Should we Stay or Should we go now?
The next part of our journey required a significant passage - an overnighter, north to Steep Point. 180 nm from Geraldton or 140 nm from the Wallabi Group at the Abrolhos…. a long way made even more challenging by the Zuytdorp cliffs, which make up for the majority of the coastline north of Kalbarri.
The Zuytdorp Cliffs stand more than 200 feet high in places and pose somewhat of a dilemma for those who wish to pass by to the warmer climates of Shark Bay. Because of their sheer faces, the cliffs cause a refraction of any swell or chop to bounce off them, thus creating a confused sea within a couple of miles of shore. To avoid this you need to stay further offshore, which then puts you more exposed to the wind - particularly if it is easterly and so this can also lead to an uncomfortable passage.
With no stops or decent anchorages in between Geraldton and Steep Point, it is a 20+ hour sail so the right weather window is very important to ensure a safe and ‘enjoyable’ passage. Of course it had been blowing from the south for the last six months and now we couldn’t buy a southerly of any description…. northerlies, westerlies, no wind or 40 knots! So we decided we would head back to the Wallabi Group and wait for the right weather… worse places to be stuck eh?
So, after a quick turn around in Geraldton, we returned to the Abrolhos once more. We headed straight to Leo’s, located in the Easter Group with the hope of snagging a mooring and getting some surf. Well, the surf was good, but both moorings were occupied and there is really nowhere to anchor, so we took a mooring in the middle of Eastern Passage for the night, hoping someone might move on next day. Whilst it was a little exposed, we put up with it but, alas, the next day no one was moving so we decided to cut our losses and sail the 12nm to the Wallabi Group.
As per our Batavia blog, we spent a week following the Batavia trail and then with another weather system forecast we headed to the anchorage at Pigeon Island to sit it out. After three days of weather, we were again ready to move, this time south west out to the ‘sand patch’ that sits around Shag Rock, a protected area but closer to the outer reef. Thanks again for the tip, Ash!
In typical Abrolhos fashion, we had four days of beautiful weather, glassy afternoons where it was like gliding atop an aquarium - the visibility was so good you didn’t need to leave the dinghy to see what was down below. We caught up with our cruising buddies on Blue Yonder and spent the time further exploring West Wallabi, catching crays, squid and spearing fish - including a nice coral trout for Pete. The pristine conditions and a lovely shallow anchorage provided a perfect opportunity for some much needed hull maintenance. We had got to the stage where we were travelling with our very own eco system.
The weather window we were hoping for to get to Steep Point was now looking dubious… forecast 25 knot southerly (which means at least 32 knots) at 3am 20 miles off the Zuytdorp Cliffs. No wind…too much wind! Pete spent a few days agonising on ‘should we stay or should we go?’, as our mates on Blue Yonder (with ten years cruising experience) had committed to still going. Downwind it was, but we were not comfortable with this forecast, and after some back and forth, Pete decided he would stick with his gut feel - let’s wait until a few days later when the wind direction is not as good but 15knots lighter.
Post Note: Our friends on Blue Yonder (40 foot catamaran) headed off to Steep Point and had a bit of a scary time, at one point surfing downwind at 16.2 knots before they were able to reduce all sail but a small jib. Not much fun in the dark and made our decision to stay all the wiser for us!
We decided to head up to Turtle Bay, located on the northern end of the Wallabi Group. A nice anchorage and perfect location from where to depart to Steep Point. After a short motor up from Pigeon Island, we rounded the corner into the bay, which was home to only one other yacht, some friends on Solur, a large monohull. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions; the bay was tucked nicely away from the strong S/SE winds. Long, uninterrupted stretches of sandy beach are fairly rare in the Abrolhos Islands, so it was exciting to see this beautiful bay stretched out in front of us. The ‘kelpie’ in Nicky was becoming harder to contain, so we made sure to head to land asap.
Turtle Bay is also located adjacent to the airstrip on East Wallabi, so, almost daily, is visited by local air charter companies from Geraldton, many bringing people over for a day trip and snorkel in Turtle Bay. After securing to a mooring, we headed ashore for a quick explore and stretch of the legs, as well as swim some ‘laps’ along the shoreline in the clear sandy waters; just enough to satisfy the kelpie for the time being. Once back to the boat. it was a quick bite of lunch then time to pack the dive gear and get some dinner.
Some great free diving in Turtle Bay with a choice of options and soon we had a bunch of crays and a baldie onboard. We donated some crays to our friends on Solur and were just tying up back on the boat when around the corner popped ‘Island Home’, a Beneteau Oceanis, owned by a friend, John Orr. We had been chatting back and forth with John for sometime, trying to rendezvous, and he was now on his way to Exmouth, so it was great to be able to finally catch up.
After they had secured their yacht, we invited John and his two mates over for some cray and a few beers for sunset. It was great to catch up, and after discussing the weather they had also made the decision to wait a day - making Pete feel all the much better for his decision. This was also helped when it blew a sustained thirty knots that evening…. as Pete would say from his aviation days “Better to be on the ground wishing you were in the sky, than in the sky wishing you were on the ground!” Guess we’ll have to come up with a new saying that better suits our new mode of travel :).
We endured a couple of windy days, during which we were still able to get some diving done, as well as a long walk right around to the western side of East Wallabi Island, much to the relief of our resident kelpie. Plenty of flotsam and jetsam to look at, as well as the birdlife.
The weather forecast was still promising. although a little east, so we departed to Steep Point on Tuesday at about 12noon, several hours behind our friends on Solur and a day behind Island Life. Passage summary as follows:
First 8 hours - not too bad - wind south easterly 15 to 20 knots and we used this to make our way as east as possible in preparation for the wind swinging to the east later in the evening;
Second 8 hours - brutal!! Forecast 15 knot easterly was a sustained 23 knot easterly ,so we were taking it on the beam twenty miles offshore getting bounced around like a cork. We were too scared to open the fridge or cupboards as stuff was going everywhere….. yowza!
Last 8 hours - about 6 miles south of Steep Point we have to motor as there is now no wind!
The last ten miles into Steep Point is pretty special with the ever present Zuytdorp Cliffs imposing themselves, and, as you look north, you can see the spray rising as the swell hits them and shoots skyward. Very cool to see, but hard to capture with the camera. We made our way into South Passage, where Nicky unintentionally donated her favourite hat to the ocean gods, then across the outer bar at Steep Point and into Shelter Bay, where we spent the night and got the boat back in order after the passage. It was at this point that we realised one of us (one guess as to who :) had not done a thorough enough check of the hatch in the guest bedroom, resulting in a drenching of the bed as well as some water in the food storage compartment under the floor. Another lesson learnt through experience…
We anchored at Shelter Bay and were greeted almost immediately by a dugong, followed closely by a nice tiger shark. No swimming off the back here!!
Next, we head into the pristine cool waters of Useless Inlet to catch up with our cruising buddies on Blue Yonder and Afterglow II for our first real taste of Shark Bay.
