The National Anzac Centre, which tells the story of the women and men who served in Australian and New Zealand Army Corp (ANZAC) in World War II, was memorable. The 2.6-kilometer walk (one-way) from the marina in bleak, rainy conditions, made an already solemn destination feel even more profound.
Cutting through the gloomy skies, a vibrant mural of a ruby seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea) on the port silos instantly lifted our mood. Australian towns and cities regularly compete for the title of best "silo art," and this one ranks among the finest. Discovered only in 2015 off the coast of Western Australia, the ruby is the third known species of seadragon, joining the iconic leafy and weedy varieties.
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| Silo art at Albany Port |
An easy walk from the marina, The Museum of the Great Southern was also worthwhile. In particular, we enjoyed exploring the replica of the Brig Amity. This vessel brought the first European settlers to the western side of the continent.
I also revisited the second-hand bookstore, Gemini, where I’d shopped during our outbound trip. I love reading about maritime adventures, preferably non-fiction, and was hoping to replenish my boat library. Such books are in great demand though, and rarely sit on store shelves for long.
For our westward crossing of the Bight, we’d island hopped and enjoyed the indirect coastal route, via Eucla (top image). For our eastward crossing, we would instead do the direct crossing, taking us well off the continental shelf. However, first a crew change was in order. Merri returned to Adelaide, and Lee, a fellow member of the CYCSA, took her place.
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| Farewelling Merri. |
We departed Albany on April 15 at first light. While there are some good anchorages west of Albany, notably Bremer Bay, we decided to sail non-stop for Esperance. Initially, we enjoyed a 12-knot breeze from the north, powering us along at seven knots. By evening, however, the breeze had swung round to the east, forcing us to motor sail.
Keeping to my usual habit, I towed a couple of lures once we were making over six knots. The routine paid off just in time for lunch when we hooked two good-sized bluefin tuna.
Sailing through the night was uneventful and we reached Esperance at 17:20 the following day, berthing in the newly-expanded marina. In what was becoming a new Esperance tradition, we dined at The Quarters, once again enjoying their Sri Lankan special.
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| Enjoying Sri Lankan at The Quarters. |
Esperance, which is a long way from anywhere, has the feel of an outpost town, but it offers visitors all of the essentials. In our case, we’d used a quarter of our fuel tank getting here, and needed to top up. The nearest petrol station was 1 km from the marina, but it offered me the chance to walk down the main street and visit one of the coffee shops.
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| Esperance Marina. |
We departed at 11:13. Four hours later, we were offshore of the islands of the Rescherche Archipelago and I opportunistically set a waypoint for Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island, 700 nautical miles away. My original plan for our eastward crossing involved staging out at Middle Island, which offers an anchorage for every condition. The idea was to bide our time there until the forecast featured multi-day winds from the westerly quarter. As it turned out, we didn’t have to wait, as a cold front off southwest WA was already slowly moving east, creating the desired westerly winds. All we had to do was keep up with the front.
Although some cold fronts move as slowly as 10 knots, this one was a speedy one that rapidly moved eastward. We got off to a good start and covered 140 nautical miles through midday. Sailing in the wake of a cold front is always a gamble though, marked by rainy weather and sudden squalls. On day two, the conditions claimed a victim when one of the wind turbine blades snapped clean off. I was just thankful we were on the final leg of our journey when it gave out.
For the next three days we covered 150, 147 and 147 nautical miles respectively. The winds lightened as the front moved far ahead of us to the east, requiring us to motor-sail more as the days progressed. We fell into double-handled sailing routine, with three-hour watches during the night. I took midnight to 03:00 and 06:00 to 09:00 and Lee took 21:00 to midnight and 03:00 to 06:00. After a couple of days it became second nature.
At 02:38 on April 20th, we crossed longitude 129 and were back in South Australian waters for the first time in four months.
By day six, the cold front that had blessed us with favorable winds at the beginning of the trip had long outpaced us. The wind veered to the southeast, about 45° off our intended course. Unfortunately, sailing close-hauled is not Arriba's strength, so it required us to motor. At 09:00, due south of Eyre Peninsula, I adjusted our course for Wirrina Cove, 136 nautical miles to the west. Averaging six knots, we eked out 132 nautical miles through midday.
On our seventh and final day, the headwinds strengthened and the seas became lumpier. We averaged a pitiful 4.8 knots, finally pulling into Wirrina Cove at 14:00.
We had sailed 1,057 nautical miles since leaving Albany, including 843 miles non-stop days from Esperance.
Departing Esperance right as the first cold front passed—but before a second could materialize—was a sound strategy. The issue wasn't the timing, but a mismatch between the weather and the boat: keeping pace with a fast-moving Southern Ocean front requires a much higher-performance vessel than Arriba. Furthermore, had Arriba been able to sail efficiently close-hauled into the post-frontal southeasterlies rather than resorting to the motor, we likely would have shaved a full day off the Bight crossing. That said, dealing with headwinds was a small price to pay; being caught mid-Bight by a second front would have been far worse.
OVER
By day six, the cold front that had blessed us with favorable winds at the beginning of the trip had long outpaced us. The wind veered to the southeast, about 45° off our intended course. Unfortunately, sailing close-hauled is not Arriba's strength, so it required us to motor. At 09:00, due south of Eyre Peninsula, I adjusted our course for Wirrina Cove, 136 nautical miles to the west. Averaging six knots, we eked out 132 nautical miles through midday.
On our seventh and final day, the headwinds strengthened and the seas became lumpier. We averaged a pitiful 4.8 knots, finally pulling into Wirrina Cove at 14:00.
We had sailed 1,057 nautical miles since leaving Albany, including 843 miles non-stop days from Esperance.
Departing Esperance right as the first cold front passed—but before a second could materialize—was a sound strategy. The issue wasn't the timing, but a mismatch between the weather and the boat: keeping pace with a fast-moving Southern Ocean front requires a much higher-performance vessel than Arriba. Furthermore, had Arriba been able to sail efficiently close-hauled into the post-frontal southeasterlies rather than resorting to the motor, we likely would have shaved a full day off the Bight crossing. That said, dealing with headwinds was a small price to pay; being caught mid-Bight by a second front would have been far worse.
OVER
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