Point Picquet

Hi everyone,
After three nights in Bunbury it was time to move on.  Bunbury has great facilities and a very safe anchorage but you can have too much of a good thing.  Besides, Geographe Bay has far more to offer sailors.  We are now at 33 34.05S 115 05.22E, anchored in 4.5m over sand in crystal clear 23 degrees C water.

We departed Koombana Bay at 0545 this morning.  We were originally planning to anchor off Meelup Beach but on arrival decided to stop at the small bay a little further west - between Gannet Rock and Point Picquet.  The passage took 8 hours and we logged 38nm.  Here are two tracks and our speed profile...

Zen Again track

Detail showing where we are anchored (NW end of red track)

Zen Again speed (flat part => motoring)

Before describing the passage, here are a few pictures from our stay in Koombana Bay...

Diomedia II

Dusky Dolphin

Zen Again

Today's passage was typical for crossing Geographe Bay.  We had a nice 10-15 knot easterly for 2-3 hours and were doing 6-7 knots during that period.  Then the easterly gradually died.  When our boat speed got below 2 knots we decided to motor, and did so for about 90 minutes.  Then a light NW breeze came in which gradually backed around to the W and SW.  Just before anchoring a 15-20 knot S wind came in, and that's what is supposed to persist overnight and tomorrow.

Overall it was a great daysail in very flat water.  It gave us a chance to experiment with sheet block positions for the new yankee headsail.  We think we've got that sorted now.  It's a lovely sail.

Arriving at Point Picquet was amazing.  The water is very clear - at least 20m visibility.  We found very few places in Indonesia with better visibility.

Clear water

Gannet Rock to our east

Point Picquet to our west

After the boat was tidied up we had a very refreshing swim followed by a Bintang.

Trust all's well where you are!