North to Adventure

Hi Today is Sunday 26th November This begins with a continuation of the last one...6th November

After hiring a car so we could get fuel, groceries, do laundry.... we were ready to leave Carnarvon Wednesday 8th. We got away at 6:13am. The sail was BEAUTIFUL! A magnificent day! With our spirits lifted, we arrived at Monkey Mia around 5:50pm. Unfortunately we couldn’t tell Gordon that we had decided to go to Monkey Mia before Turtle Bay....and reception was nil! Ooops!

Saturday 11th November 2017 Remembrance Day
This is our second (blissful) day at Monkey Mia. We left Carnarvon 06:12 Thursday morning and ..... wait for it.............. WE HAD A SPECTACULAR SAIL - ALL DAY!!!?!! No motoring at all!?..........and even managed 8.3 knots for quite some time. Days like that make you instantly forget all of the crappy times.
History: The origin of the name is a mystery but there are two suggestions. Firstly, in 1834 a schooner named Monkey anchored in Shark Bay. Secondly, a pearling boat working in Shark Bay in the late 1800’s had a monkey on board for a mascot. Mia is an Aboriginal name for home.
I am sitting in the cockpit in shorts and t-shirt, with a surrounding view of a turquoise coloured bay. The occasional party of dolphins glide past. They seem to hang around here – they get a snack of fish a couple of times a day for the tourists. There are also several huge pelicans that get a treat of fish too.
We will stay here until Tuesday, when we head around the point to Turtle Bay. Speaking of turtles...I saw three yesterday!?! And during our lunch, we had a MAGNIFICANT sea eagle land on the bow for a quick rest. I have been extremely lucky with all of the wildlife I have seen – and I didn’t have to pay a thing!
Sunday – 12th
We took the dingy to shore. This is a very popular tourist destination. It used to be set up so that only wealthy people could afford to come; but it didn’t do so well. Now there is camping/caravan – chalets, backpackers accommodation, shops, restaurant, bar, visitor centre etc.... it is also a protected marine park.
A couple of sail boats who turned up in Exmouth (just after we left) had met Gordon – (we mentioned Gordon earlier – solo sailor with engine trouble) before heading south. He told us to watch out for them. Apparently they turned up in Carnarvon the afternoon of the day we left....lo and behold they turned up in Monkey Mia. One boat, named “Jack Tar” sailed by Mick McFie; and the other one named “Scaramouch” sailed by a woman named Poppy Moore. She is raising funds for Parkinsons disease by circumnavigating Australia with one to two other crew members who volunteer to help along the way.
After discussing weather and winds we all decided to sail in company, and left Tuesday as planned, got away around 11:15am. We arrived 4:00pm and anchored at Herald Bay on the Peron peninsula. 30+ knott winds that night!
Thankfully Terry had put two anchors out! We got away next morning 6:00am and during the day we managed to get a hold of Gordon to tell him we had bypassed Turtle Bay and were heading for Shelter Bay. Good thing we got him since he was heading for Monkey Mia! We all arrived at Shelter Bay 4:00pm (Gordon joined us around 6:30pm) Much quieter anchorage so we got a great sleep. Left at 6:45am and sailed through the day and night, all the time keeping an eye on each other....as best we could. We all arrived in Geraldton around 3:30pm Friday 17th November. We all met on our boat for tea , coffee and chocolate sharing our stories of that overnight sail. Poor Gordon picked up a ship’s hawser (huge rope for tying them to jetties etc..) on his prop and rudder which brought his boat to a complete stop! He had to go overboard, in the dark, with a torch and knife to cut it free from his rudder. And here I was thinking OUR trip was yuk! I only had milky coffee spilled over me! Terry was bringing me a coffee in bed. When he was putting it on the shelf the boat pitched and coffee went all over the shelf, bed and me......there was however, one swallow left in the cup of which I enjoyed immensely! Mick’s cooked breakfast was splattered on the floor when his boat pitched – although he was able to recover his, Monique (Poppy’s crew) lost her breakfast overboard...AFTER she ate it due to seasickness.
The next morning (Saturday) Jack Tar and Scaramouch left to continue down south. We decided to stay in Geraldton a few days and wait for a better weather window. Gordon is having some work done on his boat so if it doesn’t take too long, we will wait for him so we have company for part of the sail down south. From now on the prevailing winds will be southerlies, so we are hoping for weather windows of anything BUT southerly winds to make our trip as comfortable as possible.
After the two boats left, Gordon, Terry and I went for a coffee at a nearby cafe, then spent most of the day at the fantastic Maritime Museum here on the waterfront. The three of us have been reading books about various historical explorations and ship wrecks that happened along the coast we have been travelling. Phillip Parker-King who for the most part charted the northwest coast of Australia on the Mermaid and Bathurst; The Wreck of the Barque Stefano (which happened right off of Exmouth); the wreck of the Batavia to name a few. Anyway, there are some rather moving displays of several wrecks that happened off this notorious uncharted west coast. Not to mention the 3D film of old photos & and recent discovery of the remains of the Australian Battleship, the Sydney which was sunk in November 1941 losing all 645 men by the German raider Kormoran which also sank with 318 of the 399 crew were rescued.
Each day Terry and I would go for a ride around town on our bikes. It is such a great city to ride around. There are cycle paths everywhere! Tuesday 21st Terry road in to the TV/Radio place to get some information. He comes back to the boat in a right ole state! - chucks a piece of paper at me while grumbling something about Hitler........He’d got an infringement of $50.00 for not wearing a bicycle helmet! We have been riding around each town on all of our stops....on the pathways mind you....I am surprised he didn’t just get a warning, seeing as he was on the foot path, new to town etc... Anyway Terry was wild at the copper’s attitude which made his mood worse. Bloody $50 bucks!?! The rest of the day we did laundry and cleaned up the boat a bit.
Wednesday we rode to shops to get me a helmet – and Gordon had one Terry is borrowing. After we got back to the boat, we left the marina (around 12:15) and are now anchored in a bay in front of the local yacht club. Gordon has his boat out on the hard stand area in the fisherman’s harbour getting the motor worked on, the hull antifouled, and various other things done while it is out of the water. It has been really windy for the last few days.....today (Saturday 25th) we’ve had gusts up to and exceeding 32knots! I have yet to go to shore since we have been anchored because of it.
After looking at the calendar for today’s date I noticed that yesterday (Thursday in the USA) was Thanksgiving. I miss the build up to it because it precedes Christmas but always was exciting in it’s own right. The warmth of the Kitchen with the smells of comfortable delicious food. And Hooray! We get to see our cousins! I am sorry that I didn’t remember to wish my family and Yankee friends a Happy Thanksgiving. I will forever be thankful for my parents who did their best to give me a memorable upbringing and siblings that I love to this day. The sacrifices they made to fix my feet, straighten my teeth and feed & clothe me has not gone unnoticed. I am now also thankful for my Aussie family that my husband and best friend gave to me – 4 beautiful adults whom 3 have given us 9 delightful grandchildren. Yes, I have a lot to be thankful for.
Tomorrow is Sunday and we will take the dinghy ashore, ride to the local bakery for some fresh bread and have a coffee while we are at it. It sure is a tough life.