Escape River to Cape York
Gaviota
Thu 23 Jun 2016 05:53
Tuesday,
21st June Midsummers/Midwinters Day (Down Under). 8.00am start (lie in!) for the epic journey
to Cape York. We re-traced our course
out of Escape River (not trusting the moving sandbars!) Syd got the downwind sailing system set up
and off we went in a good 20 knot South Easterly wind. Albany Passage loomed ahead. Tides in this area do very weird and
wonderful things and instead of simply coming in and going out have an extra
mini tide in the middle so it seemed we had a 3 hour tide that would be running
with us through the Albany Passage (without this the only option was to go
around the outside). We got closer to
the entrance and could see standing waves across the mouth (not a good
sign!). A group of people on the
headland in a 4wd waved encouragingly but it all looked very ominous. Syd was glued to his precious i.pad and
looked ill as we closed in towards the breaking waves. He altered course to clear the worst of the
surf and we glided into a different world – the wind dropped, the sea was dead
flat and we skimmed along silently doing an amazing 9+ knots with the tidal
flow. It was quite idyllic as we shot
out of the other end into a lovely calm sea.
A total surprise I had expected the Torres Straits to be a wild and windy
place – this could not have been more different. We sailed on with a blue sky and sunshine and
saw Cape York ahead. We rounded Eborac
Island and York Island the 2 off-lying islands to the Cape and dropped anchor
right next to the iconic Cape – the most Northerly point in the Australian
continent.
Dinghy
down, outboard on and off we zoomed to do the obligatory pilgrimage to the
point. We were not alone, it is a ‘must
do’ for a lot of Australians who drive up in 4wds and endure all sorts of
hardships, red mud roads, tracks, river crossings, campsites and crocs to get
to this point – we did it the comparatively easy way.
It was a
lovely walk across the granite boulders on a well worn path to the point.
We had
left the dinghy floating with 2 anchors holding it firmly in the sand as the
tide here goes out a long way. I
persuaded Syd to do a walk along the very long white sand beach (we had been
cooped up on the boat for too long!).
When we got back the dinghy was high and dry. Quite obviously my fault for insisting on
the walk! We tried dragging it to the
still receding sea but it was far too heavy with the outboard and fuel tank in
it, so no option but to take both off and leave them on the sand while we
hauled the dinghy to the sea, then collected the outboard, fuel tank and
anchor. All this in 35 degree heat! Once safely back on board we were relaxing
with a gallon of water when a helicopter flew low over us, it headed to the
Cape (we assumed a tourist flight). Next
a large RIB filled with police zoomed past.
The helicopter hovered over the Cape and a man was dropped on a winch to
rescue someone who had either fallen or been taken ill. The person was airlifted off and the police
zoomed back past us. Peace fell once
more over the most Northerly point in Australia.
