Sailing across the Great Australian Bight

Here’s a brief summary of our crossing of the Great Australian Bight. There are no photos, so you will have to imagine panoramic views of sea and sky, lit by the sun during the day and by stars at night – so many stars with no light pollution at all.

We used the Western Australia Cruising Guide available online from the Freemantle Sailing Club, for information on the few anchorages that are available. We also used local advice from the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia.

We checked the weather for the wind and swell at Streaky Bay. There was a 5-6 day window with no strong westerly winds and the swell was mostly below 3 metres from the south. We went right up into the Bight as there was less swell there. We saw no features on land – just an occasional loom of light which might have been from headlights on the Great Ocean Road. Although there were many seabirds, there were no dolphins.

Day 1 – We left Streaky Bay in calm and sunny conditions. The light wind backed from NE, through W, SSW, S, SSE and ESE varying from 2-11 knots with a brief blow of 24 knots.

Day 2 – The wind stabilised in the eastern sector ranging from ESE to SSE and back to E. There were many sail changes and sudden increases in wind in the afternoon, which meant reefing down. The sea was sometimes bouncy and boisterous.

Day 3 – Similar winds to Day 2. Sometimes we had two sails poled out for a while; then we’d be on a beam reach with full mainsail and genoa. We saw Venus and the new moon in the western sky.

Day 4 – Grey clouds gathered in the west. There was a bit more S in the wind but plenty of SSE and ESE. The wind speed varied making it difficult for our Hydrovane wind vane to steer a straight course. The sea was bouncy and jerky.

Day 5 – Similar variations in wind speed continued. We had full sails for a while, then just the mainsail as the wind increased. By morning we were motoring. All of the sky was grey, but the barometer was steady. I shouted, “Land ahoy!” as we sighted the Eastern Group of the Archipelago of the Recharge. The wind began to back to the NE and increase. We had 20 knots by midnight and two reefs in the mainsail. We switched on our chart plotter to navigate our previously planned course through the numerous islands.

Day 6 – We started seeing looms of light landward and seaward. Lightning flashed in the distance in the direction of Esperance. Jeremy put our clocks back one hour. We’d previously put them back half an hour. Once in Esperance, we’d put them back another hour to Western Standard Time. I drew the lucky straw and gained an extra hour in bed. Sal Darago moved well through numerous reefs, islands and rocks aided by radar, GPS and our chart plotter. We motorsailed to keep a steady course and to keep the batteries charged as we were using all our instruments. The strongest wind we met was in Esperance Bay. We started to take our mainsail down and the wind rose to 40 knots. I had to use full power to keep SD head to wind. Short, choppy waves sent more sea water into the cockpit than we’d had across the whole of the Bight. Unfortunately, Esperance Bay Yacht Club had no berths available. Anchoring was not an option in such a strong onshore wind, so Jeremy phoned Bandy Creek Boat Harbour in the north of the bay and we were given permission to enter and tie up to the commercial wharf.

It was calm and peaceful inside. We had a safe haven from the turbulent weather and we both felt a great sense of achievement and relief as we tied up at 1145 on 28^th February. All this was to change within a couple of hours.