Beez Neez now Chy Whella - To Shelburne Bay

To Shelburne Bay

Beez Neez now Chy Whella

Big Bear and Pepe Millard

Sun 10 Jul 2016 22:57

To Shelburne Bay

Todays journey from Portland Roads, Cape Weymouth to Margaret Bay, Cape Grenville. Fifty five miles of wiggling between islands and staying on the edge of the main shipping channel.

Just after half past nine we had our first chum overtake us, Tasco Amata – Hazard X Tanker, length 105 metres, beam 20 metres, draught 5.1 metres and speeding by at 15.1 knots.

Oh well colour me happy, look at what is coming up behind us moments later – Stenia Colossus pushing through the water at 13.4 knots. This chum is on her way to Sohar under the flag of Singapore. Length 197 metres, beam 32 metres and draught of 12.2 metres. Oh it it doesn’t get much better – coming the other way...........

.........RTM Twarra on her way to Gladstone. Just look at her taking the waves in her stride, she may look small against the Colossus but her looks are very deceptive. She’s huge at 236 metres in length, beam of 43 metres (three and a bit Beez end to end across her width) and a draught of 12.2 metres and we are only in sixteen metres at the moment. At one point we will all be in a line. Wow.

Nearing each other.

Twarra pops out. Under the life raft on Colossus is a tiny black dot, that’s a man waving vigorously at us.

And off she goes, all over by ten past ten, my watch until two.

All too much for the skipper who grabs forty winks – pretending to read.

I videoed the nodding dog action but after a while it was too much in my peripheral vision and upsetting my watch concentration. Lie down will you, no I’m reading my book. I’ll count to three. Ok, Ok, don’t nag. Grooowwwlllll.

He always looks as if he’s smiling when he nods off, but it soon gives way to the ‘whelk look’.

Bamboozle looking lovely as she overtakes doing nine knots. Jamie hailed us for a chat and said they were heading to Shelburne Bay, beyond Margaret Bay to take eight miles off the next journey. A great idea.

I hope my aunties are looking down and having a laugh as we approach Highgate Hill.

Bear awake now, cheeky, notices our courtesy flag has chafed through the bottom tether. Off he went to rescue it, I just love the Mr Bean look. We don’t want to lose another one just days before we leave Australia. So pleased Bear caught it in time.

On our right a load of sea birds have just finished a conference on fishing techniques.

We round the corner to Margaret Bay at four o’clock and decide that we will follow Bamboozle’s lead and head to Shelburne – the next bay, in the unsurveyed grey bit of the map.

Kereru (left)and Brahminy Too resting at anchor in Margaret Bay.

Hundreds of birds enjoying afternoon tea.

Shelburne Bay. Bamboozle anchored to the right, thoughtfully radioed to say “no bumps or humps on the way in”. We couldn’t believe this far out we had just 2.4 metres below us. Indeed, the flat, sandy bottom stayed at the same depth for the next three quarters of an hour. Anchor down just as the heavens opened, pleased to be snug for a short nights sleep as we are off at four in the morning.

ALL IN ALL THE STRANGEST ANCHORAGE

UNBELIEVABLY SHALLOW FOR MILES