We got an early start this morning and rounded Cape
Rulhieres around 07:00 on our way to the Berkeley River. There was a half meter
swell rolling in from the north west and a lite ten knot easterly blowing, so
we had to tack the whole way.
Lizard was ahead and sailing much faster than us in the lite
wind, but as the wind strength increased, we started to gain ground.
By 09:00 the wind had increased to twenty-two knots and the
swell had risen to one meter and it was uncomfortable tacking and even though
we were doing six to seven knots, our velocity made good was less than two
knots.
As Bruce was still a fare way ahead, he went into sea plane
bay to see if it offered any shelter until the wind moderated later in the day.
Thinking we were going to Sea Plane Bay, I continued tacking
for another hour or so and I called Bruce on the radio to see what it was like
and he said he had passed Sea Plane Bay and was continuing on.
I checked my VMG again and at this rate we wouldn’t reach
the Berkeley River until around 22:30 and as there are no anchorages on this
wild part of the coast, I decided to motor sail to try and speed up.
With the engine going, I could point a little higher, but my
VMG only improved to a pathetic 2.5 knots, so I cracked the shits, rolled up
the genoa and started the other engine. Immediately our VMG increased to around
7 knots and I calculated we could make the anchorage at the mouth of the
Berkeley River just on sunset.
It was a no brainer, so I dropped the main and we powered
into the wind and waves traveling at 8.5 knots most of the way. It was
uncomfortable but fast. Bruce (on Lizard) also started his engine and motor
sailed.
On the way, I lost a massive fish that broke my heavy-duty
swivel, and after I re-rigged, I lost two more fish. They were either bill-fish,
or it was due to the speed we were going.
As we were approaching Reveley Island,
I got a call from Holly Rose and had a nice chat with Ian. Unfortunately, they
were leaving for Darwin tomorrow, but tonight they were having a fire on the
beach and invited us to join them.
Soggy Paws also called us to see where Fonster was.
As we approached the anchorage off Reveley Island, it was
low tide and we didn’t know if there would be enough water for us to get
through the shallow channel through the sand bar.
It was right on dusk and I was only about half a mile from
Holly Rose and another small catamaran. I was following the recommended
waypoints and suddenly it shallowed up and I touched the bottom.
I backed out against the strong tide and zig zagged back and
forth looking for deep water in the channel and managed to work my way in, dropping new waypoints as I went.
I worked my way all the way up to, and past Holly Rose in the
pitch-dark night and dropped anchor in 4 meters of water, then I got a call
from Bruce on Lizard saying they were stuck on the bottom.
I quickly turned on my radar and located them and once Bruce
managed to free himself, I was able to guide him in using my radar and the
waypoints I had saved on our way in.
Finally, Bruce dropped anchor nearby us and after the
strenuous day sailing and the stress and drama getting to the anchorage, we
were all pretty exhausted and had an early night.
Before bed, we did a check with the spotlight and saw a
crocodile on the beach nearby.
Track Sirocco’s progress
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