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| Navigating by sight through the shallows to Carnarvon |
to be,
after a nightmare overnighter from Coral Bay-nowhere to stop,wind against us,steep waves close together,motoring most of the way.Broome,now 1300 miles behind us,provided a very enjoyable break,although busy with repairs and reprovisioning,and ruled by tide for trips ashore.As well as being an historic,multicultural town for pearling,it is also a thriving tourist centre,laid -back and beautiful,set off by red cliffs,yellow sand beaches and bright turquoise water.Most of our Kimberley cruising companions caught up with us,also preparing for the trip south.
From there on the coast is less hospitable,anchorages few and not very comfortable,sometimes anchoring in the shallow ocean for a break.However we had good winds and flew down Eighty Mile Beach averaging 8-9 knots,the water less than 3metres deep for miles out.
Within 5 days we reached Port Hedland,an iron ore and salt exporting centre,
the anchorage right beside the shipping channel,but a friendly yacht club nearby.
The town consists mainly of accommodation for mine workers,to be flown in and out of the Pilbara.
Two XS was covered with red dust by the time
we set out 2 days later for Depuch Is. There we climbed Anchor Hill to check out aboriginal rock carvings,discovered by the crew of HMS Beagle in 1840, mostly turtles and fish on the large boulders which covered the island.
Next on to Dolphin Is. where we navigated slowly over the rocky shallows of Searipple Passage,saving many miles around, on our way to Dampier. Avoiding huge bulk iron ore carriers and container ships,we eventually reached the sheltered bay anchorage,to find a yacht club with a floating pontoon jetty.
Also we met Darwin boatie friends,Kylie,Mick and dog,Gypsy(joyful reunion for Bodi),staying and working in the area for a while,and we were grateful for being driven around sightseeing as well as shopping in Karratha.
Although Karratha is a busily expanding iron ore and gas centre-the scale of the industry is amazing,
Dampier is a quiet backwater.
More of our fellow cruisers arrived there,making quite a fleet heading for Perth and beyond-Wendera, Quoll 11,Othello and Pretty Woman(2);more socialising and catching up.
Good winds helped us past Cape Preston,where a monstrous bulkloading facility is being constructed,an uncomfortable,rolly night at Great Sandy Is.anchored next to reef,then on to Onslow.
Here we caught up with Fortuna,another cat en route to Perth,and our present sailing companions.
We were able to refuel up the shallow creek in Onslow,
thanks to our Bailey card,and wash Two XS,but it is only a very small town with a salt loader,pub,
supermarket and a flourishing community garden. But there was tv, phone and internet access so Bill and Damien were able to watch the footie Grand Final.
Next stopover was Serrurier Is.,a lovely spot,white sand beach,clear aqua water,whales frolicking just outside the bay.
We decided to miss Exmouth and head around the corner-North West Cape,
through Ningaloo Reef to Tantabiddi,
where we unfortunately caught up a 30m mooring buoy rope on a rudder,spending an uncomfortable bumpy slappy night,stern on to the wind and waves.
All the anchorages in this stretch were inside Ningaloo Reef,with swell ,shallows and lurking reef to contend with during entry and not much shelter inside,including Norwegian Bay(former whaling station)
and Maud Point,near Coral Bay.We had to dinghy around,over reef and shallows,
to visit Coral Bay;
a beautiful unspoilt little tourist town,pub lunch at the Reef Resort,
then a very wet ride back as the wind had come up,
with Bodi sheltering under the dinghy cover.Carnarvon was once a main shipping port,
so we have checked out the Historic Precinct near the One Mile Jetty 
with the lighthouse keepers'cottage museum,railway
and shearers museum.
Maybe we'll be able to leave for Shark Bay by the weekend?PS. It's getting colder so we now have to wear clothes instead of our swimmers 'uniform'.
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