We had such a good run overnight I had to actually slow the
boat down for the last hour or two so we could enter Cardabia Passage during
day light. As it gradually became light, we could see the huge swell crashing surf
up onto the outer reef and there was a large fishing boat (The Naturalise)
close by trawling in deep water.
Entry through the passage was uneventful and the next task
was to find the buoyed passage into Coral Bay. The last time I was here the channel
was marked with plastic milk bottles and now we have progressed to Lateral
Marks.
The entrance was nail biting shallow getting below two
meters for a little while before deepening up. This whole bay is full of coral
heads so I was sticking as close as I could to the Lateral Marks.
It was pretty strait forward and after about forty minutes
we were tying up to our allocated mooring in what would have to be the most
exposed area they could find to place it.
It was windy, cold and overcast and I lowered the tender to
go into town for a look around.
Coral Bay used to be lovely thirty years ago, but these days
its nothing but an over regulated sausage factory stuffing in as many back
packers and campers on government sanctioned whale shark and manta ray harassment
tours as possible, and the whole-time boasting research and conservation.
Last time I was here I launched my boat off the beach. These
days the whole of Coral Bay is off limits to all private vessels with only commercial
vessels having access.
A new boat launching facility has been built about three kilometres
out of town and that’s where we had to tie up our tender and walk the three kilometres
along the main road back into Coral Bay.
Well, not a lot has changed in town, it still has the same
old thirty-year-old sprinklers spraying salty bore water over the rusty mine
site dongers in the two wind swept camping parks, divers striping off smelly
wet suits and washing gear out front of the over priced shops and tour guide
stores.
One thing that has changed is that there is now more signs in
Coral Bay than residence explaining all the things you cant do and outlining
the fines if you do do the things that you can’t do.
I actually felt embarrassed for the Chinese tourists thinking
this was the best we could offer them, so I went to the sad little pub to have
a couple of beer before tackling the long windy walk back out along the highway
all the way back to the boat ramp, and then the long wet ride out to the
exposed mooring. Along the way we took a short cut through the staff suburbs
part of town where all the broken-down buses and rusted out caravans go to die
so the staff can live in them.
It blew thirty knots all night and I had the anchor alarm on
just in-case the mooring let go in the middle of the night and we ended up on
the rocks.
I had a nice long chat with VK6BBX Dave on MV Fonster at Jurien
Bay who is also going to the Kimberly this year. (If the weather improves) It
will be nice to meet up with him at some stage.
Track Sirocco’s
progress
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