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Living the Dream

Underway again Aug 14, 2009

Well, we have been doing some very slow travel for the last month or so; just pottering around the Dampier Archipelago since late June. Murray also had a trip to the big smoke for Tabitha and Tim’s wedding in July, and Dampier was a good spot to anchor up for the 5 days he was away.

We spent our time exploring the Archipelago, looking for new anchorages, walking the islands, scaling the highest peaks, trekking to the lighthouses, searching for Aboriginal art, fishing, and having campfires on the beach amongst the Sturt Desert Peas to cook the daily catch for dinner. The weather was mostly glorious with only a couple of weeks of howling easterlies. With both of us catching colds, compliments of shopping trips to Karratha, we appreciated being able to sit around and do nothing when we didn’t feel up to much.

We even engaged in some racing, taking part in the 34th Northwest Regatta in Dampier. Racing at Dampier is a nail biting affair with several legs being around the anchorage of Hampton Harbour which is cluttered with yachts, houseboats, moorings, barges, workboats, and anything else that pretends it can float, and even some things that don’t float. The reminder of the course takes in the tug channel, shipping channel, and if you’re brave, the restricted zone around the Parker Point iron ore loading facility. It certainly was a good excuse to get a very close up view of those massive ships and to take on just a bit more iron ore dust for good measure.

Racing in Division 1, “Salad Days” was poised for the perfect start in Race 1, however the race starter lost his clock 5 seconds before the designated start time just so that we had to do some hasty tacking and gybing and allow the local boat to maneuver into the perfect starting position! Not that “Intrigue” needed any assistance, as with his carbon-fibre sails and screecher set to perfection he was out of sight before we had even rounded the second mark. Some lively discussions were held between the skipper and crew (Bill from “Jezzabelle”, Tony from “Waitane II”, and myself), as to the correct channel markers to round. The skipper made his own decision, and the rest of us sorted it out over a glass of red or three. Turns out that the skipper was right and we weren’t disqualified! We crossed the finish line (a very small space between marker buoy, rock groin and dry land) in third place.

Winds for Race 2 were almost non-existent for part of the race, but we did manage to carry the gennaker for 2 legs, helping us to almost catch up to Henk on “Cash Float”. We counted about 56 wind changes during the race, and on the second last leg, were foiled in our attempts to sneak into second position by a procession of tugs and their subsequent wakes. We eventually crossed the line in third place again.

The crew decided to abandon Race 3 due to the fickle winds and observe the afternoon’s proceedings at anchor with the assistance of a few cleansing ales…..and we still came third!! Much to our delight, “Salad Days” was third overall on handicap in Division 1 for the Regatta.

So after our weekend of racing, we headed for the islands once again. There seems to be much officialdom lurking in the waters around Dampier and beyond. When anchored in Norbill Bay, Rosemary Island, we were checked out by the Police (from a distance), then the next day as we were preparing to haul up anchor and set sail for Whalers Bay on Malus Island, we were boarded by Fisheries. Although technically in the wrong with the fish we had on board, the Fisheries Officer was understanding and didn’t throw his weight and powers around. There are rules about filleting fish at sea and (among other things) any fillet must be a minimum of 300mm long, which is a hard rule to abide by when you only have a small portable fridge on board. Even though you may have a fish that is greater than the minimum legal size, if the fillets are shorter than 300mm, you are in breach of the rules! If you catch a very large fish and cut it up (which we often do), each piece is considered to be a fillet, and two fillets make a fish….so by cutting up a large fish you can be in breach of the bag limit, as well as the fillet size limit! And then to complicate things further, the boat is our home; and that’s where Fisheries get rather hazy about the rules! So we were let off, and “Salad Days” remains ours. If caught in breach of the rules, Fisheries do have the power to confiscate your boat.

One day in our absence from the boat, we were boarded by Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) in Hampton Harbour. Whilst in Norbill Bay, about an hour after a power boat had roared out of the bay, I discovered a dead baby dugong with cuts on her flanks and bleeding from her nose – another victim of a boat propeller. Being a popular beach we didn’t think it a good idea to leave her there to attract sharks, so we dragged her up above the high water mark and gave her a proper burial and funeral service, with the words “Daisy the Dugong RIP” inscribed in the sand. We reported this to the Fisheries Officers who boarded us (partly to keep in sweet with them), who then reported it to DEC, who then wanted to interview us about the incident – hence DEC boarding the boat in our absence to leave a note for us to contact them. They didn’t proceed to the burial site to carry out an autopsy as by the time they got access to a boat, they thought it may have been a little too smelly for their delicate noses!

Then, the day before leaving the Archipelago bound for Port Hedland, we were boarded and our equipment checked by Marine Safety. All in order there. We saw them again in Port Hedland and Broome. In Broome they came screaming up to us as we were about to drop anchor, and as I opened my mouth to tell hem that now was not a convenient time for yet another safety inspection, we were told that we must get the permission of the Broome Port Authority before dropping the anchor – what next? In days past, ships would fly a flag when coming into port to indicate that fever was aboard, and no-one ventured near, so we thought that maybe we should make a swine flu flag (maybe a pig with cross bones?) and hoist that to prevent any further annoying visits from officialdom!

When Murray returned from Perth, it was full steam ahead getting ready for the trip to Port Hedland, Broome and then into the Kimberley. We took on extra fuel, and enough dry stores to get us through to Darwin, so the big girl is sitting well down in the water again. With several large high pressure systems passing over, our departure was delayed due to the howling easterlies. We said our farewells to the other cruisers in the harbour, and took off into the howling winds bound for Dolphin Island and Flying Foam Passage to await the right weather conditions to leave sheltered waters. After nearly a week of waiting, several low pressure systems started to sneak across the south of the state, enabling us to head for open waters once again.

The trip from Dampier to Broome can be hell in the wrong winds, but we have been forced to burn lots of fuel with the very light airs. Better than being flogged! We had a long day sailing to Depuch Island, then just pottered over to Ronsard Island to do some exploring. Ronsard Island is the site of a camp of some sort which was abandoned after a cyclone flattened it, with all the gear just left to rot. We fossicked around and found a lid for our wok, and a few other items which would have been handy, however we couldn’t fit them on the kayaks to get them back to the boat. From Ronsard we made a dash to Port Hedland leaving at midnight and arriving at around 10.30am. We needed to average 5 knots to arrive at Port Hedland with a favourable tide to get through the shipping channel, so had to use the outboard while the winds were light in the wee small hours of the morning. Just so that we didn’t think we were having an easy run, the outboard decided to play up. There was water in the fuel, so cleared all that but water wasn’t the problem at all – not enough air getting through, so all fixed now and she hasn’t missed a beat since. Always something to keep us on our toes.

Port Hedland is not the most pleasant anchorage – horrid in fact, but we wanted to stop there for a day to catch up with Daryl & Di, and Andi & Susie. The anchorage is over the spoil banks next to the shipping channel, and while the ships themselves are fairly quiet and leave very little wake, the tugs are an entirely different story. There is one particular tug that leaves a very savage wake – so bad it just about gives you brain damage during the night, and things that don’t move in the roughest of sea conditions are thrown around the galley with gay abandon! Then there is the iron ore dust, the mud when you haul up the anchor, the noise of the pile drivers constructing new wharves, and with large tides, the dinghy has to be carried miles up the beach when going ashore …..we were glad to leave!

With a favourable weather forecast for the trip from Port Hedland to Broome we decided to make the most of it by turning a 7 day sail into 5 days – hauling the anchor up in the wee small hours for several mornings and dropping it again after dark for just a few hours sleep. The winds were almost non-existent so much motoring was required. We even managed to fly the gennaker one day – quite amazing for that stretch of the coast when heading north. The water was thick with whales, keeping us on our toes and on a constant watch. They were very quiet with very little frolicking, although one day a large whale came for a close look at us, holding his head out of the water for quite some time before slamming it down on the surface – an act he repeated many times before turning south again. On the final day into Broome, with humidity again off the scale, we sailed into a fog – a spooky experience. I wouldn’t say it was a pea soup, more like a vegetable broth. When it finally lifted 3 hours later, there was Broome 3 miles in front of us.

So here we are in the holiday Mecca of the north – another difficult anchorage due to the tidal range and lack of dingy facilities, hence carrying the dingy together with fuel, water, groceries and washing for miles up and down the beach is quite a chore. However we are more fortunate than most – we can take “Salad Days” in close and let her sit on the bottom at low tide and walk the supplies out. Not only that, we have the privilege of friends here, giving us access to a much appreciated vehicle, and even a non-moving bed for the night! Have you ever tried filling up about 8 jerry cans of fuel and getting them the few miles back to the beach without a vehicle?? Taxis sure won’t oblige. Thanks heaps Terry & Christine!

You may recall from one of the earlier stories, our meeting the skippers of a 90 foot yacht as were about to leave Carnarvon. Well when we arrived in Dampier, there was “Giriz II” anchored in the harbour. Despite their hectic work schedule we were very privileged to spend an afternoon with Peter and Francis, hearing their tales of sailing the world to wherever their boss fancies a holiday, and receiving a guided tour around the grand lady. She certainly is an eye opener, weighing around 150 tonnes, carrying 15 tonnes of diesel, 5 tonnes of water, and just about everything that open and shuts. The saloon is bigger than the lounge room in our house, the switchboard is about as long as our boat is wide, and they even have a full sized bath on board! The bunks are very flash, with a winding mechanism so that their angle can be altered according to the tack you are on! Not all beer and skittles though; the maintenance programme is enormous and when things go wrong, they are big wrongs! In the weeks prior to us seeing them in Dampier, their anchor chains had broken twice, requiring divers to retrieve the anchor on both occasions, and the chains being replaced. Now those anchor chains are about 20mm thick, so you can imagine that giving way! We were shown the offending chain links – almost straightened. Peter was going to mount one and place it in the owner’s cabin for his next visit! And here in Broome “Giriz II” is anchored not far from us, so it’s good to catch up again and hear of their latest adventures. At this stage their next stop is Indonesia, so this may be the last time we see them.

We are all stocked up for a 6 week trip through the Kimberley and on to Darwin. This morning we have moved from Roebuck Bay around Cable Beach in preparation for a northerly departure tomorrow. The finger nails will get shorter from now on with the tides, currents, whirlpools and crocodiles to contend with. With “Snappy Toms” about, our days of jumping in the ocean for a bath are over; baths on deck from now on…. just as the weather hots up and the water has taken on that beautiful turquoise colour too! I have no idea what the internet coverage will be like from now on, so the next story could be a long time coming too.