Today we purchased the charts for a long-held dream to take a wandering sailing journey north. As I look at the distances to be covered, and the rocks to be avoided, I reflect on the many journeys we have made since we found Dusky Dolphin. Each journey has taught us more, often things NOT to do, but we always return knowing more than when we left – about ourselves as well our yacht.

Rob’s and my experience as Cruise Captains for the Long Weekend Cruise was no exception! We have come to sail as a partnership, so we wanted to try this with sharing the Cruise Captain role. Much research and thought went into the briefing notes, and in making bookings to streamline the cruise for our fellow sailors (including booking Sunday dinner). Once the notes were completed, we readied Dusky Dolphin for her next journey, although the jinx on the compass remained (both compasses were too far gone to swing, so we used the GPS!)

We have learnt that the briefing is held the evening before the cruise, and some of us gathered to take part. It was a little uncomfortable to be briefing those with so much more experience than us, so we appreciated their respect. Newcomers to sailing, Charles and Brid on Catalpa, were assisted by us all as they discussed the forthcoming journey. I will NEVER forget the first time that we sailed out of Cockburn Sound, absolutely terrified and so grateful for the care patience of our fellow sailors. We were keen for Charles and Brid to have the same support so generously given to us.

Next morning we were up early to assist Charles and Brid should they need it. As it happened, they set sail well and we were the last to leave the club! Other than our “learning lesson” gibe in Challenger Passage (we definitely won’t do it THAT way again!), we all entered the ocean smoothly for a lovely sail down to the leads to Warnbro. Due to Catalpa’s faulty radio, we kept close to them and just enjoyed the sail. Calm seas and moderate winds made for a relaxing trip.

We had never been into Warnbro Sound before, so appreciated that some had arrived there before us. Having prepared the briefing notes, we had a good idea what to look out for, and soon anchored near Ayung in this lovely bay, which we will definitely visit again. I had learnt from Paul Hayter at Quindalup that the Cruise Captain’s boat is always open to visitors, so hoisted the “hospitality” flag once we were settled. It came down during our return journey.

Charles and Brid executed a lovely anchoring next to us. We took them into the sundowner, which was made even more fun by joining with the boats from RFBYC and RPYC. Lots of catching up with people and their stories, with Jess the furry crew from Ayung making sure that no food was wasted. I have come to cherish these sundowners as places to keep up contact with people we know and to meet new faces. So much chat to be made we kept going till after sunset before retiring to Dusky Dolphin for a late dinner and sleep.

Another lesson – leave our radio and mobiles on during the night. During the night, John woke to check Ayung’s anchor and saw one of our yachts drifting away to the west. He and Pauline tried to contact us but to no avail. So they jumped into their dinghy and chased the yacht, then got on board and woke the skipper. NOT a nice way to wake up! However, all’s well that ends well, and they were all soon safely anchored again and fast asleep. We found out next morning that our “out of hours Cruise Captains” had saved the day (or night?). To say that we were grateful and not a little embarrassed was an understatement!

A slow start and those of us sailing on made our way out of the Sound and on to Dawesville. Another magic day gave Catalpa a lovely sail. I was very happy for them that the weather was so kind. It means that they will definitely be out again. Nearing Dawesville in light winds Rob took over the helm so that I could realise another dream – lying in the bow and watching the water and dolphins as we sped through the waves. This was a truly magical experience.

No fenders dropped in Dawesville Cut this time (we had a man-overboard practice last year when we dropped a fender overboard, much to the amusement of watchers on the bridge). Frank and Lucinda Daly of Sojourn arrived at the marina first, so took up the role of helping the rest of us into our pens. This was very much appreciated with the southwesterly picking up and our yacht doing her usual “enlarging” trick whenever we come near a pen.

Once all were settled and showered we all squeezed into Dusky Dolphin’s cockpit for our sundowner. Being so close we had to have a good time of it- the photo says it all!

Dinner at the Café Bouvard was a great way to end our companionship – no cooking and no dishes. Our daughter Elwyn joined us, making a change from sailing conversations. By the end of the evening, Rob and I felt that we had all grown a little closer during these few days, and that Charles and Brid had fully taken up this sailing life.

Next morning was an earlier start with a 40 mile trip ahead of us. The promised southerly did not eventuate, and my log records that we motored from 0730 to 1107 when a light southwesterly came in. This picked up, giving us a magic 8.5 knot beam run through the Challenger Passage. Rob made some comment about me purring at the helm for this bit. This reminded me that we have now lost our fear of the ocean and replaced it with a VERY healthy respect.

Back at the club we listened to the radio for a bit as our fellow sailors arrived and logged off. It had been a good trip, full of sharing and learning and being with the ocean. Thanks everyone for making it so!

We had been prepared for Regatta Day by joining the Quindalup Cruising Yacht Club the evening before. During the sundowner on the beach, we spoke the ritual chant “I want to be a member of The Club”, to which Paul Hayter gave the ritual response “OK”. Yippee, we were IN – no probation needed here!

Regatta Day dawned bright and clear, with the fabled south easterly gently wafting across our anchorage. We had seen very little of this wind during the Cruise, so it was a wonderful start to this day. I didn’t know at the time, but found out later, that a number of our fellow Quindalup cruisers set off the same day from Mandurah and Dawesville on this wind, to join us the following day.

I busied myself with getting breakfast for the two of us, while Rob curled up in the cockpit and wrote his masterpiece (poem). Because I am usually the one to put pen to paper, I was very happy to help Rob do the same. The theme for the day being “Cruising Destinations”, we had decided that ours would be Antarctica. We had bought ourselves penguin outfits during a recent trip to New Zealand, and also blow-up penguins to put on the bow. So I also busied myself blowing up the penguins!

Rob and I have never raced before, but were assured by Paul Hayter, our Cruise Captain, that this was not a REAL race – we could just sail as we normally did. Then we were given the Quindalup Cruising Yacht Club Regatta Day 2002 instructions:

“START 0930 hrs. Pass down wind through an imaginary line between Escapee and She’s Great, after the gun & trumpet sound.

FIRST MARK (Florence M) Leave to starboard.

FINISH (Thursday’s Child) Leave to port.”

We had no idea what a “mark” was, so we watched the other yachts sail out of the anchorage. Then our guests for the day, Pauline and John Snell and their lovely dog Jessie, arrived in their dinghy. Jessie took up her usual position under the boom, and we took advantage of some “inside info” from Pauline and John on:

1. Racing, including marks and things;

2. Where we would find the boats mentioned in the instructions.

Then we all gathered at the bow to lash the penguins to their “iceberg” (staysail padded out with fenders). The final piece was the furry Fiordland penguin who was lashed to the bowsprit to lead us into the Regatta.

0945 and we were LATE! QCYC pennant flying, we motored out of the anchorage as we had seen the other yachts do, turned west, unfurled the jib and cut the engine just in time to cross the imaginary start line under sail. We were treated to She’s Great and Escapee giving us the official “start” with gun and trumpet.

And then it was just as Paul had said – we just sailed as we normally do. Rob and I handled the chart, sails and helm, while Pauline and John practiced their song for the competition. It was nice being serenaded while I kept us on course (ie following the others yachts).

Round the First Mark, Florence M, and we were treated to our first deluge from buckets of water. Then Mandala II came motoring back to greet us warmly, and we wondered what was coming – water bombs and more buckets of water! Now I KNEW this was not a race. So that meant we could throw back the unburst water bombs. Now we could really enjoy ourselves….

Mandala II ran out of water bombs, and went into their wonderful impersonation of refugees on Christmas Island. I was laughing so much that it was hard to hold the wheel, as they pleaded for passports, or passage, dressed in their matching “Indonesian” shirts and straw hats. They also offered to sell us a baby just born to one of their group – a 15kg baby girl.

The wind died, so we motored to the finish (it was only a pretend race, anyway). Treated to the hula by the grass-skirted “inhabitants” of Thursday’s Child, we wondered if we were to go on to Cape Naturaliste until we spotted Banyandah III motoring into a nearby bay. We anchored there, and wondered what to do next. Actually Rob had already planned the first thing – bring a giant water pistol next year.

Looking around, getting ashore seemed to be the next thing to do. So Rob took us (and Jessie, of course) in to shore. Next lesson – we had no folding chairs, picnic blanket on our boat, so had to borrow others’. Something else to bring along next year….

Let the games begin – Paul gathered us on the shore for the first event – Throwing the Sea Boot. Because Rene had been detained in Mandurah with all the Regatta Day paraphernalia such as the sea boot, we improvised with a sand shoe loaded with wet sand. But we still had FUN!

I was pleased to see that the many children who were part of the Cruise were given their own divisions here, with the winners being Chloe Lyons of Mandala II (Girls’ Division) and Joel Phelan of Escapee (Boys’ Division). I joined the Ladies’ Division (first time I have thrown anything since we practiced cricket in the back yard with our daughter), won by Caroline of Shoestring. With the Men’s Division having several attempts to create a new award for throwing backwards, Nigel Smith of Jacinta won with length to spare (throwing forwards).

Then the REAL competition began – Tug of War. The ladies set the scene with a tough competition won by Margaret, Sue, Jessica, Lorraine and Gail of Billabong. The Men’s Division resembled a battlefield, with trenches dug in the sand by each contender to defend his position! Two rounds were needed, both dominated by the South West Cruising Yacht Club. Had there been some judicious practice here, one wonders. John, Greg, Hank, Keith and Graham of SWCYC won the first round after a tough contest. They lost the second round to Laurie, Ron, Jim, Robert and Russell of Coal Miner’s Dream in a battle involving much audience participation. We were just as exhausted as they were when the battle was finally won.

Most of us retired for a rest to watch the Sculling Competition – paddling a dinghy backwards with one oar. A tough race between three hardened seafarers saw Max Shean of Bluebell win yet again, showing us all how it SHOULD be done.

As the hunger pangs bit, we watched the last pre-lunch event – One-Handed Bowline Tying. I was awed by the deft fingers of the contestants, and Norm Selsmark of Gambit showed us all how to do it.

Lunch on a shared picnic rug was followed by the Big Event – the much-practiced songs and poems over which many of us had been sweating. As a judge I was overawed by the high standard of all the entries, making for a VERY hard decision in choosing the winners. Imaginative and lyrical creations from Mandala II, Banyandah III, Florence M, Athol II, First Impressions, Ayung, SWCYC, Stellar, Escapee, Jacinta and Dusky Dolphin, gave us two winners:

Runner Up First Impressions with “Quindalup 2001, with Apologies to “Jerusalem””

And did those boats, at Christmas Time

Sail upon Freo’s ocean blue

And was there wind, too much at times,

From south and west, not east, it blew.

And some were stuck in Mandurah’s quay

And paty’ed hard by night and day,

Whilst we did sail to Quindalup

In Geographe’s green and tranquil bay.

Hand me my tiller of varnished oak,

Pass me my oilies of desire,

We’ll sail all day ‘cross Geographe Bay,

No thoughts of “Heave-to” or retire.

We shall not sleep whilst on our watch

Nor shall our jib be doused or furled,

‘Till we have reached Quindalup

In Geographe’s green and tranquil bay!

by Bernie Siddall

That was the first difficult decision for us judges, Then came the most difficult decision in this event – the winner. After much deliberation we awarded the winning prize to Ayung with

(To “Rio Grande”)

(a) And it’s way down Freo

We’ll sing you some songs,

And they won’t take long

They’re the songs of the Quindalup Cruise.

(b) Singing Hey, Wey, down Hey

Way down Freo,

It’s Boxing Day

And we’ve set sail,

Bound from the FSC.

And it’s………..repeat (a)

(To “If I had a Hammer”)

(a) If we stopped at a marina

We’d wish it was Mandurah;

We’d stay in that Marina

Throughout this Cruise.

b)We’d listen to the storm warnings,

We’d listen to the wind howling,

We’d stay in bed, forget the sked,

Throughout the cruise.

If we stopped at a marina,

We’d wish it was Mandurah.

We’d party in that marina

Throughout this cruise.

Repeat (b)

(To “Galway Bay”)

Whenever we sail down the coast to Bunbury

For us it’s always by the closing of the day.

We anchor just off the Clubhouse jetty

And go for a beer inside Koombana Bay.

Just to barbecue again another snag

To watch the steaks go brown then grey

To sink gratefully into our bunks

Knowing that we’re safe in Koombana Bay.

(To “Auld Lang’s Syne”)

(a) Quindalup is in our sights

It’s time to enjoy the view,

At anchor quiet

Forget your diet

Aboard Mandala II.

(b) Lying in bed,

listen to the sked What’s the weather to be?

Oh who wants ice and who wants booze?

Not us! We’d rather snooze.

(c) The Quindalup Cruise

Stops working blues.

Sun, sea and grog

Sailing down the coast,

Now that’s the toast For us! The Quindalup Cruise.

by John and Pauline Snell

As one of the judges I found it very hard to make a clear choice of the winner on Regatta Day. So I have included for you the other entries for which I have been given copies.

The story of the Cruise this year is part of each one, even for Mandala II. This boat was dressed up as Christmas Island for Regatta Day! Enjoy…

“To Quindalup” by Margaret Amble of Athol 2

To power or not to power,

That is NOT the question.

To sail or not to sail,

That could be the question.

Whether ’tis safer for the stomach

To suffer the cappuccinos of Mandurah,

Or to endure the slings and arrows,

Of outrageous southerlies,

And venture down to Quindalup.

I must go down to Quindalup

To the dazzling azure sea,

And all I ask is any boat,

And human company.

Where Mandala II entertains,

With gracious Greek gusto,

And kites fly ever high,

Under Max’s watchful eye.

Where flies abound,

And dinghies buzz around,

Regattas must be fun,

Where power meets sail at tug of war,

Rather than tug of enjun.

The biggest decision towards the conclusion,

Is whether it’s champagne or orange.

So thanks to our hosts,

And this human company.

To leave or not to leave,

That IS the question.

“Ode to Quindalup” by Rob Campbell of Dusky Dolphin

From Freo Club they came on down,

Beating south on Cockburn Sound.

Dusky Dolphin struck out early,

But Banyandah III caught up fast.

So Dusky Dolphin cut the corner,

Something which they shouldn’t oughta!

Down the back of Garden Island,

Banyandah III hit her straps

Showing the way to Mandurah’s traps –

Hot showers, shops and more,

It would be hard to leave this shore.

From way down South came the cry “

Where the heck are you guys?”

From the bar came the call

“The weather here’s terrible – apparently!”

Eventually the wind was fair,

So by moonlight the intrepid mariners departed –

This was not going to be for the fain-hearted.

Round Cape Bouvard they inside went

But that tacking there got us down

So we headed out for Geographe Sound.

On the rhumb line to Cape Naturaliste

We waited for the sou’wester’s gist.

When it finally came in

We tacked towards Bunbury Town.

Stronger and stronger the sou’wester blew

And Dusky Dolphin and Banyandah flew.

Banyandah was a thing of beauty

Her mighty helmsman doing his duty,

Racing on ahead in a trice

Getting the celebratory champagne on ice.

On New Year’s Day, near the shore

We slept in ’til way past four.

As Banyandah III slipped away

We greeted a lovely sailing day,

Round the beautiful bay we went

Bound for the Quindalup event.

As Banyandah III led us in

We thought about our scattered fleet,

So thanks to John and Pauline Snell

Who organised it all so well.

And to our fearless Cruise Captain and his bride

Who brought us to here to this lovely hide,

Not forgetting Max and his Bluebell

Who found this magic place to dwell.

“Quindalup 2001” by Banyandah III (To the tune of “Waltzing Matilda)

1. All the jolly sailors set off for Mandurah

Under sail be it one, two or three,

What a wonderful welcome with Bosun Tony meeting us

We found ourselves all rafted up as happy as could be.

Chorus – Quindalup, Quindalup, Quindalup, Quindalup

We’ll go a’sailing to Quindalup again,

But the next time we go

We want the right blow

Easterlies, not southerlies, easterlies all the way.

2. Happily wined and dined and looking forward to Bunbury

We were to discover there were southerlies once more,

The winds, the southerly winds, were very fiercely blowing

And Mandurah was our host until day 4.

Chorus

3. Early Monday morning with Dusky Dolphin at our side

We headed down the coast with the wind on our nose.

It’s New Year’s Eve, we’re running late

In Bunbury we’ll just sit and wait

And open our bottle of bubbly and see how it flows.

Chorus

4, Now we’re off to Quindalup, the journey’s end is in our sight

Seven days it has taken to get this far.

Most of the fleet are coming soon

Some of them hope to be here by noon

We are sure they’ll be trying with all their might.

Chorus

5. The good ship Banyandah III brought us all the way down here,

Even though we’re running late, to wish you good cheer.

Many of the old salts will not make it down this far

Hopefully we’ll all be together next year.

Chorus – Quindalup, Quindalup, Quindalup, Quindalup

We’ll go a’sailing to Quindalup again.

But the next time we go

We want the right blow

Easterlies, please easterlies, give us a go!

“Quindalup” by the Crew of Mandala II (To the Karaoke tune of “Down Under”)

Travelling in a clapped out “junkie”

On a compass bearing, like a zombie,

We met strange men who made us nervous

They took us is and gave us breakfast.

And we said

“Are we close to the land down under

Where women glow and men plun-der

C an you hear, can you hear that thun-der?

We’d better run, we’d better take cover”.

Bought dope from a man in Bali

He was five foot three, we called him Charlie.

“Can you take us to south land please?” we said.

“It will cost you plenty without a Visa”.

We said Chorus – “We have to go to the land down under

Where Johnnie glowed when Beazley blundered

Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder

We’d better run, we’d better take cover”.

Held on a boat at Christmas Isle,

Looks like we’re here for quite a while.

We said to the Captain, “Can we pay thee

“Cause we’re heading for the land of plenty?”

He said “You’ve made the land down under

Where history shows men rape and plunder.

If you cheer when you hear the thunder

You’d better stand back, it’s refugee chunder…”

Chorus 3 times, to fade out.

We closed the formal part of the day with awarding the final two prizes:

Participating in the most Regatta events – Rob Campbell of Dusky Dolphin was in ALL of them.

Overall Quindalup Cruise 2001 Winner of the Perpetual Trophy – Mandala II. Gordon accepted the trophy on behalf of his lusty crew, and drew our thoughts to all those who did not make it here for the Regatta.

Last but not to be least, Greg and Maggie of Thursday’s Child presented the SWCYC prizes for the Day:

For the best, most seaman-like boat – Bluebell for Max’s great efforts in winning the Sculling Competition.

For great presentation – Degrees of Freedom.

For the wettest boat – Jacinta.

Novelty prize, for trainer wheels – Coal Miner’s Dream.

For late starters – Shoestring, Salad Days.

Novelty prize for “Men’s Prowess” – Banyandah III.

For first power boat in – Shaw Thing.

For great efforts for the whole Cruise – Mandala II.

I must admit to misty eyes as I thanked everyone for their parts played in a wonderful, friendship-filled day. We will be back again, after this, our first Quindalup Cruise (with water pistols and water bombs!).

Postscript: Radio Sked, 0800 hours, 3 January 2002 (the day after the Regatta Day) “It was a great effort from all involved – the skits, songs and poems were excellent as were all parts of the day. Just as Sydney 2000 was declared the best Olympics ever we were honoured by our Cruise Captain with “The best Regatta ever”. Thanks in particular go to SWCYC…we must all congratulate Mandala II for winning the John Mitchell Perpetual Trophy for best overall effort throughout the whole Cruise.”

by Pauline Snell,

who, with her newsy and lively radio skeds every morning read out by John Snell, did so much to hold our floating community together throughout all the comings and goings.

Here we were again, sitting down for dinner in the Galley with friends from the Cruising section. Unlike our first time last year, we actually KNEW some of our fellow diners quite well. Keith and Ann, Kim and Annette, Frank and Lucinda to name just a few of the generous souls we have come to know over the past year.

Kim’s briefing notes, reflecting his attention to detail, advised us to stay home and “polish our pet budgie” if the weather was against us. The weather must have been listening, because the first day booked for the cruise to Mindarie was DREADFUL! As Rob and I don’t have any budgies any more, we stayed home and polished our cats…

Sunday was overcast and showery, but not too bad, so we all met for breakfast at 0900 in the Galley. Generous serves of bacon and eggs and we were brave enough to agree on Kim’s suggested departure time of 1100 hours, despite the showers. And so we all drifted off to make our yachts ready for the journey.

As Rob and I went about our routine of readying the Dusky Dolphin for the ocean, I reflected on our first ocean journey this time last year. We were preparing to leave Mindarie then, having sailed from Fremantle Sailing Club the day before. We had been terrified for weeks about this, but had enjoyed a perfect sail north from the club. Berthing at Mindarie was a different story, but fortunately the crew of the Merlin threw ropes across to us and hauled us into place. AND they didn’t tell everyone else about it. We were so grateful for their kindness.

We must have made good time with our preparations, because my log reads that we set sail at 1100 as promised. My “Comments from the helm” record “Showers coming”, so we started with spray jackets on and sails “battened down” for a windy sail.

After some time, Panache passed us, then Cool Change, then Degrees of Freedom, then Shiraz II. Whatever we had done to the sails, we seemed to have put the brakes on our usually speedy Dusky Dolphin. And then the wind died, rather than increased, so we gave up and motored up to Kingston Buoy.

At about the same time as a small power boat capsized at the Stragglers (as we sadly learnt next day), we were hit hard by a strong south westerly AND big swell. Our experience so far has been that this is a nasty place for such conditions, and we leapt into action to lessen the sails. Once the adrenaline settled, we held a nice course for Stark Bay and managed to keep our place in the fleet (last, but not losing speed any more!). I was hugely grateful that we didn’t meet the same conditions last year – we were becalmed then, a much easier situation for probationary sailors.

Next test – lining up for the leads at Stark Bay. As we settled on our course, Rob spotted a whale just off our stern. That was so exciting that we lost our course for a bit… Coming into Stark was one of those “Getting back onto the horse who threw you” experiences. Last time we came here, in autumn, we ended our season on one of the reefs and had to call on Fremantle Sea Rescue to pull us free. Not a good way to end our first season, so we were hesitant (to say the least) about our return. My log notes “Moor Stark Bay, didn’t hit any reefs!”.

So we could relax then (I slept, I must admit), before sharing drinks on the beach with our sailing companions. Having been last to arrive at drinks last year, we were first this year, which was great because we had more time to meet everyone. The children of Shiraz II were a joy to meet, and to share stories of their sailing with their parents. We were most impressed at their cool approach, so we didn’t let on how nervous we were when we first did this trip. A beautiful sunset ended our conversations, and we headed back to our own boats for dinner.

Next day, the weather was lovely – fine, light winds, low swell according to my log. A delightful morning tea with Kim and Annette on Panache, was followed by the “traditional” walk across the island to Green Island. It is such an idyllic spot that we decided to sail round there later in the day, and anchor for the night. We thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Kim and Annette better. And the island graced us with a little kingfisher singing to us by the path.

There were only the four of us on the walk, the other boats having decided to head back to Fremantle. Just before the first one left, Rob caught a great photo opportunity of all the Club yachts at anchor in Stark Bay. We spoke our gratitude to Kim for organising us so well.

Rob and I had planned an extra day for this trip, and we were so glad for that. Leaving Kim and Annette with Panache II at Stark Bay, we left and motored round the West End. I must be getting braver these days, because I could actually feel some urge to keep going west! A gentle breeze came in, so we had a magic sail round Cape Vlamingh and on to Nancy Cove. Now THESE are the times that we long for back at the office…

We got into Nancy Cove without any damage (although it appeared imminent) and looked for a spot to anchor for the night. We dropped the anchor in the only possible place, then looked at the potential movement if we swung round or the anchor dragged a little. Those reefs looked awfully close, so we upped anchor and went on to Porpoise Bay (dare I say an “old” favourite, where we have spent a few nights now). Must have been a good choice because were shepherded by a small pod of young dolphins for part of the way.

We spent a beautiful evening there, gifted with a fantastic sunset followed by the full moon rising – does it get better than this?

Next morning, after a short walk on shore where we met Trevor and Sue from Araminta, we sailed south. Way south (to us), to enter Cockburn Sound by Challenger Passage. Reminders of the forthcoming war in Afghanistan came when the GPS was scrambled for a couple of hours. So Rob had to navigate through the reef by dead reckoning – thank heavens to Peter Robinson for our training!

The sea breeze came in as we approached Challenger Passage, and we decided not to stop at Carnac. Instead we had a dream run up Cockburn Sound and lunched along the way. Gentle swell, quite a few seabirds (including one of my favourites, the gannets), dolphins in the distance, sunshine sparkling on the water – enough said in my log entry of “Dream run”.

When we berthed at our pen after 7.5 hours sailing, we were sad to get back. Now this is a BIG step for us, when we used to return absolutely exhausted from just a few hours sailing. And we had not “pranged” our lovely boat on a reef.

We may not be ready to take off round the south coast with Keith, Zac, et al, but at least we can now think about longer journeys. We gave out messages of gratitude to all our patient teachers and supporters as we cleaned and stowed the Dusky Dolphin until next time.

Part One – Fremantle to Port Bouvard

Recently at Rottnest, Rob and I sat cosy and warm in the cabin of our yacht, Dusky Dolphin as a storm raged outside, as I realised that I have now lost a lot of the fear of being out on the ocean (although I will always respect her). I wish I could say that for the Easter Cruise to Bunbury – our first ocean voyage with Rob as navigator and me as skipper.

Ably masterminded by Zac and Keith, we could not have asked for more thorough, professional and caring guidance. Rob and I decided to do the “Full Monty” and sail right through to Bunbury, rather than to Warnbro Sound with Zac’s group. As well as gaining maximum ocean experience, we would be able to visit the birthplace of our yacht and her builder, Peter Bielby, in Bunbury.

We both attended the 7:30am briefing at the club on the day of departure (Easter Friday), determined not to show how nervous we were. Rob having shared his preparation reading with me, such as “Surviving Storms at Sea”, we had a lot to hide! We were glad to learn that our sailing teacher, Peter Robinson, would be sailing with us in Prince Regent.

Despite our nerves, we set of from our pen with the rest of our group:

– led by Keith and Ann on Ketchup II;

– Patrick and his group on S K Pee had already left;

– Peter, Lorraine and their cats on Credence;

– Peter Robinson, Jan and their group on Prince Regent;

– along with Zac’s group

going to Warnbro Sound.

Our first challenge in Cockburn Sound was like a movie – dead calm with a fog. We had never motored or sailed in a fog before so, fog horn at the ready, we kept to our course and tried to keep sight of our fellow yachts, praying that no big ships would be around!

By the time we reached Parmelia Bank east of Carnac, the fog was clearing as the breeze picked up a little. We followed Ketchup II through Challenger Passage, including Keith’s shortcut (which we will remember for next time).

My log for 0922 hours reads “Engine off!” as we rounded the west markers of Challenger Passage, and celebrated by raising the jib and main. The ocean greeted us with a slight swell and gentle westerly – we couldn’t ask for better!

Still very nervous and keeping close to our group, we gingerly made our way south along the west of Garden Island. We had never seen it from the ocean side, and the ocean birds came to welcome us – gannets and shearwaters sweeping their way effortlessly around Dusky Dolphin.

South of Garden Island and no mishaps yet, so we raised the staysail to catch more wind. Nearing Ketchup II we looked confident – I supposed confidence inside will come…

Our large group broke up as Zac’s group turned east into Warnbro Sound. Rob navigated us expertly between the rocks and reefs as we sailed south, both feeling a little more relaxed now. This was a good thing as we handled the gusts of an incoming south-westerly and increased swell, and tacked to avoid James Service reef.

By 1400 hours the south westerly was 15-20 knots and swell about 1.5 metres, so we were both concentrating very hard, and we were very glad to be sailing in company. Keith’s sched calls were very welcome!

It was good that we had a bite of lunch then, because we were soon tacking to avoid strong (to us) cross seas as we approached the Dawesville Cut. Nasty seas near the entrance from south-westerly swells and wind, AND outgoing tide, made our passage tense and just a bit scary. We dropped all sails and motored through – a rolling, zigzag course to avoid the worst of the cross seas and lumpy, unpredictable swell.

We were both very relieved to reach the channel safely. I was shaking as I held the wheel – that whisky and soda promised by Rob was beckoning!

Keith had already worked out our next challenge – would our mast fit under the bridge? The emails had been running hot the previous week as Keith calculated that the outgoing tide would make it safe for us (good thing too, as we recovered from the tidal effects at the entrance). As we motored gingerly towards the bridge, our mast looked higher and higher and the bridge looked lower and lower. I had the engine in neutral well before, ready to go into hard reverse if we needed to. We were both so tense that it seemed like an anticlimax as we glided safely under – phew! Thank you Keith.

Our excellent briefing notes helped us to find the entrance to the Bouvard Marina. A slow motor journey brought us to the registration jetty where Harvey (the Manager) threw us our keys and yelled out the number of our pen, as our boat seemed to gain in length by the minute. Turning her around in the narrow harbour was nerve-wracking, but we made it, and managed to dock her at 1545 without any mishaps.

Once she was safely moored, Rob produced our whiskies…

Keith and Ann kindly held an “open yacht” on Ketchup II for all of us to join them for drinks – a lovely, friendly, relaxed ending to a challenging day which we followed with dinner as a group at the excellent cafe at the marina – Cafe Bouvard. Bob Pierce, who had sailed down independently in his yacht Felice Landry, joined us with his wife for dinner.

To say that we slept well that night would be an understatement.

Notes on Port Bouvard marina: Floating docks, each with fresh water and power. Each jetty has key access and there is also key access to toilets and showers (with hot water). Only one shower in each block meant that we had to be efficient with our showering, but a hot shower is a hot shower… And Harvey the Manager is extremely helpful.

Contacts Harvey Ritchie, Marina Manager, 08 9534 6444, 0417 966 171.

Cafe Bouvard 9534 6200. Next – On to Bunbury.

Part Two – Port Bouvard to Bunbury

There was a wonderful feeling of being really ALIVE, as I woke up in our cosy cabin. We had completed the first day of our first ocean voyage yesterday, and arrived here at Port Bouvard safe and sound with the other members of our group.

An orange sunrise made the perfect start to our day, as we braved the cold and walked across for our morning showers. Lorraine and Peter were stirring (maybe woken by their two cats?), on Credence opposite us.

I enjoyed getting breakfast for Rob and I in our galley. I was more relaxed today, although apprehensive about venturing out into the ocean again. We tidied the cabin as we ate, with charts out on the table as Rob outlined his navigation plan for the day, and the radio forecast in the background. Our excellent briefing notes made the day ahead a lot less daunting then it would have been otherwise – thank you Zac and Keith!

Above deck, there were sails to be readied and gear to be put out as I attempted my first radio log-in outside Cockburn Sound. No luck with the HF, so I called Fremantle Sea Rescue on my mobile. They were very helpful (as usual!), giving me call signs for stations down to Bunbury, and telephone numbers in case I needed them. Eventually Keith Morris on Ketchup II responded to my attempts to log in by offering to log in for the group. Then the airwaves went quiet.

Ketchup II, S K Pee and Prince Regent left before us, then Credence set off as we let our ropes go. We waved “good bye” to Harvey, the Manager at Port Bouvard who had taken such good care of us, and followed Credence out of the marina. We watched Credence motor under the bridge, and noted again the span under which we should go. The early morning fishermen challenged my plan – I seemed to be aiming for their favourite angling spot! However, we worked that one out amicably, and motored slowly under the bridge, with no collisions (with the bridge or with fishing boats).

We enjoyed the calm waters of the channel, as Rob talked through his navigation plan for the first leg of our day. The entrance was pretty choppy, making Rob grip tightly to the main sheet as he raised the main sail. Then we turned south. There was a feeling of freedom in this today, of getting away, with much less fear than yesterday. We could see Credence some way ahead, and Ketchup II and S K Pee further on, giving us comfort that we were not alone.

South to Cape Bouvard was a joyous ride, setting up Mildred (our wind vane) to take the helm in the moderate NW wind. We knew that we should enjoy this part, and we did, because we could see dark rain falling south of Cape Bouvard. As Ketchup II and S K Pee disappeared into the rain, we put on our rain jackets and prepared the boat for possible squalls.

A radio check with Ketchup II told us that there was no wind or lightening under the rain clouds, so Mildred was disconnected and we abandoned our plan to take in all sails. All this was a little disconcerting – outside our range of experience to date. So we really appreciated the company of the yachts sailing with us, especially as the GPS became temperamental. A challenge for Rob’s navigating as we entered the rain with trepidation, just south of Cape Bouvard.

Apart from getting wet and having to motor, our journey through the rain was uneventful (thank heavens). We took a course inside Bouvard Reef, and Rob spoke firmly to the GPS to get it “on board” again – loose connection, that was a scary learning experience. We motored out of the south end of the rain wet, but wiser.

Once we had a good course set inside the reef, George (the TMQ underdeck autopilot) was put into action. We motored south through calm seas in the SUNSHINE as we dried out. We could see small breakers on the reef to the west of us, and cray boats outside the reef. This was lovely, calm scenery, yet I could not quite get rid of the butterflies in my stomach – would we hit swells once we left the protection of the reef? Keith and Ann held regular radio scheds with all of us, which were very reassuring.

My log for most of the journey reads “Motor, no wind”. We had expected windy conditions for the day, but the wind stayed in bed, I think.

Late morning, Rob called out “Dolphins”. He took the wheel so that I could race up to the bow and watch, knowing my passion for these amazing creatures. A dolphin surfing under the bow in the sparkling sea, now THAT is a joyous experience. I am not sure if it was my imagination, but was he looking at the picture of the dusky dolphin we have painted on the bow?

Then Rob tried out some techniques with the sails, which we had learnt in our training on Prince Regent. He set the jib, main and staysail to increase the aerofoil effect. It worked a treat and we increased our speed to around 7 knots. My log notes that a shearwater flew around us soon afterwards – must have been the aerofoil!!

As we motored closer to Bunbury, we saw what looked like a sail a long way to the south of us – were we catching up to S K Pee? No. After some time, we realised that it was a water tower at Binningup. This is such featureless coastline that a good landmark should not be wasted, so Rob noted it on our chart.

Motoring on south through the glassy sea, we came out to the south of the reef. My concerns of being exposed to the ocean were groundless – it remained glassy!

The next feature was a huge “sail” way to the south again, looking as if it was heeling over. We thought, again, this must be S K Pee and there was a lot more wind further south. So plans were made to take in sail. This was very confusing as we felt no wind, until we realised that the “sail” was actually a tall white angular-roofed building in Bunbury. So it looked like we would make it in one piece to our night’s mooring.

I set course for Bunbury harbour. This was easy from a distance, but as we came closer its width made the task of finding Casuarina Harbour a challenge. We followed the cardinal markers with TOTAL focus, Rob following our progress closely on the chart. It was quite daunting coming into Casuarina Harbour – quite a busy one.

Before long, we were motoring slowly into our pen for the night at the South West Cruising Yacht Club, extremely grateful to Patrick and his crew for being ready and waiting to catch our mooring ropes. The pen was a lot larger than our boat, so we all had to try various angles before we were happy that we would be able to get off our boat onto the jetty without swimming! They gave us a great welcome, which we very much appreciated, sharing drinks with us on the S K Pee. We were honoured to also be greeted by the Vice Commodore of the SWCYC.

We had made it safely to Bunbury, the birthplace of our yacht!

We all pitched in to help Ann and Keith berth Ketchup II, and Lorraine and Peter berth Credence, when they arrived a little while later. Unfortunately Prince Regent had had to turn back due to the lack of wind, so would not be joining us.

Then we commenced a happy two hours of progressive drinks, from yacht to yacht as we shared stories and the things we liked most and least about our floating homes. Dinner together in town, swapping stories of past and present adventures, finished with a walk back to our boats under the waning Easter moon.

We SLEPT IN the next morning, and made good use of the showers (lots of hot water here!). As was becoming our habit, we listened to the radio weather forecast over breakfast, and decided that a night sail back to Perth was not on for us. There would be no wind, so we would be motoring. Bearing in mind that this would be our first ever night sail, AND we would be motoring through all those (invisible at night) cray-pots which abound inside Coventry and Bouvard reefs, AND only one of them tangled around our propeller would be NOT FUNNY – we decided that staying an extra night in Bunbury was the wise decision.

Ann on Ketchup II invited us all for morning tea with Hot Cross Buns which were very welcome (as I had completely forgotten about such luxuries in my victualling). We were touched to be presented with our “Elite OUTSIDERS Club” certificate by Ann, as were Lorraine and Peter of Credence, for our first journey to Bunbury.

Patrick of S K Pee then arrived to let us know that his plan to leave before lunch for the return to Perth was in jeopardy – his fuel was contaminated. Rob and I were amazed at the generous offers of assistance from all of us there, including the permanent tenants of the South West Cruising Yacht Club. The warmth and friendship helped to calm the situation, and to find a solution that worked a treat. Patrick and his crew left mid afternoon, and arrived safely back at Fremantle, tired but relieved.

Rob and I spent the afternoon on a cruise in a paddle steamer around the Bunbury Harbour, skippered by none other then Peter Bielby, who had built our yacht in Bunbury and spent many happy years sailing her before we purchased her from Peter in 2000. The three of us share a common interest in this yacht, which makes for quite a strong friendship. I am very grateful for this relationship and will always feel that, in some ways, we are taking care of this yacht on behalf of Peter, her creator.

Drinks on board Ketchup II at dusk ended the day with friendship again, in the lovely cosy lounge room which Ann and Keith have created. We parted having shared our plans to leave the next morning for home with Ketchup II and Credence. I was determined NOT to worry about this trip, as we had already covered the route on the way here.

Part Three – Going Home, Bunbury to Fremantle Sailing Club

The alarm woke us from our slumbers at 6:30am – too early, and it took a lot of will power not to go back to sleep. As we lay there, not going back to sleep, we heard Ann and Keith on the deck of Ketchup II next to us, quietly chatting as they went about their tasks to prepare their lovely craft for the voyage home. The guilt set in and we were UP and busy!

Radio on to catch the morning forecast, prepare breakfast, take the covers off the sails and set them ready. Even though we were fairly new to sailing, we were starting to be able to swing into these preparations with some composure. Although I must admit to using a detailed checklist before we set sail, just to make sure that everything has been done.

We farewelled Ketchup II, as she sailed gracefully up the harbour into the sparkling, gentle morning. Then Credence, with Lorraine, Peter and their two cats, set off with their usual flair. Finally, we let go the mooring lines only to be blown onto one of the pylons (so much for being composed!). We were very lucky that Hank, one of the kindly live-aboards who had helped S K Pee so much yesterday, was there to help. He pulled us away from the pylon so that we could moor again. Second time was wonderful, and we set off with a farewell from a pair of dolphins as we sailed nostalgically past the shed where our yacht was built.

I was very grateful that I had steered Dusky Dolphin along the channel once, because I was “navigator-less” on our journey out. Rob was having a lengthy altercation with the mainsail for most of the passage, which took his total focus.

They worked things out, and we sailed from the harbour mouth into a gentle south-easterly with all sails up. We were hoping that our journey north would be under sail, after our motor journey to reach Bunbury. That happened for a while…

By 10:00am, we had all sails up to catch any wind, but there wasn’t any. So-o-o-o motoring it was to be. We kept all the sails up though, just in case… A slight northwester came in over the next couple of hours, and then my log for noon reads “SAILING – good north west wind”! Now THIS is what we had trained for.

As we came closer to Ketchup II, we realised that Ann was taking photos of us. We responded in kind, and caught some lovely shots of Ketchup II, as she maintained her grace. We even took photos of Ann taking photos of us, but it didn’t matter!

Rob remembered that S K Pee had sailed close to the shore, inside the Bouvard Reefs and seen lots of dolphins on the journey south. So we decided to take the same route north. By 12:30 we had one reef in the main as the north-wester was increasing – absolutely wonderful sailing!!

We had our reward some time later. Racing (for us) along at 7 knots, a large pod of dolphins came to play around the whole boat, racing round to the bow to surf, then dropping back to jump up at the stern. Rob was very understanding when I had to let the helm go at this point. I LOVE dolphins, and to see so many… Rob kindly took over and I raced up to hang over the bow. I could almost touch them, and look them in the eye as they checked us out. My tears of joy took some time to subside.

Rob navigated us expertly through the reefs, as the north-wester died and a light westerly came in. Our final sail to Port Bouvard was on a beautiful 6 knot broad reach with a 15 knot westerly racing across the sun-sparkled sea – so much joy today, I felt grateful and humbled as we waved farewell to Ketchup II sailing off into the sunset (to return home that night).

The main had the last word when Rob went to drop it – a batten flew out in a graceful curve into the sea! Then we did a man-overboard procedure in the channel (thank you for the training, Peter Robinson), to retrieve a dropped fender, with much merriment from the onlookers. And Rob’s generous offer to allow to me to steer into the pen backfired – I really lost the steering and he had to leap off the bow onto the jetty and haul us in by the bow rope (with amused help from more onlookers!). Good thing he has done all that training for mountain climbing.

Phew – drinks on board with Lorraine and Peter of Credence were very welcome to sooth my shattered confidence as we toasted a most magnificent sunset.

Next morning we were up earlier than yesterday, to get home in time for the cleanup. We left the pen very smoothly (thank heavens – no-one else was up yet to help us!). No man-overboard procedures in the channel, so it was a quiet leave-taking of this place which had given us food and much-needed rest.

We headed to just west of the James Service Reef as we raised sails to catch the early wind. This did not last long, and it was back to motoring. There was one advantage though. With no wind and only a slight swell there were lots of sea birds around us, mainly shearwaters and flying fish. They make great sailing companions.

There are lots of features on this run, such as the rocks and markers outside Warnbro Sound. This allowed us to remember more clearly than yesterday, our passage south some days before. We motored past, gaining some sort of confidence that we had now found our way safely through all these rocks, reefs and shoals on both voyages past them.

By 11:00am, a south-westerly wind had began. So we put all sails up to catch it. Soon afterwards, the wind was picking up well so we “took the plunge” and turned the motor off! Oh peace, and so lovely to just hear the sails and the sea. Past Cape Peron, past the west side of Garden Island, as the wind picked up all along.

By the time we reached Challenger Passage we were managing 7.5 knots with a 15 knot south-westerly and all sails up. Our best sailing yet – yippee!!!

It was a strange feeling to sail into Cockburn Sound again. We had left some days before in calm seas and a fog, very nervous about our first ocean voyage but determined to enjoy it. And we did enjoy it. We are still revelling in the newness of the friendship, with which we are so generously showered by all with whom we sail. We are eternally grateful to those who have taught us (Peter Robinson, Keith Morris, and many others). And last, but definitely not least, we are enormously grateful to Peter Bielby for creating this beautiful yacht which we have called our home for the past few days.

We were treated to a perfect sail across Cockburn Sound before we reluctantly turned on the motor to enter the Fremantle Sailing Club harbour. As we entered the pen, having completed 167 nautical miles with 20 engine hours, we relaxed, and said “Thank you”. Our first ocean voyage was completed and we now felt much more at one with the Dusky Dolphin.