Montebellos
to Dampier
8 July - 13 July 2014
by Margie
We really like Dampier!!.... I am not sure
why - the port is busy, it takes a
long time to get into the harbor through the Mermaid Sound or Strait, there are
tankers and tugs by the ‘harbor-loads’ to contend with, and there is of course
the red dust from the ore stacks and the white dust from the salt stacks that
add a layer of coloured dust to your deck and all spaces inbetwee- but it
offers everything that I believe a yachtie needs and is looking for after days
at sea.
It offers friendliness, cleanliness, a
dinghy dock, restaurant and bar close by with huge television screens, café for
the most tastiest cappuccinos, (next to the Mill Bakehouse in Freo of course),
there are showers, toilets and laundry facilities, there is a small supermarket
with all necessities within a short walk, there is an almost free bus service to
Karratha, should you wish to go, and if you don’t get the bus there is always
someone to give you a lift.
At the Dampier dinghy dock there is a
double boat ramp with floating docks.
One of them a dinghies dock for dinghies
less than 3.5 meters. Opposite
this dock is another that some of the smaller working boats use, very large
tinnies that ferry workers to the larger working boats. This dock has a water tap and hose it
also has a petrol fuel bowser. These docks are well protected with a rock wall
surrounding them. Outside this
rock wall is a much larger fuelling jetty. However this must booked and details
for this are at the yacht club reception or in the cruising guide.
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| Yacht Club and floating small dinghy dock |
Anchoring in Hampton Harbour is not a
problem and there are plenty of moorings to pick up in case of an
emergency – all privately owned
but available if in need - which was our case the night of our arrival.
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| The fuel jetty in Hampton Harbour |
We had had a great bumpy sea- sickening
motor sail from the Montebello’s to Dampier. Staysail only was up and the winds were beating directly at us from the east – again –
but it was manageable. We
pointed Moonshadow on a direct course for Endeby Island, planning to enter
Dampier harbor via Mermaid Strait, which runs a course west and then south
around the Island.
The exit from the Montebello’s was
beautiful, pain free and the scenery was stunning. I am not sure how to describe these islands except that from
a bird’s eye view they would seem like bits of land scattered in close
proximity with no rhyme or reason as to their shapes or positions. From space they the islands and their
surrounding reefs take the form of a whale ready to breach. From our point of view, though,
the magnificence never ceased.
Around every bend and bay there was another bend and bay and lagoon and
channel. One could easily get lost
in this maze and I must admit, it seemed inviting at times.
The waters were reasonably calm, the spinifex
covered hills, the rocky outcrops and the sandy beaches that intersperse the
rock faced cliffs all added to the sheer charm and beauty of these serene and
isolated islands – and not a tree insight. We tried desperately to capture the mood and image on
camera – but not sure how successful Jeremy was. The photos are fabulous but you would have to be there
to absorb the history and the serenity and the spirit of the place.
We exited the islands through Dot and Daisy
Islands, with Dahlia, Dandelion and Aster Islands to port and Marigold,
Foxglove and Buttercup Islands well to our starboard.
The names of these islands and bays are
intriguing. It seems that most of
the islands have floral names and the bays have alcoholic names! Hmmmm – wonder what that says about the
people who park in these bays – or who named them.
We arrived with Pansy Island on our port
and Drambuie Bay on our starboard.
We sailed past Primrose, Carnation and Gardenia and Rose Islands to get
to our anchorage in Chianti Bay, which we bypassed to get to the mooring in
Chartreuse Bay. At anchorage we
had Alpha Island behind us and Bluebell and Jonquil Islands opposite. And Crocus
Island was situated behind Alpha Island.
The bays are not to be outdone, however, and we managed to visit
Burgundy Bay, but missed out on Champagne, Cider and Brandy Bays. Stout and Whisky Bays were also out of
our reach. We did get to see
Turtle lagoon, however, which had lots of turtles in it J - but missed out on Vermouth Lagoon – and that was just the beginning.
Back to Moonshadow pointed at Dampier! Halfway across the pond between the departure
and destination, Moonshadow’s engine suddenly shuts down and there we
were. Bobbing up and down in very
square seas, staysail was up so we were able to keep direction and Jeremy was
head down, butt up in the engine room sorting out a blocked fuel filter. Filter replaced, fuel now looking
a lot cleaner and engine purring nicely, off we set again, staying well clear
of exclusion zones surrounding the gas well heads gracing this area of ocean. This little exercise, however, did set
us back an hour or three, and planned arrival in Hampton Harbour for daylight
ended up being a dark 2030hrs.
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| Enderby Island passing through the Mermaid Strait |
The journey in via the strait was
eventless, very easy to follow – even in the dark – this being due to our very
careful route planning and chart mapping.
And despite the myriad of red and yellow and green flashing markers and
buoys beckoning the mariner to head in all sorts of directed channels, we found
our way in, no trouble at all.
What we were not prepared for were the enormous mooring buoys that were
scattered within the anchorage area itsef, situated in front of the yacht club rooms. Coming in in the dark, and not having our
bearings, we had initially planned to drop anchor and then, as a last minute
decision, we elected to pick up the closest mooring to us, just for the
night. So boat hook at the
ready we slow Moonshadow down and we are suddenly at a stand still. Tinnie’s rope has caught around the
prop. We were motionless, except
for the drift, and then we drifted over the mooring lines, which also caught
around the prop and possibly the rudder – and there we were. 9.30pm at night in the dark.
So what do you do? We brought Tinnie around to the ladder,
hopped in and moved her towards the stern of Moonshadow trying desperately to
grab the mooring line to see where it went. We were not happy to leave it till morning, as all we could
envisage was the current pushing and Moonshadow tugging at the prop and
rudder. So there was nothing for
it except for Jeremy to don the wetsuit and have a look.
On climbing his way up from Tinnie to
Moonshadow, via porthole and footing rail, a little wave suddenly hit us and
sent both Jeremy and I flying to the far side of Tinnie. There we were – perched on her
starboard side and Tinnie leaning at a very dangerous almost 90 degree angle to
the harbor waters. For a split
second we could see ourselves swimming in Hampton Harbor at some ridiculous
hour at night. However, sanity
took control and Tinnie righted herself, and Jeremy continued on his merry way
up the side of Moonshadow to don the gear. Gear on, waterproof torch and goggles in hand and he was
ready. He handed me the torch,
which completely missed my hand and is now resident on the ocean floor of
Hampton Harbor.
That was three out of three!! That was it we decided
– all would be well from here on in.
Which it was? We attached a
second loop from the mooring to the amidships cleat to ensure Moonshadow was
attached to the mooring should we break it free, Jeremy dived and found the
mooring line caught around the prop as was the rope from Tinnie. He freed them both and we were now
freely tethered to a secure mooring, as any normal boat should be. We moved the loop from the amidships
cleat to the bow cleat - it was now 2330hrs. So
on the mooring we stayed and next morning we did the right thing, once again
said a silent thank you to an unidentified boat owner, and moved to drop the
anchor.
After a very welcome but quick hot shower
we had a hot coffee, a giggle and a laugh about what we had learned that day
and then off to a comfortable cozy bed it was.
On waking, I put my head up in the cockpit
and for the first time, noticed the trees on the shore. How strange that one can miss them if
you haven’t seen them for a while.
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| Dampier's Hampton Harbour with dinghy dock and yacht club in the distance |
We dressed had breakfast and decided to
explore the town for the obligatory cappuccino outlets. We introduced ourselves at the club,
gained free membership on the spot and headed off to the little shopping center
and café, where we had a fabulous, tasty and hot cappa. In the days to follow we were to find
another café outlet called the Road Runner Café, with a 1 million dollar view
over the harbor, fabulous service and friendly staff, not to mention one of the
best cappuccinos I have ever tasted. (Again - only second to Mill Bake house in
Fremantle). We frequented the
restaurant at the Yacht Club, and on advice from some friends, also had a great
meal at the Chinese Restaurant – all within walking distance.
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| On the dinghy Jetty |
Whilst at the club we also introduced
ourselves as members of the Moonshadow band, and were immediately asked to play
the coming Friday. We, however,
had not thought out the logistics of getting thousands of dollars worth of
equipment off a yacht on anchor, and we passed up the opportunity. We do, however, have an
invitation to return once we are in Darwin. How good is that!!
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| View of the Yacht Club entry over Hampton Harbour |
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| View from the Roadrunner Cafe |
And the Chinese Restaurant is resident at
the local lawn bowling club, leasing their kitchen and hall and the club
providing the alcohol. There
seems to be this sense of camaraderie here.
We hitched a ride into Karratha and spent
some money, as you do, at the huge shopping center there, walked for miles and
miles looking for some noodles to act as fenders for Tinnie and then found a
little coffee shop which offered reasonably tasty coffee, but did not allow
patrons with Hi-vis work wear to enter their café. A little strange – me thinks – as the uniform of the Pilbara
region is a Hi-vis shirt with blue cargoes!
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| Scenery on the road to Karratha |
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| Scenery on the road to Karratha |
Our biggest and most successful acquisition
in Karratha was a new rubbish bin.
We have managed to hold on to the white relic left to us by Steve and
Jackie – it just didn’t seem right to dispose of it – it was after all heritage
pieceJ But alas, cracked and
smelly it had to go. So we now own
a beautiful stainless steel Tinnie number 2. And I must admit it looks well at home.
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| Out with old... |
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| In with the new! |
We also managed to find the Red Dog statue
– and having seen the film twice I couldn’t help myself, but give it a huge hug. Must have seemed a little odd to the
passing traffic on the main Dampier/Karratha road where the statue is
located. But – hey- who cares –
really!
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| Woof! |
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| Woof woof! |
All in all our time in Dampier was great,
relaxed and friendly. We
managed to get our washing and shopping done, have plenty of hot showers, have
some great cheap meals and even managed a day of doing nothing. Now it was time to plan for the long
journey ahead to Broome.
On Sunday morning, 13th July 9am,
cupboards stocked, washing folded, food ready for the day, we lifted the
anchor, motored across the harbor towards Mermaid Sound and into Flying Foam
Passage on the first leg of our journey to Broome.
We have some great memories of our stopover
In Dampier, the people we met, the boaties who motored up
in their dinghies to say hello, the staff at the restaurants and bars, the kind gentleman who responded to
Jeremy’s thumb, giving us a lift into Karratha and the very interesting
Somalian taxi driver who drove us back.
People we will never forget and experiences that we will always
remember.
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| Moonrise on our last night in Dampier |
Thank you and goodbye Dampier.
Life is so good.
