7th June 2009

In 1880 Captain H.M. Denham and the Officers of H.M.S. Herald surveyed the reefs and anchorages in the Australian Coral Sea. The paper chart we have is the chart they drew of 13 different reefs and anchorages, with very few additions and alterations being done over the years. Lieutenant Noel of the French Navy, in 1881 did a detailed survey of Long Island at Chesterfield. Comparing the paper chart with the up to date electronic charts, those early Seamen explorers were pretty damn good. There were no GPS, satellites, computers not even binoculars to find these reefs which are spread over a large area from 148deg East to 160deg East and 16deg South to 24deg South. The thought of such a thing as Google Earth would have been incomprehensible to Captain Denham and his crew. Imagine the sense of adventure, excitement and achievement at finding these islands, all of which are no more than 40 feet high. We had enough trouble spotting the Chesterfield Islands with all our modern aids on Tuatara.



The thought of sailing to the Chesterfield Reef has been in the back of our minds for the last 18 years. In 1991 I remember talking to Ron Given on the dock at Port Moselle marina, Noumea. He had just returned, with friends, from a trip to the reef, he was so enthusiastic about its isolated beauty and the birds they saw we were motivated to look up a chart to see where this place was. There it was, west of New Caledonia, part of a reef system that includes Bampton reef in the north and Bellona reefs in the south. Shallows and reefs stretching north south, about half the length of New Caledonia. We went to Australia at the end of 1991, I can't remember why we didn't consider a stop at Chesterfield, perhaps we didn't have a good chart and in those days probably couldn't afford to buy one in Noumea. Now with a combination of paper and electronic charts and a trip to Cairns planned it was time to scratch the itch.

In 2007 when we sailed north along the Queensland coast, I did not enjoy encountering the huge ships, moving or anchored, between Gladstone and Cairns. This time choosing once again to sail, NZ to Darwin, to catch the Indonesian Rally. We decided to sail via Noumea to Cairns, with a stop at Chesterfield. About the same distance but without the shipping turning me into a nervous wreck and giving Alan sleepless nights because I kept waking him to double check the direction ships were going.

The sea and wind were quite heavy after we left Noumea and we reefed down to be comfortable. When we did our calculations in the early hours of last Tuesday, we found we had slowed too much and the light was against us to arrive safely that afternoon. It was tempting to carry on to Cairns rather than wait for a day but we had waited long enough to get here, another few hours wouldn't really matter. So we slowed down even more and mooched around, hove to for few hours to arrive mid morning Wednesday at the wide eastern entrance to Chesterfield. The 3 small Anchorage islets are very low and hard to see but there they were, white sand glistening in the sun and crowds of Frigate, Boobies and Terns circling over the small shrubby trees. A few birds flew past, circled to check us out then flew on to their nests. The Boobies are particularly nosy.

We negotiated Tuatara around the few bombies indicated on the chart, white caps from the still strong South easterly making the approach a little challenging. The solitary yacht at the anchorage looked calm and secure, despite the wind. Anchor down, I enjoyed the calm and beauty of the anchorage while Alan filleted the big fish we had caught on the way in through the entrance. Our first fish since NZ. We were able to share it with Gisela and Walter from Atlantis our only neighbor. They had been at Chesterfield already for 5 days and were now waiting for good winds to get them to the eastern end of the Solomon Islands. By the time we tidied the boat, cleaned the fishy mess on the aft deck caught up on some sleep it was time for the Atlantis crew to join us for sundowners. So the dinghy went down the next day for a trip ashore to see the birds and walk the white sandy beaches.

Flocks of Great Frigates and Boobies hover, soar and glide over the island, the little Terns fly close to divert us from their nests. Standing in the middle of this tiny island looking up at the birds swirling around against the blue sky is like a scene out of Alfred Hitchcock's Birds. We were lucky enough to see a baby Frigate, small white and downy with a full tummy asleep sprawled across its nest, which was perched on the branches of a low shrubby tree. I am amazed how the big Frigates balance in these seemingly precarious nests and does that tiny bird really grow to be the size of its parents?

The inquisitive Boobies are quite happy to pose for photos, some with red webbed feet and blue beaks turn their heads this way and that, hoping to get their best side captured perhaps. Hermit crabs sit in the shade at their feet or climb the branches to find their own perch out of the sun. The myriad of tracks on the fine sand tell a story of night time wanderings, maybe even a few parties. By the crowds of crabs in shady spots they are not really the loners that their name suggests.

On returning to the boat we discover that Walter and Gisela have decided the wind is good for their trip to the Santa Cruz Islands. It is time to go before the north easterlies due in a few days make their chosen direction impossible. We give them some of our extra meat (too much in the freezer for Australia) and off they go. About 3 hours later I spot a yacht on the horizon, .."We've got more company or that's Atlantis back" The wind had already turned into a northerly quarter and the sea still very lumpy so they decided to come back, "We have no time pressures and this is not a hard place to be , so why bash ourselves around. Come for sundowners on Atlantis." Good company, a beautiful anchorage, interesting stories to be told and home brew to be drunk. Cruising at its finest.