Damper to Enderby Island
And...
The V-Man is back
This was just a short day after refueling to get out of the port of Dampier.
V-Man practices his filleting skills.
We parked just outside this little tidal Bay......
So that we would be able to get an early start to catch the current and have a straight run in the morning. I'd post a photo of the Bald Chin groper I caught off the back of the yacht but... It got away.
A quick snorkel to check out the coral of which there was plenty but no decent structure for bigger fish or crays. That Baldy must have been lost.
20th July 2024
Enderby Island to Montebello Islands-Main Bay
A 3am start to get the current and winds for the best passage. Amazingly it all went to plan for a change and we arrived just before noon. 25 to 30 knots of wind from behind. Averaging 7knots and had only the whales to keep us company. They seem to like the messy conditions... As usual there is no pictures or videos. They are sneaky.
A late afternoon trawl in Merv the V-man hooked up a Queenie for a good tussle and some pickling.
This Main Bay is very shallow and there is no structure. The V-man describes it as sterile as a test tube. Dare i say it...
It looks like its been hit by a nuclear bomb.
Pic to prove we were here
You are only allowed on the site for an hour and don't take anything with you.
We moved over to Delta Island which is where they tested the big bomb. Great anchorage but again quite lifeless.
There's a large contingent of other boats ticking the Monties off...
V-Man organised the BBQ and seating(his) for this Sundowner soiree.
A cautionary tale.
I'll try to keep this factual as hopefully anyone who reads this bit can learn something from it...
Before I start I'll just say that there is a risk in everything you do. You just need to make sure you have your safety net in place to catch you. Just don't cut too many threads(snip)!
Our plan for the day was to take Merv for a trawl around the area and find some decent structure to dive on a low tide the next day.
So we loaded the boat with fishing and diving gear and started to head around to the other yachts in the next bay to check out what they were doing.
As we rounded the corner they were underway and leaving. Oh well. We'll go and have a look for ourselves...(snip)
An hour later we had worked our way around the bay and were at the outer reef near a break. We decided to check the outside of the reef out and maybe do some fishing while it was calm.(snip)
All good. Dropped the anchor and fished for a couple of hours. We were in the drop off and had the whales cruising past. By now we had our phones out of the waterproof bag and were trying to get the elusive buggers on video.(snip)
The fishing wasn't much so we started to head back. The tide was going out fast by now and the break in the reef was not really there any more. Merv has never let me down. Over confidence is dangerous.(snip)
Well we would just have to go for it.(snip)
Under powered and overloaded.(snip)
A big breaking wave came up behind us and had us caught. Too overloaded to power away from it as the wave in front was already pulling down the front.(snip)
The wave caught us and Merv broached and over he went.(snip)
Luck, we didn't deserve by this time held and neither of us were hurt or tangled in any of the gear. Merv's collar saved our arses and kept him afloat. At least we weren't swimming...yet
After a quick assessment. Gathered up the stuff that could be useful and strapped that to the bottom of the hull. And climbed on top.
More luck. The anchor was still attached and had set stopping us from being pulled out to sea in the tidal rip. So we were stuck capsized just out side the Southern reef on the Montebello islands with the nearest boat about 2 km away.
Had we told anyone we were going this far? (snip)
Did we have our life jackets on?(snip)
Had the safety gear, flares, rollicks, tools and so on so been packed in such a way that it wouldn't end up at the bottom of the ocean if the boat capsized?(snip)
Was our means of calling for help sealed in the waterproof bag.(snip)
Are Uniden hand held VHF radios really waterproof?(snip)
We managed to turn Merv back over using the straps and our weights as ballast. Bailed him out using the cover off the motor as a bucket.
A lot if stuff that could of helped us was gone. What we did have.
Water 2L
Oars. These had been wedged safely under the seats.
Diving fins and masks.
Some straps.
Hats.
Sunscreen, a lighter and tissues that had been in a separately sealed bag.
Motor and fuel tank but no tools to get it going after being submerged.
At least we were safe for now. Time for another reassessment. We would have to wait the three hours left until the tide turned before even attempting to reach shore.
So we got out the oars and made up improvised rollicks by strapping them in.
While we were waiting we saw another boat coming out through the reef about 1km south of us. We tied a thong and a spare hat to one of the oars. Soaked them in fuel and set it alight in the hope the smoke would get their attention. Surprisingly there wasn't much smoke from the burning rubber and they kept on further south.
At about 3pm the tide had subsided so it was time to pull the anchor and make an attempt to get back inside the reef. Now let me tell you that we are the worst oarsman that I've ever seen. We just couldn't get in unison. The makeshift rollicks didn't help but Merv is just not that easy to point in the same direction without power at the rear.
We just couldn't get back to the break in the reef. As the wind had also dropped we just went for it and paddled straight across it. Our oar skills vastly improved as we caught each wave over the reef. Its amazing what you can do when you have too.
It was a great relief to be finally back in protected waters.
By now it was after 4pm and we only had another 4 hours of incoming tide left before we would have to anchor again or risk being dragged back out to sea again.
There was a yacht anchored about 2km south of us so that's where we headed. Our oar skills had disappeared again after going through the reef so it was debatable whether we would have got there before sunset.
Luckily the crew of the yacht decided to go for an evening fish and headed over towards us in their dinghy to see if we'd found a good spot.
They kindly towed us back to Canefire.
Obviously this is not the end of the story. There was lots of work to be done to save the motor on Merv, a re-stocking and reevaluation of the placement of the safety gear. Basically everything in water proof bags...including the things that are supposed to be waterproof. As well as a new PLB. Just putting the safety net back together took a couple of days.
Every dinghy and tender I go past now I have a look inside and see what is likely to survive in a capsize. That's why I don't mind telling this... despite being responsible for snipping a few threads myself.
On Canefire's door we keep a record of lost glasses and phones as a reminder to put everything in dry bags...
Might as well not be glass if we updated it from the stuff lost from Merv.
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Travelling from the Northern to the Southern islands V-Man picked up a nice Cobia.
We were going to use the tides to work our way into Lilly lagoon but after talking to the Parks and Wildlife people anchored next door...
.
.
we decided to give it a miss and head around through the Southern channel and
anchor on the southern side of Palmerston Point.
Unsurprisingly we were a bit disappointed with the Montebello Islands. Its shallow nature means that the only real snorkeling for us was in the channels that can only be swam when the tide is turning preferably on the low. While we were there. this was early morning which was ok but it was now only possible when there was little light. High tide dives were now hard as we had lost both weight belts in the capsize.
Sooo...
28th July 2024
Montebello Group to Surrurier Island.
A pleasant overnight sail here and a good anchorage. V-Man caught this just on sunset on the way here so probably our last Montebello fish...
A good place to regroup and start planning the trip back. The winds are starting to turn southerly on occaision so it is time to head South before that's all there is.
I did walk around the island and found the Whale bones.
It seems that everyone who has visited has taken a bit home as a souvenir.
Someone's even sawn one up with and angle grider. Why?
It is also called Long Island.
A couple of short dives around the southern reef but it was actually quite milky.
Looked nice at sunset though. Foot shot for you Daryn.
30th July 2024
Surrurier Island to Exmouth
I woke up at about 11pm when something I had eaten was in a desperate rush to get out. Both ends.
By 1am I was feeling better if a little weaker and thinner when the wind started to pick up.
At 3am it was gusting 30 knots and we started to drag despite having 30 meters of chain in only 3 meters of water. The boat that had anchored on the beach dragged past us an hour later.
By 5 am we were in danger of getting too close to the northern reef. So I pulled the anchor in and started to jog in the one spot and went through the options. I was weak from being sick and a bit sleep deprived by this time.
While the wind wasn't in the right direction it would still be possible to head towards Exmouth and see what happens. As this wind wasn't what was predicted anything was possible. Maybe even get around the back of the island where we could try anchoring again.
It wasn't pleasant but we were able to make headway towards Exmouth so we just kept going. By the time we got over half way things had settled down and we didn't have any more drama.
About an hour out of Exmouth the Police sent out a general Pan Pan asking for boats to assist a yacht that had been blown onto the reef in the nearby Murion group. Not a great night for a lot of people in the gulf.
(Update: The crew were safe however the trimaran that was on the reef lost on outrigger.)
Safely tied up at Exmouth...
Not a great couple of weeks but no one died.
