Leaving Eucla, our plan was to sail for Eyre, the nearest anchorage to our west. According to the Western Australian Cruising Guide (WACG), it is possible to anchor there between the shore and a shoal, although protection from the south is limited, reminiscent of Eucla. A stop there would mean one less overnight sail, though.
We retraced our path to Wilson Bluff then headed offshore for three nautical miles before turning west and following the coast. Motoring on flat seas in very light winds, conditions were perfect for trolling, so we deployed lures and promptly caught two tuna. It was more than we needed but I was too slow bringing in the second lure.
About 15 miles later, as we approached Low Point, we were confronted by a 20-knot south-westerly headwind. Continuing to Eyre would require too much upwind work, so reluctantly we bore away onto a southerly course in order to fill our sails.
Winds continued to strengthen and at 23:30 we reefed the main for the night. In the distance, there was a boisterous display of thunder and lightning. Most of the activity was over the coast, so we decided it was prudent to maintain our southerly heading and keep sailing further offshore.
The following morning, at 06:00, we tacked onto a westerly course. The sea state became increasingly confused and we motor-sailed to maintain our speed. In general, I consider five knots to be the absolute minimum speed when covering large distances. At 11:30, we set our waypoint for Daw Island, 176 nautical miles away on a heading of 248°T. The wind had shifted to the southeast, making it possible to sail.
Just before sunset, we went to shake out the reef and I noticed that the starboard prop was fouled by a line that was dragging in the water. Although we didn’t need that engine at the time, having only one operational engine always makes me nervous. So with a rope lassoed around my waist and Paul grasping the other end, I promptly jumped into the water before the light faded. The prop was freed with barely a second to spare! Although we’d pointed the boat into the wind, without engines running the autopilot was ineffective, and Arriba started to bear away and pick up speed. The rope started pulling hard on my waist but I managed to crawl onto the swim ladder, before being dragged too far.
We enjoyed a second night of sailing under mainsail and jib, this time without menacing skies. By the time I relieved Paul at 06:00, the winds were only 13 knots from the southeast. I replaced the jib with the gennaker, boosting our speed to 7.5 knots for a while.
Winds continued to strengthen and at 23:30 we reefed the main for the night. In the distance, there was a boisterous display of thunder and lightning. Most of the activity was over the coast, so we decided it was prudent to maintain our southerly heading and keep sailing further offshore.
The following morning, at 06:00, we tacked onto a westerly course. The sea state became increasingly confused and we motor-sailed to maintain our speed. In general, I consider five knots to be the absolute minimum speed when covering large distances. At 11:30, we set our waypoint for Daw Island, 176 nautical miles away on a heading of 248°T. The wind had shifted to the southeast, making it possible to sail.
Just before sunset, we went to shake out the reef and I noticed that the starboard prop was fouled by a line that was dragging in the water. Although we didn’t need that engine at the time, having only one operational engine always makes me nervous. So with a rope lassoed around my waist and Paul grasping the other end, I promptly jumped into the water before the light faded. The prop was freed with barely a second to spare! Although we’d pointed the boat into the wind, without engines running the autopilot was ineffective, and Arriba started to bear away and pick up speed. The rope started pulling hard on my waist but I managed to crawl onto the swim ladder, before being dragged too far.
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| Relief after freeing the fouled prop. |
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| Approaching Daw Island. |
At 16:32, we were anchored at Daw Island, having sailed 322 nautical miles in 51 hours, averaging 6.3 knots (top photo). This marked the end of our east-to-west crossing of the Great Australian Bight. There was just enough time for a shore excursion before we lost the light.
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| Ashore on Daw Island. |
The following day, we were poised to pick our way through to the more than one hundred islands and 1200 hazards of the Recherche Archipelago.
OVER.
PS The first part of the Bight crossing is here.
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