We really wanted to go to Turtle Bay on the north end of
Dirk Hartog Island and climb up Cape Inscription to see where Dirk Hartog left
the pewter plate, but as there is no protection there from easterly winds we
were not prepared to wait all week to seek an opportunity as we really want to
get further north ASAP.
So, at first light we sailed out of Monkey Mia and headed
for Carnarvon in a stiff twenty-four knot beam reach. I was a bit lazy when I raised
the main while on anchor and didn’t bother to reef as I didn’t expect the
strong wind to last too long, but I didn’t account for the increased apparent
wind as our velocity made good increased.
I also argued with Putu about putting the tender on the
davits before we left which is a no brainer. So, half an hour out of Monkey Mia
in twenty-four knots of wind and very rough and sloppy conditions I had to
round up, and put a second reef in both the main and the genoa and then
struggle to get the tender up on the davits. Luckily no injuries were sustained.
Lesson learned, always stick by the golden rules, reef early
where convenient and only ever tow the tender in sheltered waters.
Once under way we were flying along at nine knots at a
reasonably comfortable ride and we covered a lot of ground early. There was a
lot of scallop boats working to the north of the Peron Peninsular where I would
have liked to have had a dive.
View from the toilet
This is how fast seven knots is
As predicted the wind strength gradually reduced and in the
last hour of the eight-hour passage to Carnarvon I had to roll up the genoa
and motor sail. We saw another three dugong and several turtles and by the time
we reached Carnarvon the sea had glassed out and the fly’s were back in force.
We called our friends in Carnarvon and they were nice enough
to come down to the commercial jetty and help us tie up for the night as we
were expecting a blow during the night.
The Carnar-Fin fishing competition was on this weekend and
the yacht club was very busy with the weigh-in, and we joined the festivities
with a few beers before dinner.
A nice size Carnarvon Mulloway
It was a lovely
sheltered spot where we were tied up and I took the opportunity to wash the boat down,
fill the water tanks and charge the batteries before dinner and a well-deserved
rest.
Track Sirocco’s progress
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