Sandy Point here we come…

After the carpark farewells at Yardie Creek, it was straight back to Singularity and up anchor to start making our way to the passage out past the reef. It felt so good to be turning left instead of right - after four trips from Yardie to Exmouth in six weeks we were happy to be heading into old-new ground. We had 50nm to sail to reach Coral Bay, where we planned to overnight before heading on to Sandy Point, Waroora.

We had a pleasant sail with a light west north west breeze - as usual not enough to allow us to charge along but with the screecher, main and one engine we were making 6+ knots. On this coast, at this time of year, if you aren’t banging into a 25+ knot southerly you are happy to have some engine time! We quickly sailed past Lefroy and onto the entrance to Norwegian Bay, with the Point Cloates lighthouse in the distance. We sailed close to the reef line and reminisced about our time in the bay there - so stunning and definitely a highlight of our journey.

You do see some interesting things whilst sailing - we came across a humpback mother and calf - who looked like a very recent arrival - and the calf was being nurtured by mum whilst Dad (?) patrolled in close circles around them. We had heard stories of Orcas taking young humpback calves along the coast over the past few months, so we think there was some pro-active parenting going on here. And at one point we are sailing about 10+ miles from the coast - it is mid afternoon (3pm), a westerly is blowing, some dark clouds are brewing and we come across a guy in a dinghy, on his own, returning from the west. Don’t know where he had been but Pete’s suspicions (being the ex-Policeman that he is) were raised… a long way to be out at sea and not close to any towns or launch points. All good fun until you can’t get your motor started!

We sail into a deserted Maud’s Landing just before sunset and take a DPAW courtesy mooring. Only here for one night and whilst we haven’t booked the mooring (they are free) we are on their system if there was an issue. By the time we put Singularity to bed, make some dinner and review the weather we are ready for bed ourselves. Passages always make you weary - even though it seems you are just sitting around - you are always on alert and tuned in to what is happening with the boat, weather, other vessels etc. The fresh sea air probably also has something to do with it :) We plan for an early start tomorrow - with the intent of making our way through the channel and Coral Bay and down past Five Finger Reef, before heading out through the reef at Yalobia Passage.

After a cuppa and some brekky, we start up the engines and make our way into the channel that runs through Bill’s Bay, the main reef area fringing Coral Bay. Navigation here can be a bit tricky with a lot of reef and not a lot of room to maneuver, so sticking to the channel is a must. The channel is quite narrow in places and it can be a bit disconcerting when you are on a cat that is nearly 7metres wide and you have a small pleasure craft coming the other way who isn’t really giving you the room you need.. but size wins out and eventually the penny drops that I won’t be moving off my line!!

In no time, we are making our way out of Yalobia Passage which is really only doable in a small swell, which we have today. From here, we only have about 8nm outside the reef until we hit the entrance to Sandy Point. As we get closer to the familiar sights of Warroora, we start to come across a few dinghys as people take advantage of the low swell and light winds to get outside of the reef and out of the Pelican Sanctuary zone which covers much of this area. We see a couple of other yachts in the anchorage at Sandy Point and we head to our old anchor spot close to the shoreline and in the beautiful sand patch out from the campsites. Happy to be back!!

We are straight back into the routine - surf, snorkel, eat, walk, explore, hunt and gather! We meet Scott and Lara from SV Wayfarer - they are from Esperance so we had a great old chat about Esperance and mutual friends etc. Small world!! Whilst the surf is not as great as it was on our first visit we still manage to score a few great sessions around the wind and crowd. We both manage to cut ourselves - Nicky grates herself on the reef and Pete manages to fin chop his foot after getting cleaned up by a big set - the result being one fin gone and a couple of nice wounds in his right foot! Highlight was an afternoon session we had to ourselves where Nicky got one of her best waves ever… locked tight in the pocket, her eyes as big as dinner plates as she sat in the barrell before being shot out at 100miles an hour - with Pete sitting in the channel witness to it all. Joy!!

We catch up with Fred and Bev Annersley, whom we had met down at Yardie Creek. At 74, Fred is still out there charging the biggest of the sets - after paddling out to the break on his surf ski that is!! True waterman who for many years was a beachie for City of Stirling and at Margaret River and still froths for a spangled emperor and a decent wave! We traded some fresh squid for a couple of fillets of ‘spango’ and Fred and Bev were also gracious enough to pick up some supplies on a run into Coral Bay. Just another example of the great people you meet on your travels..

After a week or so Riley and Claudia return, armed with groceries for us and a new card game ‘Monopoly Deal’. Soon the beers and G&T’s are on and we are into this new game - Claudia, the smiling assassin, has us all fooled as she beats us into submission. Riley and Claudia love a good forage like us, so everyday is a chase for squid or the elusive spangled emperor and these catches are turned into yummy meals like cerviche and squid pasta. The guys were camp hopping across sites and were heading to 14mile for a few days - with the prospect of 25knots of southerly blowing into their camp and so we hosted them onboard Singularity for a couple of nights. Always gracious and respectful they are enjoyable to have onboard!

We managed to score some decent squid and even bank some in the freezer. A highlight was a nice cray that Pete pulled off a coral bombie. Took a while to coax him out of an intricate hole, but after 15 minutes he came home with the goods. Nothing better than a bbq’d cray for dinner. Cheers, Riley, for sharing the location.

Karl and crew on Eureka IV arrive - we last saw them as they were heading to the Monties for three weeks - so we have a good catch up and share a few waves. We are keeping an eye on the weather as the southerly is starting to become predominant and we know we need to keep heading south. A nice weather window is approaching that will allow us to downwind to Carnarvon via Red Bluff!

Sad to leave this little paradise with its crystal clear waters, but we are ready and we are on it…