Montebello Milestones

After a couple of days enjoying the quiet anchorage at Onslow we were keen to get out to the Montebello Islands. 

Sylvie's sailing lesson in our little dinghy Wanda

As it happened a northerly wind was forecast which would not have been safe for us in the bay we were in or good for sailing to the Monte’s so we did our passage plan and hauled the anchor up at 11.30 pm. We had to cover about 75 miles and needed to arrive with good daylight and a rising tide. Passage planning often works backwards from an ideal arrival time and results in a departure time at some unsociable hour. We made very good time with a blustery wind behind us and arrived at the entrance through the reef at 9am the next day. 

Chart of the Montebellos showing many uncharted areas

Following good advice from Billy and Cam in Albany we headed to Claret Bay, a south facing bay at the very southern end of the little island chain. There was nobody else there and we anchored and went to sleep for the afternoon. When we woke up there were three catamarans in the bay and shortly after that two more yachts arrived as well. Turns out everyone had the same idea about sheltering from the north wind which was coming.

The fleet at Claret Bay

It has been a very enjoyable few weeks hanging out with two other yachts from Dunsborough. More socialising than we have done in the past months combined. Both boats had children aboard so it was fun to hang out with them. 

Jenni had a great time teaching 7 year old Sylvie to sail and make biscuits.  We all played Finska on the sand, lots of snorkelling on the coral reefs, walking, BBQ fish burgers on the beach, and plenty of good conversations and sharing of ideas and knowledge of the area and beyond.

Sociailising at Pitt Point

 

Sylvie is a natural little skipper

Finska with the kids

The Montebellos are a strange and rather eerie place to be.  They were used as a nuclear test site by the British Army in the 1950s and the bombs which were set off have left their marks all over the islands.  Bits of ship, plane, buildings and other debris litter the landscape. It all seems to be left exactly as it was after the blasts. One was inside a ship in the main channel and the other two were up on towers 30m high. 

We had no idea how much radiation was around, however the warning signs just say to limit exposure to one hour per day on the land around the test sites.  The islands which the bombs were on are still pretty much void of vegetation compared to the other islands where trees and reasonable biodiversity are in evidence.

Foray ashore - reading the warning signs

One of the many lagoons and ever-present military debris

Rusting remains of the 1950's British nuclear testing command centre

Plane wreck

More abandoned debris

Life below the surface of the water is abundant and varied. We snorkeled on reef which was full of colourful fish, coral, plants and quite a few things which we weren’t sure how to categorise. On one swim we were accompanied by a pair of copulating turtles a few metres away.  It seemed a bit voyeuristic but we felt very blessed to be witnessing such a union.

Exploring Stephenson's channel and Willy Nilly Lagoon

Low tide ripples

Stingray bed. They love to sunbathe in the shallows til the plug gets pulled!

Friends - baby shark and stingray basking together.

Low tide colours

 

Mangrove art

Old grandma mangrove

Eggs on the rocks - no soft landing here

Textures

Footprints

Underwater entry statement

The young guys on the catamarans were such keen fishers, mostly spear fishing, that we were kept supplied with fish at all times without have to wet a line ourselves. The islands are a paradise if you are into fishing, spear fishing and surfing. In most conditions you can anchor the yacht near the reef where it all happens. We would like to have another visit with a bigger, faster dinghy so that we can explore further afield. Many places particularly in the north are only accessible by dinghy due to very shallow water.

Tidal rush

Turtle lagoon expedition

Happy exploring

A little rain - a lot of blooms

Termite mounds everywhere

Hiding up a channel

We eventually left the islands in the company of a big yellow cat called Cheetah at about 4am so that we would arrive in Dampier 70 miles to the east in daylight.

During our time at the Monte’s we clocked over 5,000 nautical miles (about 10,000 km) since we bought Upstart in Queensland in 2018.  A milestone worthy of celebration!

Cheers to 5,000 nautical miles

Thank you Upstart - our fabulous yacht.

Farewell Monte's

Ningaloo - Inside the Reef

Over a month has now passed since we last wrote and since we left Carnarvon heading north to the Ningaloo Coast.

Gorgeous gin clear water of Ningaloo

We had a great overnight sail to Maud’s Landing [Coral Bay] with a brisk 20kt wind behind us all the way finally dropping the anchor at breakfast time in the calm clear waters behind the Ningaloo Reef. It felt great to have finally ventured into new territory and found such gin like water teeming with exotic life.

Ningaloo Reef is one of the largest and most pristine fringing reefs in the world. It is abundant with beautiful corals, fish, whales, whale sharks, turtles and a myriad of other marine creatures. Despite its World Heritage listing and marine park status it is threatened with oil and gas exploration.

Passing through the reef

The area around Coral Bay is very popular and this year is the busiest people can remember due to travel being restricted to within WA.  There is a clearly marked channel which goes south past the township inside the reef and this was a great opportunity for us to have a good look at the rocks and ‘bommies’ passing close by but safely within the marked channel. This is a rare thing along the inside of the reef, in fact much of it has not been charted at all. We spent a night near Moncks Head but found we were on the main track for all the small boats heading out for fishing - tearing past us at dawn, many of them very close. 

Threading through the Coral Bay channel

Returning to the quieter anchorage at Maud’s Landing, we had the great delight of catching up for sunset drinks on the beach with Dianne and Peter, our friends and neighbours from Albany.

Albany friends Dianne, Peter and Harry the dog - cheers!

After a few days, we felt ready to head further north into the less documented areas inside the reef. Our first stop was a little bay called Chabjuwardoo where we spent a night. Then on to the site of the old whaling station at Norwegian Bay via a tiny channel around Point Cloates. This is a narrow, shallow passage which can only be used at high tide, very exciting! We landed our first school mackerel on the way and saw lots of turtles and whales.

Point Cloates lighthouse

Doggie mackerel  - first trolling catch.

Norwegian Bay old whaling station 

As you can see the remains of the whaling station are still there slowly rotting away. Lots of steam boilers with intact tube stacks and the big winch on the beach which despite getting doused by the ocean every day since it was closed in the 1950s is still recognisable for what it was. 

No more whale slaughter here - yay!

Whaling station debris everywhere

One of the many abandoned boilers

More than 70 years on the beach

Norwegian Bay is a sanctuary zone so there are no fishers in tinnies or campers, a quiet spot for us. We did lots of beach walking along this wild and beautiful bay, finding giant crayfish shells washed up intact and lots of pretty shells. We stayed for three days but finally the rolly nature of the bay in the southerly wind convinced us to move on.

Miles of pristine beach to ourselves

What is this strange creature - any ideas?

Pretty tumbleweed 

We went outside the reef to get to Tantabiddy near North West Cape and saw dozens and dozens of very lively humpback whales, many of them breaching repeatedly and slapping fins and tails.  Some of them came very close to the boat to check us out. It was a thrilling show on the humpback highway and so good to see the whales in such healthy numbers.  

"Bommie" look-out as we head through the reef

Hello humpback! 

Tantabiddy is very sheltered from the swell by the reef and the base for about 20 charter boats that take people out every day to see and swim with the whales and the whale sharks. Other than the boats it is just a boat ramp and toilet in the middle of nowhere, being about 50km from Exmouth. We were lucky to get a government mooring right next to a little sanctuary zone with lots of gorgeous coral within swimming distance.

 We snorkelled every day in the warm 24 degree water and loved seeing the colourful fish and coral.

Snorkelling to check the anchor and extraordinary marine life around us

Relaxing with morning coffee and phone signal

After three days we headed back out and north for Serrurier Island, an early morning start for a 50 mile trip. Again so many whales along the way! We became quite worried about hitting them and Jenni took to practicing her tap dancing in the cockpit to make sure they heard us and were awake.  A large yellow sea snake startled us swimming next to the boat near Murion Island and along with the whales, lots of jelly fish and a few turtles kept our eyes glued to the water. 

Having finished eating the mackerel Chris tried his luck with trolling again but only managed to lose two lures to some enormous fish we were glad we didn’t catch!

Ningaloo blue - we'll be back!

Rounding Northwest Cape - the coast turns east from here

Spies! Massive radio towers at Northwest Cape US/Australian Naval Communication Station.

Late afternoon we anchored in a pretty little bay on the south east side of Serrurier Island with plans to explore ashore the following day. Instead we woke with the boat rolling violently in the early hours of the morning as a fresh southerly had sprung up. Sleeping in such a state was impossible so we made a leisurely start to the day with early coffee and breakfast and prepared to go to sea unexpectedly, finally leaving at 4:30am for a surprise stop at Onslow about 4 hours sail away. 

We sailed past the massive gas works on the way in, not sure what we would find but the town is situated in a bay facing away from all the industrial stuff and we didn’t notice it was there except for arriving and leaving.

Still chilly early in the morning

Welcome to the Pilbara! Wheatstone gas processing facility & port near Onslow.

Onslow town foreshore - now we start getting used to the tides and red mud.

We found Onslow to be a lovely little town with a calm anchorage in the southerly wind just off the town beach.  We stayed for a couple of days getting some fresh vegies and preparing to go out the Montebello Islands.  

After a few weeks out of range in the wild and remote Montebellos, we are now in Dampier.  

Next up date soon!

Optimistic baby! A nursery of baby cormorants hoping that this seagull is mum with lunch.

These handsome little swallows love hanging out with us.

Flying our home-made Aboriginal flag as a courtesy and respect to the traditional owners of Australia