Oz Circumnavigation

Sunday Is, Kimberley - North Western Australia 16.25.308 S; 123,09.669 E - 30/7/09

Robbie Burns said that "Nae man could change time or tides" and we have just been inducted into the world of tides, and the might and power they possess.

We are currently in the area that claims the second highest tides in the world. The highest is in the Bay of Mundy in Nova Scotia.

An appropriate overnight anchorage was selected from the cruising guide at Sunday Island, which is a sacred Aboriginal reserve with lots of rock art.

We enjoyed the flooding tide scooting us northward at 9.5 kts at 1000 rpm from our last overnight anchorage in Thomas Bay. 

However this making tide became our achillies heel because arriving at the only anchorage in the guide along Meda Pass where the chart clearly shows currents 4 - 8 kts and dangerous overfalls when we tried to stop we were doing 8 kts sideways.

The only thing to do was abort staying here and seek out another anchorage “The Pool” on the other side of the island that appeared in an older version of the Western Australian Cruising Guide, but had been chucked out of the latest edition which claimed "don't go there".

We had no choice as our next stop would have us arriving in the dark, or we would have to return against the tide back to Thomas Bay.

Claiming "The Pool" was an experience of a lifetime which gave us a baptism of fire fortuitously nice and early in our Kimberley experience.

Getting there with just the engine ticking over was giving us 13.4 kts over the ground speed and we were going through overfalls and whirlpools like I have never seen.

However soon we were about to learn what it was going to be like going against all of this as we dodged some rocks to get into this little sanctuary that was was used as a cyclone shelter for pearling luggers. Now we had r.p.m. of 2000, and speed of 2.2 kts.

Once in with some breathtaking moments looking at the sounder we dropped anchor, deployed the dinghy, and did some exploration on what we actually had underneath us.

“The Pool”, Sunday Island. Image source - Google Earth

At first light in the morning, with an ebbing tide and young Paul out in front in the dinghy being our pathfinder, we safely departed to our next stopover, having learnt a number of valuable lessons.

Firstly don't take the guide as gospel as Sunday Is is not a place you can anchor during spring tides.

I have written to the editor of the Western Australian Cruising Guide urging him to delete Sunday Is as an anchorage completely.

We noticed that in edition 2 of the guide they had The Pool as an anchorage, but took it out completely in the latest edition. This must be done for the the southern anchorage as well for the next edition.

Secondly always have an alternative anchorage in fairly close proximity if the guide lets you down, that can be claimed in daylight.