Ashmore Reef

Hey there!

 

While the trip from New Zealand to Australia started with a bang, our departure from Darwin was rather quiet.  There was hardly any wind, in fact, often there was no wind at all.  That suited us just fine and for a change nobody on board got seasick.  We set our course for Ashmore Reef, although there had been reports that an oilslick had hit the reef.  We decided to go there first and then see what was up.

 

As usual, we arrived after dark and this time we tried a different tactic.  Normally we just take down sails and drift until daybreak, but this time we decided to anchor on a sandbank offshore.  Easier said than done, as my anchorchain had twisted itself round and round in Darwin (our anchor got entangled with an old sunken mooring there), so that I had to untwist the chain first and let it out centimeter by centimeter.  I was in a mega-foul mood during this operation and cursed the day I had taken up sailing.  Not for the first time. 

 

The next day we successfully contacted the ASHMORE GUARDIAN, a customs vessel permanently stationed there.  To our surprise they sent out a big RIB tender and advised us to wait for high tide, when they would guide us in.  There was a slight misunderstanding, as they were in a different timezone than Darwin, but finally everything went okay.  They guided us all the way to the mooring closest to the West Island and helped us to secure the boat.  That was a good thing, as our charts, although new, were woefully inadequate.  A  couple of times we were going right across the reef on the chart, while our depth sounder showed more than ten meters of water under the boat.  It was a major zig-zag channel, too. 

 

When "the boys" came on board for the inevitable paperwork - most of Ashmore Reef is a strict nature reserve with no access for the public - I invited them over for a beer when they were off duty.  Customs vessels are strictly non-alcoholic, while the navy apparently has a three-beer-policy.   

 

Of course we went into the water as soon as we could.  It had been way, way too long; all the way since Vanuatu in fact.  New Zealand was too cold and Australia was infested with crocodiles, box jellyfish and other nasty creatures.  Here it was just perfect.  We put the dinghy down and decided to explore the island the next day. 

 

This we did before breakfast, as it happened to be low tide and the sun had just come up.  So we took a little stroll on the sandflats, found all kinds of sea creatures and generally had a good time.  You would think that this uninhabited island would be deserted, but that was not the case.  A team of scientists with a cameraman and their assistants were doing a survey onshore, as the story about the leaking oilwell was sadly not just a rumor.  Now everybody was worried that the oilslick would indeed end up on the reef. 

 

At high tide we went back to the island once more, this time to check out  West Island itself.  We observed many different kinds of animals and took care not to disturb the birds.  Only two forlorn palmtrees grow up there, the rest is low shrubs and a kind of withered brown grass.  All of that bone-dry, so that a single spark could set the whole island on fire.  No bonfires at the beach there!

 

As Cameron from customs had told us that we might get lucky and be able so see turtles hatching just after dark, we went a third time just at sunset and just before low water.  We attached two solar lamps to our outboard and left the dinghy anchored in shallow water.  We would  have to stick to the timing pretty accurately, for otherwise the dinghy would either be high and dry or far offshore on our return. 

 

Again we could observe many different creatures, notably silvery beach crabs that were  blinded by our (1 LED) headlamps and giant red hermit crabs that we had only seen after dark.  At low tide we had seen others in long snails shells.  They had bright blue eyes and stayed in the water all the time.  At high tide we had seen yet another kind, which lived only in round shells, had black eyes and lived mostly on land.  Aurora Ulani had a whole bunch of them doing races on the cockpit floor. 

 

In the end things got a bit dramatic, as our daughter couldn't walk so fast anymore and we had to get back to our inflatable on time.  Pitch black, too.  So I ran back alone to secure the dinghy and got a bad fright when I had to  splash through some water and still barely saw the dinghy.  It almost looked like we would have to spend a night on the island.

 

But then the dinghy was floating in shallow water just as we had left it.  The timing was perfect, but still it took a long time to get the adrenaline out of my system.    The tide was coming in fast and we got out of there in a hurry. 

 

Back on the boat awaited all kinds of bad news.  The saildrive which had been fixed by the Volvo guys in Whangarei had plenty of water in the gear oil again.  The fiberglass repairs to our bows, which had also been done in New Zealand, were all falling apart again, one toilet died altogether, two electrical fans followed suit, so that I had my work cut out for me.  Sailing around the world means repairing your boat in the most beautiful and exotic places...

 

Another thing was the "land sickness", which I had already experienced in Darwin.  I had severe problems with my balance as well as with my vision, accompanied by bad headaches where head and neck connect.  Dehydration?  Sleep deprivation?  A virus? What?  I stumbled around as if I were completely drunk. 

 

Strangely enough, I had no problems while snorkeling.  I met a small shark, which was totally unafraid and a big turtle which got scared when I involuntarily shouted "Cooool!" into my snorkel.  So it goes.  Plenty of tridacna shells, fish, sea cucumbers but not a single of of the famed 18 species of sea snakes that live in the area.  It was a delight to be under water. 

 

The customs boys did indeed show up for a beer  and had even made plans to invite us to their ship, but fate had other plans.  Over the VHF we heard "This is an Australian warship.  Cease your illegal activities immediately!"  Apparently the maritime patrol planes had spotted a suspicious vessel and sent the navy to investigate.  They captured the boat with illegal immigrants, who were then transferred to the navy vessel, while their boat was burned at sea.  Quite a few of the navy guys had to bunk on the customs vessel, so no chance to have a look at their boat.  We were told that the people would probably be transferred to a camp on Christmas Island, there to be checked out more thoroughly. 

 

The crew of the ASHMORE GUARDIAN came by one more time, to bring us a crate of soft drinks and sweets.  Either Aurora Ulani had worked her charm yet again or the Australian officials are going out of their way to counteract an undeserved bad rep.  In any case, just like in almost every port in the past four years, we met the most courteous, hospitable and generous people one can imagine.  It is just like our Czech/German friends Karl and Libu of the ROSINANTE said:  We like it everywhere and the people are always nice to us.

 

But it was time to move on.  Our cruising permit for Indonesia is going to expire, same with the visas and next Sunday is the official beginning of the cyclone season here.  Since then we encountered mostly calms and had daily runs of 30 miles or thereabouts.  We aren't using the engines, as usual, but rely on the wind alone.  You see so much more that way!