back on the anchor, if you pull the boat back too fast the anchor
will slide across the top of the seagrass
and will not set. Naturally it does help if you can see the ocean floor
and pick an area where the grass is not so heavy but anchoring in late
afternoon this is not always possible.
It does not always set the first time a couple of tries maybe required.
I believe there is an article in one of the Cruising
Helmsman magazines that have covered this in regard to using modern day anchors
and the fisherman's anchor in heavy grassed areas you can have trouble with
both.
I had the usual first night out on anchor waking and
checking all during the night, the wind had changed to the south which caused
some small fetch causing a different noise and movement of the hull which
always wakes me. As we had a couple of goes at setting the anchor in heavy
grassed seabed I wanted to make sure we were secure which we were. We always
set the anchor alarm to ensure if we do drag for some reason we are alerted
straight away. Well I think I have mentioned before if we go over our set limit
the GPS anchor drag alarm beeps Nancy wakes then she nudges me and tells me the
anchor drag alarm has gone off. I then check, most times it is because I have
set the alarm distance tight and the tide or wind has turned us 180 degrees and
the alarm is triggered, but if we are dragging its all hands on deck and we
re-anchor.
Wednesday - 02/10/2013
We set sail before light and headed out through North
Channel north of Garden Island, when we cleared the island we headed out to sea
to reasonable depths to 30 to 40 metre areas, in shallower depths you tend to
get waves breaking or raised as they move through the shallower contours. We
had good winds and sailed most of the day, we had to use the engine when mid
afternoon when we got the wind on the nose, this happens most afternoons I
think it is the usual sea breeze.
We contacted Glen on 'Banyandah' via VHF radio, they had
left the marina at 0600 hours this morning which meant at that time we were
around 10NMS ahead of them. They had changed their plan they decided they would
sail straight to East Point which meant they would be doing two over night
sails. We told them we would still be going to Bunbury for the night.
Just before going into Bunbury we contacted Glen to see how
they were going, they said they were down to 3 to 4 knots heading straight into
the wind, we said we would see them in Albany where we intended to hold up for
the bad weather forecasted.
As we entered Bunbury we contacted ACRM (Australian Coastal
Radio Monitoring), we had signed on with Sea Rescue in Fremantle and they had
passed on our ETA and details to Bunbury. A lady by the name Rae answered and
took our details.
(Anchored in Bunbury and a great sunset)
We anchored near the sailing club left of the moored yachts
and started to investigate where we could get fuel in the morning, the service
station was quite a distance and we wondered if it was possible to dinghy up
the waterway which is not that far from the service station. I suggested to
Nancy that she contact Rae and ask. Nancy called Rae and then contacted her by
phone, Rae said she would check it out with the boys and get back to us. Within
a few minutes she rang back and gave us a name and number for Gavin who is a Sea Rescue volunteer. Nancy
rang Gavin and he said meet me with your fuel containers on the beach near the
sailing club in an hour. This we did and Gavin drove us to the fuel station and
then gave us a tour of Bunbury, after he returned us to the beach I asked if we
could give him something for what he had done, his comment was, no nothing,
just do the same for someone else sometime. We have met some great people on
this trip.
Thursday - 03/10/2013
(Bunbury waterfront in morning light)
(Bunbury Yacht Club)
Our plan was not to rush this morning as we were only going
to Quindalup some 37NMS in distance, so we had a relaxing breakfast before
heading out. I had sent an email to friends in Busselton to let them know our
plans and that we would not be able to catch up, just as we left this morning
they contacted me on the phone and told me that East Point was not a
comfortable anchorage for the predicted weather, they had contacted a friend in
Sea Rescue down there and he said it was not a good anchorage. We contacted
'Banyandah' by phone and they were still north of Leeuwin doing the same speed, they asked if we had
seen the weather update that the wind down there was going to come in a little
earlier, we informed them about East Point they said if it is no good they
would continue to Albany but would check it out on the way.
(Bunbury from the sea as we head south, the tall white office building is one that Alan Bond built in his hay day)
(Whales near Cape Natraliste)
(Whale taking a dive)
So we checked the weather then decided to go straight
through to Albany, so we changed course and headed for Cape Naturaliste which
is about 38NMS. The wind was on the nose so I had to run iron sails as well as
the rags. As we neared the Cape the wind picked up which happens here each
afternoon this slowed us, to make matters worse the wind followed us as we
rounded the Cape and strengthened this brought us back to 3-4 knots.
(Sun has gone cold night at sea)
I checked the weather observations and found that half way
to Leeuwin and at Leeuwin the winds had changed to west winds so I hoped that
this would happen soon. After a few hours the wind changed to west then we were
off sailing at 7 to 9 knots. We rounded Cape Leeuwin during Nancy's watch at 0205
hours, this put the wind behind us Nancy had to furl the headsail as it was
shadowed by the mainsail. She had a bit of an experience as she rounded Leeuwin
there was a cargo ship drifting, hardly moving. This is what they tend to do
these days if they are earl to get to a port, these days they are not allowed
to anchor at a port until a given time and date so if they are a little early
they drift to save fuel.
The seas were very sloppy during the night and day.
Friday - 04/10/2013
The seas and wind continued to build and we had wind speeds
around 28 knots but we moved along quite
well, when we neared East Point we called 'Banyandah' to see if they had
anchored or moved on. They were at the anchorage and said it was very calm, we
still had 20NMS to go before reaching there. We arrived well before dark and
dropped the anchor and had a good night sleep. Considering the seas outside the
anchorage were around 3 - 4 metres plus and strong winds we had little to show
for it at the anchorage. Looking at the weather forecast and wind charts we had
decided to try and get to Albany prior to the storm and stronger winds hitting
this meant that we had to leave at 0300 hours to get to Albany before 1400
hours. Glen and Nigel thought the BOM weather was not accurate as Buoy-Weather
and said they would leave at 0500 hours so we said we would see them in Albany.
(Squalls out at sea and the birds just glide over the waves)
(Lumpy seas as we head into the Southern Ocean)
Saturday - 05/10/2013
By the time we weighed anchor we got underway by 0315 hours
we were making good speed to arrive in Albany prior to 1400 hours, however,
some 15NMS prior to the entrance to King George Sound we could see the stormy
weather chasing us. Nancy got on the net and checked the radar, the front was
moving fast and before long we had the initial storm with rain a heavier storm
was behind this first storm. As I approached Peak Head the second storm hit and
we had white out, we could not see Peak Head and Vancouver Rock which we needed
to go between so I veered off and aborted the approach until I could see each
land form.
We finally turned into the entrance and the winds had
strengthened, as we turned we headed into the wind and we furled the headsail,
the main had been reefed before we left, using both engines and the mainsail we
made good headway of around 7 knots, as we neared the leads into the harbour the
wind strengthened once again up to 37 knots. We were fortunate at one point
where the wind backed of just for a few seconds during that time I was able to
pull the mainsail down. Bare-poled we headed into the channel and it was slow
going having 30 - 33 knots of wind on the nose, the hardest we had was when we
got to the end of the channel into the Albany harbour the wind hit at 37 knots
and I almost lost steerage, I had to put both engines full ahead to make
headway.
I was told by friends that the anchorage near the town jetty
was good, admittedly the wind was less there but it was not a good anchorage
with W/SW winds, it is only for calm conditions so we headed over towards the
yacht club, on the charts the waters there look shallow so we rang Geoff a fellow
SICYC member and he told us just to watch the shallow patches but the anchorage
would be fine, he said the better anchorage is in Oyster Harbour which is back
where we came from north of King George
Sound. We said we would anchor here for the night and may move there tomorrow
and thanked him for his help.
The electronic charts were spot on as I steered between the
shallow areas and anchored in 2.6 metres of water. The anchorage was very
comfortable and there was less wind there. We contacted Banyandah and told them
of the conditions, they were 2 hours behind us and copped the main storm coming
passed Eclipse Island, the storm had come in 30 minutes early than I figured it
would but at least we were in the port when it hit. Banyandah anchored just
around from the old Whaling Station in Frenchman's Cove, this is a good
anchorage for these conditions but around 6NMS from town and the main harbour.
(Anchored near the sailing club at Albany as the sun is setting)
We had a comfortable night the wind settled down and the
waters were calm, we had a nice dinner after a couple of beers.
Sunday - 06/10/2013
It was a nice morning sun shining and calm conditions but is
was not going to last as strong winds were predicted late morning.
Whilst having breakfast I checked the internet for
information about the marinas here, there are three, one right in town which is
a new marina, one in Oyster Harbour, both of these are run by the Department of
Transport or Infrastructure, the third one is run by the sailing club.
When I did the Google search for Albany Marinas it came up
with a map showing two marinas marked (A) and (B), (A) being the spot where the
town marina is, it had a contact number showing it is open seven days a week
from 0700 to 1700 hours. At 0715 hours I called the number and asked if this
was the right place I was ringing regarding the marina, the fellow said no it
is not, but I may be able to help. My first question was about available fuel,
he said that there wasn't any fuel dock fuel can be delivered by truck if
arranged and asked how much I wanted. When I answered about 100 litres he said
I can run you to the fuel station for that. I then asked if he knew how much it
cost for the marina for our size boat, he said it's expensive around $60 to $70
per day, I said that's not too bad. He said look if you want to come in he
could meet me there at 0900 hours as he needs to be there for a sailing class
at 1000 hours. We thought it would be a good idea so we said we would go in and
I told him there is another yacht with us would there be room for him, he said
there would be. After all that we decided to introduce ourselves, the bloke was
Mark McRae who runs the Southern Ocean Sailing School.
(Heading into the marina, Albany township ahead spread on the two hills, Geoff tells the story of us and them on the two hills, he and Ingrid live on the right hill)
(Albany, last night with all the lights on it reminded me of St Georges in Grenada when we arrived in the early hours of dark, it gave the same picture of the two hills covered in lights)
(The wind farm, there are many of these along the coastline)
I contacted Glen on Banyandah and he said he would meet us
there. We went into the marina and Mark was there to take our lines, we had a
bit of a chat and he loaned me his key to get in and out of the gate, he said
the staff from the marina would probably call down and issue us keys and book
us in if not contact them tomorrow.
After we were settled we contacted Geoff and Ingrid the only
two SICYC members in this town, they said they would meet us for coffee at the
market near the marina at 1000 hours. Which we did and what a lovely couple
they are, we had met them once before at the Shag Islet weekend a couple of
years ago but only to say hello. They both have a great sense of humour, we had
a chat and went for a walk and Geoff said he would pick us up the next day and
take us on a tour.
.jpg)
(Ingrid, Nancy, Geoff and myself )
We returned on board to do a few chores, then it was
sundowner's which went for some considerable time. During our session the
manager of the marina called in, Noel came aboard and sat down for a chat, he
had come down to check the lights when he noticed two new boats had arrived. It
was good to talk to him, he asked us about the different marinas we had been to
and their charges. He has fought to bring the charges down here at this marina
but he has to deal with the head office in Perth. His main problem is that
there are a number of catamaran owners that would like to come in on a
permanent basis but if you take a two sided berth which is designed for
monohulls you have to pay double at a cost of $5.03 per metre boat length which
has been reduced greatly since last year, on the east coast being a catamaran
we pay between $60 and $70 per night which is usually 30% higher than a
monohull with the exception of Abel Point Marina at Airlie Beach that charge
$128 per night we don't go there these days. It was fortunate that we were on
the end of the dock therefore we only paid for one berth. The marina and its
facilities are very good in fact excellent, they do like most marinas have a
seagull problem that crap all over the pontoons but there is not much you can
do about that. The fact is probably if the charges were cheaper the marina
would be full and that in itself deters the gulls, they tend to hang around
where there are no boats. Noel was a very nice bloke and took on board our
comments, his wife must have been wondering where he was we kept him talking
for some time. Noel said he would have someone call in before we head off at
0900 hours on our tour to issue keys and book us in. Noel was a nice bloke and
pleasant to talk to.
Monday - 07/10/2013
We had a visit from a lovely young lady June from the
Department of Transport a very pleasant young lady very kind on the eyes too,
she was very helpful in organising keys and getting us booked in to the marina,
we called in the office to fill out the paperwork, the staff were very friendly
and helpful.
The bottom line is if you want to be in town and the
conditions are not calm the only real choice is the marina you can just about
walk to most places for shopping from there, fuel is a bit distant where you
would need some transport to cart containers. The marina amenities are good and
simple, through one door you enter two separate toilets, two separate showers
and a laundry that has one washing machine and one drier. The sailing club is
9kms from town and it is a good distance
from Oyster Harbour, I do believe that the marina is a little cheaper at these
two places.
Geoff picked the four of us up and we went touring via the
transport office to fill in the paperwork, then we headed out The Gap and the
Natural Bridge, then to the Whaling Station where we spent a good ninety
minutes half of that doing the tour. We then went to some of the tourist spots
and saw the ship 'Amity' then had lunch at The Earl of Spencer Inn, from there
we headed out to some of the lookouts and to Oyster Harbour, we then went to
Geoff and Ingrid's home for afternoon tea, Ingrid had been working. Ingrid
drove us back to the marina and then we met up with Mark McRae again and he
drove us to pick up our fuel and visit our favourite uncle, Dan Murphy to
purchase a few essentials. After returning on board Mark sat with us for
sundowner's and we picked his brain for the better anchorages along the coast.
(The Gap)
(The Natural Bridge)
(This ship is a whale chaser, now an exhibit at the Whaling Station, the whaling station stopped operations in 1978, not that long ago really and the station is still in good condition and left complete)
(One of the last Sperm Whales to be caught in 1978, it is the only whale with large teeth and can dive great depths to catch giant squid)
(A Blue whale the largest of the whale species)
As I mentioned before that Mark has the sailing school, he
loves sailing and likes to promote sailing so if you ever sail or drive into
Albany call in and say g'day. His website is below.
http://www.southernoceansailing.com.au/
Albany History
A Changing Community
For centuries the Menang Aboriginal
people occupied the area around Albany.
The Menang people lived in beehive type huts, and created
fish traps and hunted outwards according to the seasons. In the early days of
settlement, a history of mostly cooperative relations developed between the
European explorers, whalers and
traditional owners. Garrison troops and convicts weren't competing for
resources or territory, and this relatively peaceful coexistence continued
until 1831 when the settlement was handed over to the Swan River Colony. Local leader Mokare acted as interpreter and guide. He showed Major Lockyer walking
trails that had been used for generations. Many of these trails have become the
roads we now drive on.
As the town grew sheep and cattle decimated traditional food supplies. When flour
handouts stopped during the 1840's, the Menang responded by taking livestock.
Settlers retaliated , and from the late 1830's bloodshed occurred on both
sides.
Disease took a terrible toll on the indigenous community and
the young settlement . In 1860 a P&O Steamer brought scarlet fever to
Albany, devastating the Aboriginal population, especially those living close to
town.
By the late 1950's many of the Aboriginal people had been
moved to missions where they continued to live, excluded from the wider
community for much of the 20th century .
People of Aboriginal origin were forbidden to enter any public buildings and Albany
became a closed town to the original inhabitants.
Albany was the first non-Aboriginal
settlement in Western Australia
By 1833, twenty percent of the town's population was Indian,
over the years , people from many other nations also made Albany their home.
Before Fremantle Harbour opened in 1900, Albany was the state's main port. For
centuries Princess Royal Harbour has been the place for immigration and
thoroughfare.
For Edward John Eyre's Aboriginal friend Wylie, King George
Sound was a pace to return to. After being taken by ship to Adelaide, Wylie
helped Eyre survive the arduous overland trek to Western Australia: Wylie knew
to take water from certain leaves and broke the roots of gum trees so they
could suck them and quench their thirst .
......he brought in
kangaroos, opossums, ducks and swans. He also found yams and roots, and could
eat crabs twice as fast as Eyre.
Wylie's service was rewarded
with 'a weekly ration of flour and meat by the government and with £2
and a medal from the Agricultural Society
of Perth: Eyre was awarded the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographic
Society and in 1846 , was mad
Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand.
Albany and the ANZAC
It was from Albany that the fleet of ships left with all the
troops that went over to Gallipoli, it had the harbour space and it was out of
view from most.
Tuesday - 08/10/2013
Our plan is to sail at 0800 hours so we got up early to get
organised, went for showers and did some laundry, top the water tanks checked
engines and we were off by just after 0800 hours. Banyandah left first but as
we started to go out the marina they came back in at first I wondered if they
had a problem, but as I saw them heading toward the gate end I realised they
had forgotten to drop the key in the locked box. We are heading to Esperance
via anchorages.
Cheers.
No comments:
Post a Comment