Family time @ Ningaloo

We are very excited with the pending arrival of Kalani and Martin and have moved Singularity back around to Tantabiddi. Tantabiddi is not one of our favourite anchorages…. there are some public moorings there, but they are positioned where they are badly affected by wind and tide, so invariably the boat goes around in circles as tidal current pushes one way and wind the other. This usually results in taking the wind side on, so the boat just rocks from side to side. But, worse is, the mooring ends up getting pushed down the side of the boat, or, for Singularity, goes between the hulls and then snags itself behind the sail drives and rudders etc. We had two attempts at using the moorings and on both occasions we quickly abandoned the idea for fear of damage to the boat. As a result, the moorings sit idle most of the time as people prefer to anchor rather than risk damage and discomfort.

The phone call comes and we jump in the dinghy and head into the boat ramp to greet Kalani and Marty. Hugs all around and then the process of moving people, gear, surfboards etc out to Singularity. This involves a good 5 minute dinghy ride with some chop along the way, so it can be tricky keeping everything dry. ‘All part of the adventure’ is the line dryly used by Nicky on these regular occasions!

After some catch up time we do a safety brief and fit up life jackets. Our plan is to depart early AM for Yardie Creek, some 30+ nm south down the coast. Early dinner and set for the next day’s adventures.

After an uneventful night, we pull the anchor at about 7.15 and make our way out through the channel markers. Light winds today - which we don’t mind as we want Kalani and Marty to find their sea legs and have an enjoyable experience on board - not cop a lumpy, bumpy passage straight up. We are travelling down the humpback highway, so it is not long before we start passing through the whale traffic - most of it heading north. Despite seeing literally hundreds of whales over the past few months, you never get tired of seeing them up close or watching their tail slapping and breeching from a distance. It didn’t disappoint and over our journey south and north to Yardie we had some great close encounters, much to the delight of our guests.

After the run down the coast, we needed to negotiate the passage into Yardie Creek - which we had not done before and so it was all hands on deck as we dropped sails and then motored in between the reef. There was a 2 metre swell running which meant some green swells coming through the passage - enough to keep you on your toes and glancing back over your shoulder. The inside of Ningaloo reef is generally unsurveyed and there are a lot of coral bommies spread throughout, so a slow speed and a good lookout is essential.

We safely navigated our way in and found ourselves a nice piece of sand, located about 400metres inside the surf break and about 800 metres offshore. Kalani had been busting to go fishing and fortunately where we were anchored was just outside the sanctuary zone. Out came the squid jigs! We love to catch squid - but it does come with some caution and some mess due to the whole ink thing…. best to keep that squid in the water as long as possible and let it dispense as much of that black ink as it can.

After a slow start, Kalani soon earnt the title of ‘Squid Master’ and had squid coming in left, right and centre… unfortunately, she also had some black ink coming in left, right and centre and the boat took a few hits. Best remedy is to quickly pour as much salt water on the area as possible and try and dispense it back into the water before it dries. Marty snagged himself a small squid, but we decided to put it back (it was that small :) ) Let’s just say there was much squealing and laughter as ink was dodged and squid were soon turned into a tasty pasta dish.

We were all keen to surf and next morning we had a hit-out at Yardies - which is a nice left hander out on the reef line. Kalani is just getting back into her surfing and was keen to try her hand so we set her up on Jem’s old single fin - which is a super fun board to ride. It was great to see her pulling straight into some decent waves - not intimidated by the all male crowd or the coral reef lurking below the waterline. Marty was on his backhand, showed no fear, and snagged a few nice ones as well. A fun few hours was spent in the water.

After the surf and some lunch, it was into the dinghy and into the creek for a walk up to the top of the gorge.

Yardie Creek is beautiful and is the only gorge on the Cape that has water in it permanently which means it is teeming with wildlife including, birds and Rock wallabies. A fun walk and climb to the top where we propped down amongst the rocks and watched as osprey’s soared past and Rock wallabies sunned themselves in the last dying rays of the day.

Back to the boat for pizza night and then bed. The previous night had been quite rolly where we were anchored and not a great night’s sleep, especially for Kalani, so we were hoping for smoother things this evening. However, the wind blew up and we were bouncing all over the place which made for an unpleasant night for everyone. Looking at the forecast, we decided to cut early and head back to Exmouth and spend a couple of days up in town - catching up with Ian and Jen and getting some waves at Dunes. We had a fun sail home - sailing all the way to about 2 miles short of the passage into Tantabiddi - when it started gusting up to 23 or so knots - so we dropped sail and motored the last half hour. A lot of whale encounters on the way back which made it a super fun passage as we were able to share with Kalani and Marty what has become ‘routine’ for us.

After arriving at Tantabiddi, we dropped off Kalani and Marty with some basic provisions for an overnight stay and they headed off to bunk down in their swag at the caravan park with Ian and Jen. Our advice to them was to head to Dunes the next morning for a surf. They took our advice on board and scored some classic, glassy Dunes conditions and surfed for about 4 hours. For us, it was an early rise and then sail back around the Cape to town - a distance of about 25 nm.

We made good time and after lunch we were able to get out to Dunes with Ian and Jen and so had all of the family (minus Jemma of course) together. It was a bit reminiscent of our Denmark trips - sitting on the beach, surfing, people watching and generally hanging out - just warmer!!

We had a couple of days of hanging out and took in some of the usual touristy stuff including the Visitors Centre (definitely worth a visit), Cape Vlamingh Lighthouse and a nice meal at the Potshot - in the pouring rain. No sooner had they arrived and it was time for them to return south. Farewell hugs (and the unavoidable tears) all around - knowing that the time between seeing each other would be less this time with our planned return to Perth by the end of October. Love you guys!!

We had a few days to kill before Jemma arrived and decided we would head back to Yardie Creek and rendezvous with Jemma down the coast. She was coming via the Bluff and, in her usual fashion, was hitching a ride from Bluff to Exmouth. We weren’t quite sure of her arrival, but in the meantime we wanted to surf and Yardie was giving us that opportunity.

It was a post surf afternoon, about 4.30 when the phone rang and it was Jem letting us know that she had arrived in town ex the Bluff, was sitting at the bus stop at the end of town and was going to hitch to Yardie Creek - a distance of about 90kms from town. Fat chance we were thinking - who will be going to Yardies at this time of day on a Sunday?…..

Of course, there we were sitting inside the boat and it’s about 40 minutes later when we hear a “cooee” from the beach. Jemma had arrived thanks to the generosity of a young couple travelling through in their van from Kununurra. Only Jemma can pull off this sort of stuff….

Again, great to catch up with Jem and spend some time surfing, hiking, eating, playing Uno and generally hanging out. We had some fun surfs at Yardies and it was great to see how far Jemma’s surfing had progressed in the bigger, more challenging waves. Always the frother, she pushes us to surf more, and in different conditions - not always conducive in some instances!! Let’s just say, the dinghy ride and then the surf in a 20+ knot easterly on a 2.5 metre swell was interesting to say the least. No waves caught…just a few beatings and then hypothermia on the way back to the boat!!

Jemma has always been a passionate individual and driven to explore and learn more about a range of topics. She is currently exploring her faith - something that she has not grown up with and so some deep and meaningful conversations were had as we learnt more about this side of her. Your kids never fail to surprise you and so there was a lot to learn for us.

With a bunch of plans for the next twelve months, it was soon Jemma’s turn to leave us. Again, in true Jemma style, she had organised a rideshare back to Perth, convinced the young man to come out to Yardie Creek for dinner on Singularity and then a 4.30am departure for Perth. So, with a full moon as a back drop and a stiff easterly, it was into the dinghy at 4am and to the beach to drop off Jemma and her kit. Hugs all around - a few tears on Dad’s behalf and off she went into the night for her next adventure. Love you Jem.

A few days to ourselves and then Ian and Jen drove down from Exmouth to spend the day with us. We were keen to paddle up the creek, so we loaded the dingy with the inflatable SUPs and the pump, as well as some morning tea, then headed to the beach to meet them. A northerly wind had been forecast, however, it ended up being much stronger than predicted. This put an end to the idea of paddling up the creek, so we donned the hiking shoes and walked some of it instead.

Morning tea (Nicky’s freshly made banana bread) was spent tucked behind a dune to escape the wind. Unfortunately, after two umbrella blowouts and a semi-successful collaborative problem solving session to ‘right’ them again, we decided to head back for some time on Singularity. So, the fun begins yet again as we load the SUPs and all the gear back into Bob for the 500m journey back to the boat, and directly into the screaming headwind. With the gear safely on board, it was time to collect Ian and Jenny from the beach. We’re lucky they’re so easy going; they copped the full brunt of the wind and chop, and made it to the boat looking like drowned rats. Sorry guys, that wasn’t how it was supposed to go :)

We spent time on the boat catching up over lunch and playing a few games of Uno. Thankfully, the dingy ride back to the beach was going with the wind which meant dry gear for the car ride home. Thanks for a lovely day, guys xxx

Back to the two of us - hoping the wind will die off a little so we can spend some more time in the waves. Next guests due in about a week so making the most of our time…