Yes, we have done the Bight-we decided to visit Middle Is.
we decided to make Daw Is. our last landfall before the Bight and what an experience !
A beautiful sheltered bay,surrounded on three sides by huge rock mountains rising out of the sea, and small rocky islands,covered with seals,much to Bodi's fascination-he would have dived in to swim with them if we'd let him.
From there (Monday)the first three days were unbelievably calm and warm,spent catching fish and trying to fill the sails.
When the wind came up it kept changing direction,making conditions bumpy and swelly,mainly on the nose.
We managed our 'watches' ok. with Bill sleeping during the days,and taking over for most of the nights,and saw no other vessels until nearly to K.I.
With the rougher seas and wind behind us, we reached up to 12.5 knts.but the 12yr old pump on the new autopilot split a bearing,so we had to handsteer,two hours about,for nearly 24 hours until reaching American River,K.I. about 4pm. Saturday,and were thankfully directed to a mooring by Allan of A.R. Radio.
After recovering we had a great time at A.R.(not a river just wrongly named by a group of American sealers in 1803),only 250 pop. but helpful and hospitable with invites home to dinner,cuppas,and trips to Kingscote(historic main town)for cafe experiences,provisions,and sightseeing. Bodi enjoyed the pelicans and the dolphins cruising around us.A quick phone call, and Sam from Adelaide,previously met at Albany on 'Sanity'posted us a new bearing and Bill fixed the autopilot.
On the way north up the St.Vincent Gulf,we stopped over at Wirrina Cove Marina,an excellent modern facility in the middle of nowhere,caught up with Sam and had a very long steep walk up the huge hills surrounding the marina.
Early next morning we set out for Adelaide;the wind was against us but we knew another front was approaching so had to reach shelter before it caught up.We reached the Adelaide Port channel just after dark,very confusing with all the port lights in the background, to make out the channel markers between rock walls and the leads.As it turned out a huge freighter was heading out directly ahead as we were approaching the port.No wonder we couldn't see the leads.It had no visible lights,we could only make out a looming large silhouette,then a handheld torch flashing from up on the front deck.Next thing,the pilot boat came roaring up beside us,shouts telling us to get out of the *# way of the #* ship bearing down on us.A very quick side swerve,trying to make out our distance from the rocks,as we saw the hulk gliding close by us.Just as well the RSAYS marina was calm and well-lit, only a short distance further on past the vehicle,passenger and stock terminals,next to the brilliantly lit huge container wharves.
Here we were next day allotted a prime position berth,right in front of the clubhouse and amenities,and have been busy meeting and talking with other boaties, acquiring more cruising info. about Tasmania and the S.A. coast. We were thrilled to be taken to lunch at the Adelaide Wine Centre to celebrate my birthday by friends Bill and Barbara.
Also Kevin from Albany has been here in town visiting his mother,so he has kindly taken us sightseeing and provisioning.
We have been shopping for warm clothes and our latest project is pickling olives from the many ripe treefuls lining the streets around here.Tomorrow we're off to see the Giant Pandas at Adelaide Zoo.
Posts
