Geraldton

The Courthouse, Geraldton

We stayed in Geraldton for a week. There is an anchorage off Geraldton Yacht Club, which is sheltered from the south and east, but exposed to northerlies. Nearby, there is the DoT Batavia Coast Marina, which we found friendly and accommodating. 
 

Batavia Coast Marina

When strong northerlies were forecast we phoned Lila in the DoT office and arranged a berth for the night. The charges for casual berthing are 54AUD per night but the washing machine and tumble dryer are free. Hot showers are available in the ablutions block.

The actual entrance to VOC Batavia, which never arrived

The Geraldton Museum is a must to visit. Admission is by donation. Amongst the many interesting displays is a gallery dedicated to the discovery of the wreck of the Dutch VOC (East India Company) ship, Batavia, which was on passage to Batavia (Jakarta) in the 1600’s and ran aground on Beacon Island in the Abrolhos (with 12 cases of silver worth $30 million today).

HMAS Sydney II memorial

Another sight not to miss is the striking monument to HMS Sydney II, which was sent to the bottom by a disguised German ship, Kormoran. Both ships sank. All hands perished on Sydney II, over 600 men, but more than 300 German survivors were picked up and taken to Australian camps until the end of World War II.

Sculpture of the bows of HMAS Sydney II

St Xavier’s Cathedral is also worth a visit, with its mix of architecture styles and unusual interior.

St Xavier's Cathedral

Close to the marina there is a shopping centre with a Coles Supermarket. Nearer to the yacht club there is an IGA and a Woolworths. Consequently, Geraldon is a great place to reprovision.

It’s also the place to find out information about the Abrolhos Islands from the Fisheries Department. It’s essential to inform the authorities of the dates of your intended visit to the Abrolhos. This is easily done online. Another essential is a fishing licence, which we applied for online. There are no charges for visiting the islands, but the fishing licence costs 40AUD (£20 approx.)

Ignore STOP sign at your peril!

We had a few days of worry when our FairFX currency cards were suspended due to a company called Wirecard becoming insolvent. Fortunately, our money was protected by Barclays and we were soon able to use our currency cards once more.

Knowing we would be out of phone and internet contact for a week or two, we contacted our family and friends to inform them of our plans and also contacted VMR Geraldton. They keep a 24 hour listening watch and have a VHF repeater in the Abrolhos, on VHF 81.

The sun doesn't always shine

We had food, water and diesel. We’d checked the weather. We’d informed people of our plans. We’d completed all the paperwork. It was time to leave. It was just a pity that we had to leave at midnight. We could have left it for an hour or two, but it is important to arrive in the Abrolhos in daylight and use the morning sun to help eyeball into anchorages. The navigation is tricky.

Immense road train

We arrived in Pelsaert Island and tied to a mooring off Guano Jetty at 0915 on Thursday 2^nd July.