Coral Bay stopover

Travelling north, sailing a bit under a mile from the reef system that follows the Ningaloo Coast, with a light easterly giving us just enough wind to sail, we have about 17 miles until we reach the corner of the reef at Bateman Bay. From here, we will come back south into Point Maud. Point Maud is located on the northern side of Coral Bay and provides an anchorage that sits outside of the maze of coral reef just to the north of main townsite.

We are certainly on the humpback highway and everywhere we look there are whales making their migration journey north. It is kind of ridiculous really…. seeing a new set of whales every 500 metres! Ever cautious of getting too close, we try and pick our way through them. Sailing means we travel pretty silently so it is easy to come up on a pair of unsuspecting whales sitting just below the surface - so we are paying close attention.

We are keen to try and catch some more fish, so with one eye on the sanctuary zones we are trolling a couple of lures behind as well. This pays off up the coast and Pete soon reels in a nice Spanish mackeral - probably around the 6 kilogram mark - perfect for us. These fish need to be handled properly to make sure you maximise taste and this means killing the fish quickly. We use the ikijime method - this technique originated in Japan, and the basic technique is very simple and involves inserting a sharp object into the brain of the fish as soon as practical. This minimises the fish's suffering and reduces stress in the flesh to preserve the eating qualities. Not only is ikijime the fastest way to kill a fish, it results in the lowest levels of stress (for the fish - and for Nicky who continually apologises to any fish she catches as she deftly applies the ikijime method to put them out of their misery). This method also benefits the quality of the fish by improving its freshness, taste and shelf life.

Bleeding your fish is the next critical step to ensure the quality of the meat, as a bled fish will have a cleaner and more delicate flavour. Blood is the first thing in a fish to start to go off and can give a bitter taste, so removing it helps preserve the best eating quality. A fish’s heart will continue to pump after having ikijime performed on it, so you can still bleed a fish after this process. Pete has a rope set up which he puts around the tail and then puts the fish back in the water - keeping as much blood off the boat as possible - happy days!!

We arrive safely into Maud’s Landing and take up anchorage near the old jetty. This only lasts for one night as it seems we have found the one spot that consistently has swell coming through to the beach which makes for a rolly old night. Oh well…. can’t get it right all of the time, so first thing the next morning we move up and tuck right in next to the point. The next few days are the usual routine of some minor shopping (you don’t want to be buying too much at the Coral Bay Store let’s just say!! - perfectly good produce, but the prices are way up there), dinghy fuel re-supply and the opportunity to catch up with some friends. Coral bay is not the easiest place for yachties with access to the main beach restricted; it is quite a walk to the shops. Thankfully, a kind request to the hard working staff at the store (thanks for the tip, Karl) is met with a positive response and they drop our groceries to the beach at Maud’s Landing, saving us a big hike loaded with supplies.

We host Grant and Nat Trew and family onboard for afternoon drinks and dinner. It was nice to see some familiar faces and catch up on what has been going on at home. The Trew’s got more than they bargained for when Bob (our dingy) got bombed in the shorebreak dropping them back to the beach… poor old Bob ended up full of both water and sand, and Nat and Riley got a bit saltier than they had planned!

We are also joined by Saul and Rae Rivers and family, Saul being an old policing colleague of Pete’s from the Air Wing days. The weather looks good for the morning with a forecast change in the afternoon, so we head a few miles north to the Bateman Sanctuary zone, where there is a day mooring and some nice coral bommies to be found. A few hours of snorkeling and generally hanging out and the weather change starts to arrive early, so we make our way back up to Point Maud. Along the way we spot a large manta ray, who frequents this area, and we have the chance to watch it gracefully swim around Singularity before disappearing.

After seeing a bunch of tour boats on our sail back, we now think we know where to head for more Manta Ray action and will make a point of stopping here on our way down back south.

With all of our jobs and activities done, we have an eye on the weather and a promising forecast to sail inside the reef up to Point Cloates. We prepare for an early departure the next morning and are excited to finally sail inside the reef and also to get up to Ningaloo Station where our sailing buddies on Blue Yonder are lying in wait.