Quality Time with Friends
So there we were, back in Exmouth IGA once more doing a re-stock and we come across Brownie, aka Ian Brown, in the fruit and vegie section. A quick chat soon leads to a catch up invitation with Ian and Katie, and that evening, after a quick beer on Singularity, we head to Whalebone Brewery for drinks and pizza. A great opportunity to catch up on our respective lives and share news of kids, parents and mutual friends. As earlier eluded to, one of the great things about cruising life is the time we now have available to actually sit, listen, enjoy and cherish - as opposed to just being too busy with the day to day grind of working life and all that comes with it! Feeling grateful for the impromptu and unexpected reconnection with old friends before a stroll back to the boat in readiness for yet another passage around North West Cape to Tantabiddi - and more guests!
We welcomed Kirst and Haz aboard at Tantabiddi on a rather blustery Saturday morning. ‘At least we will have some wind for sailing’ quipped Nicky, for at that point it was only blowing 15 knots from the east nor east. By the time we had loaded Kirst and Haz, along with bags and supplies (and such much needed restock of coffee beans!) it was a not-so gentle 25 plus knots!! Time for a cuppa and some boat / safety familiarisation, before we go anywhere in this wind!
A special time for Nicky, with Kirst being one of her longest and original friends when she moved to Perth ex the UK back in 1984. They met at Carine swimming club and it was here that Kirst introduced Nicky to surf club (City of Perth) and, eventually, Pete. Time to ditch the socks and sandals (you give me grief about this Kirst, but I’m sure I wasn’t that bad…. show me a picture and I’ll gracefully accept your account of events :)). Spending their teenage years together and forming life-long friendships along the way, surf club was the quickest way to immerse yourself in the West Australian way of life. Plenty of mischief was had (and occasionally still is :) ) and, as I’m sure most of our generation would agree, thank God there was no social media back then. We would all be in strife in one way or another…. some definitely more than others!
Haz is a recent arrival on the scene, but is a keen yachtie and has completed quite a few ocean races, so we were keen for his feedback on some of the more technical aspects of our cruising life.
The wind had settled at a pretty constant speed of about 25 knots and it was going to be a downwind run to Yardie Creek. So, reefed down, we followed a procession of Whale Watching charter boats as we headed out the Tantabiddi Channel. Turning south, we soon found our groove and were humming along in the 10+knot range, quite comfortable and enjoying the whale show.
We soon had our very own show as two humpbacks were sighted in the distance. A short time later, and about 50 metres off our bow, the water exploded as one of them breached half-way out of the water - right in front of us. Nicky dropped an expletive whilst managing to capture the whole thing on Go-Pro (check it out on the ‘Sailing’ tab in our ‘Video’ section) whilst I sat at the helm frozen and stunned for a second, realising that I could do nothing. A review of the footage showed us passing through the whale’s wake in about five seconds - too close for comfort.
At the time, we were close to a bunch of charter boats, and also in close proximity to the spotter plane they use to sight the whale sharks and humpbacks. We later got a text from a friend in town who told us that the pilot of the spotter plane had dropped the ‘F’ bomb (not the expletive Nicky used) over the radio as he saw the whole thing unfold, and how ridiculously close we were. Apparently, we were the talk of the charter boats…. could have been a different story if that whale had breached a few seconds later! Just goes to show how careful you need to be, and how everything can change at the blink of an eye.
In true cruising fashion, we left in 25 - 28 knots of wind and by the time we were a few miles from our destination we had no wind! That’s sailing for ya…
Into the Yardie Creek passage and then north to Yardies itself - with a small swell and forecast light winds dictating that we take up anchor just inside the reef line in a beautiful sandy area fringed by coral bommies. Fantastic that we can treat our friends to these places and something to never take for granted.
The next five days were filled with surfing, snorkelling, supping, squiding, gorge exploring, pooing (some more than others ;), sunsets, beach walks, drinking, eating and generally catching up. We also used the time, extra hands, and Haz’s experience to set up our asymmetrical spinnaker for the first time. Took a while, but we now feel confident enough to use it on our downwind passages.
A mix of wind and weather saw us move in and out from the reef on a couple of occasions to make sure we could maximise our activities based around the weather. The forecast to sail back to Tantabiddi wasn’t looking great - with a northerly of course (what were we saying about having to be in a particular place at a particular time!), so a few quick phone calls and some favours were pulled in with Ian and Jen making the trip to Yardie to not only pick up Kirst and Hazz, but also a mini grocery run that would enable us to keep heading south. Thanks again, guys. We owe you one!
Hugs, handshakes and farewells in the carpark, and, as the Jeep disappeared north towards Exmouth, we were pulling anchor and taking advantage of the northerly wind to head south to Coral Bay; then onward to Sandy Point at Warroora. Back in our old stomping ground and some fun waves!!