We’d been recommended to visit the coastal town of Lancelin, which would take two days to reach. Day one consisted of 68 nautical miles to the Beagle Islands. Unfortunately, we just lost the light by the time we arrived. The islands, which host one of the largest sea lion breeding populations in WA, were therefore invisible to us. However, the loud barks of unseen sea lions alerted us to their presence long before we dropped our anchor.
Arriving at an unfamiliar destination in daylight is always my preference, even if it means a pre-dawn departure. Day Two would be 84 nautical miles, so, true to form, we made an early start at 5:10. The noisy but unseen Beagle Islands remained that way. By noon, light winds gave way to a 25-knot breeze, pushing us along 7.6 knots. Two hours before reaching our destination, as we entered the north passage, we were horrified to see fires raging along the coast, extending all the way in the direction of the town. Only much closer, could we take comfort in the fact that the fires were some distance inland.
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| Lancelin fires, by day and night. |
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| Younger versions of Jean-Jaques Goldman and me. |
Our late departure at 10:18 the following morning was not caused by oversleeping, but by the need to untangle a screecher sheet wrapped around the starboard propeller. Nevertheless, averaging six knots, saw us back at Hillarys Yacht Club (HYC), Perth shortly before 20:00.
We decided there was time for one more road trip before leaving the Perth area, so we rented a car for the fourth time in WA and drove north. Our first stop was the Pinnacles Desert in Nambung National Park, which features thousands of striking, limestone pillars that rise dramatically out of the sand dunes.
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| Pinnacles, Nambung National Park. |
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| New Norcia Monastery. |
On the way back to Perth, we detoured inland via the Swan Valley, the oldest wine region in WA and second oldest in Australia. We tasted wines at Sandalford Wines, established in 1840, in their grand facility, and later at the more modest Garbin Wines. The former was packed with people but we had the latter to ourselves. We enjoyed the wines from both wineries.
Back at the marina, there was just enough time to have the hulls scrubbed and reprovision for the next leg of our journey. It was April and the autumn window was starting to open for a west-to-east crossing of the Great Australian Bight. (You can read more about timing Bight crossings here.)
Sailing from Adelaide to Perth several months earlier, we had crossed Geographe Bay non-stop. On the return, we would take the time to visit some of the places we’d missed, starting with Bunbury, WA’s third-largest city.
We left Hillarys at 03:20, another pre-dawn departure, necessary to reach our destination in daylight. Fifteen hours and 93 nautical miles later, we dropped anchor at Bunbury just as the sun was setting. We rewarded ourselves with a dinner and beers at Froth Craft Bunbury.
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| Bunbury sunset. |
Our next stop, Dunsborough, was only 33 nautical miles away, so we didn’t weigh anchor until late morning. The anchorage there is a less crowded alternative to Quindalup. There are several dozen private moorings, and while it's possible to find a spot between them, we chose to anchor on the outside of the mooring area at 33°35.85'S 115°6.333'E. There was enough daylight remaining to enjoy a long walk along the coastal walking trail. The highlight was admiring a huge sting ray in less than 30cm of water, right where we came ashore (top photo).
The following morning, I weighed anchor before dawn at 05:13, not out of strict necessity, but simply because I was already awake. The sun rose precisely as we rounded Cape Naturaliste, at 06:40. At midday, we admired the surfers bobbing in the waves in the distance as we passed Margaret River, and by 15:30 we were safely anchored at Hamelin Bay. Although only safe in northeast to southwest winds, this anchorage is a good place to wait for the right conditions in order to round Cape Leeuwin. There is also a store located conveniently behind the beach, selling essentials such as ice cream.
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| Hamelin Bay. |
We didn’t have to wait, as the following day Cape Leeuwin was in a kind mood with only ten-knot winds and flat seas. We departed at 06:05 and rounded the Cape three hours later, officially leaving the Indian Ocean and entering the Southern Ocean.
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| Rounding Cape Leeuwin from west to east. |
Good anchorages are few and far between along this wild stretch of coast. I decided to push on all the way to Saddle Island, a distance of 109 nautical miles, which we reached at 01:35. Initially, I was a bit concerned when we arrived, because the wind was 14 knots from the north, putting the island on our lee shore. You have to trust your ground tackle in such conditions. Fortunately, the short fetch from the mainland kept the water flat, and overnight, as forecast, the wind shifted to the southwest, giving us excellent protection.
After catching up on some sleep, we weighed anchor at a more leisurely 08:17. The winds were fickle and for most of the 70 nautical miles we motor-sailed. At 21:50, we dropped anchor in Frenchman’s Bay within King George Sound—the vast, deep-water expanse that forms Albany’s spectacular front door. The sound ranks as one of Western Australia’s most magnificent natural harbors.
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| Frenchmen's Bay. |
Albany's Historic Whaling Station is located only one cove east of Frenchman’s Bay, so the following morning we visited the site and immersed ourselves in the sad history of Australia’s last operational whaling facility. Returning to Arriba, we glided through the calm waters of King George Sound into Albany’s inner harbour. Ten minutes later we berthed at Albany Waterfront Marina.
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| King George Sound. |
We had covered 570 nautical miles since leaving Geraldton 13 days earlier. All that remained between us and our home in Adelaide was the Great Australian Bight!
OVER.
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