American River
Where Next?
Bob Williams
Sat 6 Nov 2021 04:35
At anchor American River
Wind: S, F5
Weather: overcast, mild
Day's run: 3 nm
We made our second attempt at entering American River just before 1500 and managed to sneak over the sand bar, the keel trailing in the weedy bottom with the depth sounder showing 1.7 meters. Normally Sylph is aground at 1.8 meters so I reckon the depth sounder was showing the depth to the top of the seagrass. Once past the shallow bit the water deepened to four to six meters and we motored the rest into American River without incident, coming to anchor in five meters of water just on 1500.
A short while later we had the dinghy in the water and made our way ashore to buy some ice for John's esky, for cleansing showers at the campsite, and a cold beer at 'The Shed'. Unfortunately there were no gluten free options available on The Shed's menu so we made our way back to Sylph just on sunset for a home cooked meal on board.
Last night a southerly change came through having me up at around 0300 with the changing tide to ensure we were not going to swing into any of the fishing boats moored nearby. The change has brought cooler weather and a bit of rain overnight.
Yesterday I received a new apparatus license from the Australian Communications and Media Authority which means I am legal to transmit on Sylph's 'new' SSB radio. So this morning I attempted to establish communications with friend and fellow sailor, Wayne, from Tasmania. I am very pleased to report that in spite of it being towards the middle of the day when HF communications tends to be at its worst, we managed to establish a clear connection on a 12 MHz frequency. Wayne has agreed to run a radio schedule for me on the upcoming voyage which, for such a long solo voyage, I am sure will be a boon to my morale and general well being, not to mention increasing safety if something untoward happens. We will be conducting further trials over the next few days but this mornings test bodes well and increases my confidence in the new radio tremendously.
Now the plan is to spend the rest of the day here and then early tomorrow morning, around 0630, depart the river at high water and make our way to Kingscote for a change of scenery. The forecast is for light winds turning W to SW'ly so hopefully the anchorage off Kingscote will prove comfortable for Sunday night.
All is well.