We made our way out of "Gnarly" Gnaraloo Bay just after 8am on Sunday morning. I found out what a cable was, but we stuck to our pre sounded track which was close into the beach at about 2.5-3m depth. This was fine until we got about half way along the bay to the line out that we had come in on, then it started getting a bit shallow. I edged the boat out into deeper water with Nic keeping a watch, but we gently bumped the bottom at one stage. Full steam in reverse, a bit of heart pumping, and very very carefully picked our way back to the track we had on the chart plotter from the other day. Some very nervous moments, but as the depth started getting up to much nicer 5's 10's and then Phew 20m I began to relax. On restudying again Google Earth and the charts and the Freo cruising guide, I think I finally worked out we had probably gone in a lot further than the guide intended. In fact on close inspection of Google Earth you can see a boat anchored in a lovely sand patch about a cable off the beach - probably where we should a been all the time - oh well.
Had a light south easter in the morning to push us up to Mauds Landing near Coral Bay, but we had to motor sail to make the speed we needed to arrive in daylight. It was easy conditions and we finally decided to try our luck at fishing. I dropped a line out on the rod and tightened the brake on the reel enough to make sure it ran if a big fish got on. After the nervous moments of getting out of Gnarly Gnaraloo, I decided to take a nap. About an hour later I was rudely awakened from a deep slumber with Nic yelling "Fish, fish!!". I jumped up on deck and immediately put the motor into neutral, and then dived for the rod that had the reel screaming out at a rate of knots. Just as I was about to tighten the brake the line ran out, pinged off the reel, and that was that! Bye bye fishy.
Not to be dissuaded, I rewound some new line onto the reel, set up another lure and started again. Getting a bit greedy we also put out the whale shark catching indestructible hand reel. About an hour later the rod started whirring again. I got to it this time and eased the brake on, but no good, the line went slack again. As I reeled in the line, it started feeling heavy, and I thought, oh maybe I have got something. But the harsh reality became clear as we saw the hand reel line coming in at the same time.
I am amazed how twisted two fishing lines can become in a few short minutes. I have been told there is an algorithm that can be used to resolve any tangle or knot ever. I don't think even Steven Hawkins could have worked this one out. I'm sure he would have said, just as I did after about an hour of trying to untangle the lines - "some things in this Universe can not be resolved in our lifetime - cut the line Nic". Any fish that gets caught by us is going to be the unluckiest fish in the world!
The rest of the afternoon was spent listening to the Dockers beat the Bulldogs and slowly trucking closer to Mauds landing. We arrived at about 5pm and pulled up on one of the DoT courtesy moorings about 2miles north of the Coral Bay township. We played around in the evening on the HF radio trying to make contact with Deb and Andrew Hill on their boat down at Rotto. We could hear them faintly, but apparently they could hear us loud and clear. The simpler solution while Andrew and I were playing on the radio was Nic rang Deb on the mobile and the girls had a good catch up chat.
This morning we had an early visit from the DoE guys who were very friendly and helpful. We then jumped in the dinghy and headed down towards CB. There is a vessel exclusion zone that starts about a mile and a half out of town, so we parked the dinghy there and walked into the settlement. I have a little safety grab bag I take in the dinghy, which is water proof. I carry a hand held VHF radio, a personal EPIRB and some flares. On this occasion, I also put in my mobile phone, my wallet and a water bottle. Nic suggested just as we were leaving that we put soda water in our water bottles as it was a nice refreshing sparkly drink and already cold in the fridge. Good idea I thought.
When we were walking along the beach into town, Nic noticed that her water bottle was leaking because of the soda, it was fizzing out the top. I paid no heed. When we got to the shops and went to pay for all the replacement fishing lures I reached into my safety dry bag only to find about a litre of water in the bottom. My water bottle seal had blown out under the pressure of the soda. Flares were OK, VHF radio water proof and fine, EPIRB water proof and fine. Wallet - OK a bit wet. Finally in the bottom of the bag - my iPhone - Oh dear!!! So people will need to contact Nic on her iPhone from now on as I am incommunicado for a bit!
Had a light south easter in the morning to push us up to Mauds Landing near Coral Bay, but we had to motor sail to make the speed we needed to arrive in daylight. It was easy conditions and we finally decided to try our luck at fishing. I dropped a line out on the rod and tightened the brake on the reel enough to make sure it ran if a big fish got on. After the nervous moments of getting out of Gnarly Gnaraloo, I decided to take a nap. About an hour later I was rudely awakened from a deep slumber with Nic yelling "Fish, fish!!". I jumped up on deck and immediately put the motor into neutral, and then dived for the rod that had the reel screaming out at a rate of knots. Just as I was about to tighten the brake the line ran out, pinged off the reel, and that was that! Bye bye fishy.
Not to be dissuaded, I rewound some new line onto the reel, set up another lure and started again. Getting a bit greedy we also put out the whale shark catching indestructible hand reel. About an hour later the rod started whirring again. I got to it this time and eased the brake on, but no good, the line went slack again. As I reeled in the line, it started feeling heavy, and I thought, oh maybe I have got something. But the harsh reality became clear as we saw the hand reel line coming in at the same time.
I am amazed how twisted two fishing lines can become in a few short minutes. I have been told there is an algorithm that can be used to resolve any tangle or knot ever. I don't think even Steven Hawkins could have worked this one out. I'm sure he would have said, just as I did after about an hour of trying to untangle the lines - "some things in this Universe can not be resolved in our lifetime - cut the line Nic". Any fish that gets caught by us is going to be the unluckiest fish in the world!
The rest of the afternoon was spent listening to the Dockers beat the Bulldogs and slowly trucking closer to Mauds landing. We arrived at about 5pm and pulled up on one of the DoT courtesy moorings about 2miles north of the Coral Bay township. We played around in the evening on the HF radio trying to make contact with Deb and Andrew Hill on their boat down at Rotto. We could hear them faintly, but apparently they could hear us loud and clear. The simpler solution while Andrew and I were playing on the radio was Nic rang Deb on the mobile and the girls had a good catch up chat.
This morning we had an early visit from the DoE guys who were very friendly and helpful. We then jumped in the dinghy and headed down towards CB. There is a vessel exclusion zone that starts about a mile and a half out of town, so we parked the dinghy there and walked into the settlement. I have a little safety grab bag I take in the dinghy, which is water proof. I carry a hand held VHF radio, a personal EPIRB and some flares. On this occasion, I also put in my mobile phone, my wallet and a water bottle. Nic suggested just as we were leaving that we put soda water in our water bottles as it was a nice refreshing sparkly drink and already cold in the fridge. Good idea I thought.
When we were walking along the beach into town, Nic noticed that her water bottle was leaking because of the soda, it was fizzing out the top. I paid no heed. When we got to the shops and went to pay for all the replacement fishing lures I reached into my safety dry bag only to find about a litre of water in the bottom. My water bottle seal had blown out under the pressure of the soda. Flares were OK, VHF radio water proof and fine, EPIRB water proof and fine. Wallet - OK a bit wet. Finally in the bottom of the bag - my iPhone - Oh dear!!! So people will need to contact Nic on her iPhone from now on as I am incommunicado for a bit!
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