Carnarvon

We finally departed Exmouth Monday 6th August for the 220 nautical mile sail to Carnarvon with a stop over in Norwegian Bay if the weather allowed (Unfortunately there were huge breakers pounding in as we passed Norwegian Bay). The weather was nice and calm, we enjoyed a nice downwind sail to the Cape and around. Not long after passing the Cape and heading South the sun sunk into the horizon and we settled into another night on the ocean.

North West Cape Sunset

As we headed down the coast we were hoping to see some Whale Sharks, unfortunately we didn’t see any, however there were a lot of Humpback and Pilot Whales along the way. The humpbacks put on a great show with their tail or fin slapping and breaching.

Whale Slapping Tail

Whale Slapping Tail

Thar she blows

We had to motor a fair bit due to the wind dropping right out or when it was blowing being right on the nose. The seas didn’t help. We aimed for a 4 knot average speed and managed to keep close to the average overall. The 7 knot sails were great but the motoring along at under 3 knots in heavy seas were not the best.

After three days and two nights we arrived in Carnarvon and headed down Teggs Channel under the flight path of the airport. The channel seems to just end at the mangroves until you round the mark and a nice mangrove lined channel opens up into the Small Boat Harbour. We headed for the harbour wall to tie up and have a well earned sleep. The tides rise and fall relentlessly in the harbour, this required a lot of fender moving every 3 to 6 hours.

Teggs Channel into the Mangroves

Carnarvon Small Boat Harbour with Caree’s masts to the centre right.

Carnarvon Small Boat Harbour. Rio Tinto tug tied up alongside, believed to be associated with the salt loading facility north of Carnarvon

Fenders placed in the various tide heights

Carnarvon has transformed into a nice town over the last ten or so years, the waterfront on the Facine is nicely developed. We enjoyed a few walks and met a few of the locals. The Carnarvon Yacht Club were busy with their dredge clearing the silted up entrance to the Facine so that soon yachts will be able to enter the Yacht Clubs marina again and enjoy their facilities.

The weather turned in Carnarvon and we saw a decent rain shower, the first time for more than three months.

Carnarvon – Rain Shower