Carnarvon, Western Australia to Cocos Keeling Islands

Leaving Carnarvon

We woke to a calm, sunny day on Tuesday 26^th July. Final checks were made, lunch was eaten, water was topped up and rubbish disposed of. We untied our mooring lines and motored out of the Small Boat Harbour. Conditions at sea were comfortable and we were reassured by two weather forecasts that the winds would be light and the swell moderate. We flew the full genoa as we motored down the channel towards the sea. The engine was switched off once we’d cleared the sandbanks. Our next waypoint was at the approach to Cocos, 1200 nautical miles away.

At 2100, I wrote in the log: “How could two forecasts be so wrong.” The genoa was reefed, the wind was blowing at 18 knots from behind and the sea was rough – just what we didn’t want for our first night at sea in almost two years. Stronger winds blew from the ESE before calming down and going E-NE. By the afternoon of Wednesday, we were able to fly the full main and genoa.

Great steering Hydrovane

Jeremy had just come off watch and was about to go down for a sleep when he noticed a strong smell of petrol. One of the cans we carry in the old gas locker that vents to the outside was leaking. Closer examination revealed a crack in the bottom of the plastic can. The can was removed and tied on upside down on the stern deck until Jeremy could transfer the petrol into bottles later. We were very glad the leak had been found and horrified to think of the possible consequences that could have occurred when I was cooking lunch just a few hours earlier!

Rocky rolly ride

We motored for 6 hours as the wind fell away and the sea calmed. Thursday began with winds gradually turning from NNE to WNW and NW. We were meant to be in the SE Trade Wind belt! Beam reach sailing soon led to no sailing at all and we motored once more.

Boisterous seas

It was now Emily’s birthday. I managed to send a message on our inReach Mini, our new satellite phone. At last the winds settled into the easterly quarter, becoming ESE by late afternoon. There had been many sail changes. Two days later N-NW winds returned. We had to go way off course in order to fill one sail only.

On 1^st August the SE trades established themselves. Sal Darago’s log decided to lose 250nm, but continued to record our speed and mileage as if nothing had happened. There were squalls and wind shifts, SD rocked and rolled and the sea remained boisterous. Some nights the rain fell in monsoon proportions, great for topping up our fresh water, but horribly soaking for the person on watch. Breaking waves on a cross swell came from almost every direction. We were weary and uncomfortable.

Australian dawn

You can imagine our joy when land was spotted on our port side. A distant row of palm trees seemed to be growing out of the sea in the mist and rain. Hurray! Cocos Keeling Islands were in sight. We were called on VHF 16 by an Australian Border Force aircraft. Our details were noted and no further contact was needed.

Wet weather sailing

The engine was started, poles were taken down, sails were stowed or furled. The reliable old Dell laptop showed us the course into the Direction Island anchorage and we only had a couple of miles to go. Then the Dell stopped working. It showed the screen saver page at first and then a blank screen. We had to navigate over reefs in full view of an ABF patrol vessel and an anchored ocean going ship. Thank goodness for Garmin, which also showed our course and did not let us down.

Sunset at sea

We anchored at the yellow quarantine buoy, flew our yellow Q flag and contacted Cocos Police to inform them of our arrival at 1145 on Friday 5^th August. We tested negative for Covid. There were no other boats in the anchorage. A yacht called Serengeti arrived today (Sunday).

The police launch came in the afternoon. We filled in immigration arrival forms and our passports were checked. We could go ashore to all of the islands but we were not to dispose of any rubbish from the boat. On Monday, we have to go to the Shire Office on Home Island and pay port fees of 50AUD per week.

Can't beat the view

Yesterday (Saturday) we took the dinghy to Direction Island beach and had a look around. There are toilets, shelters, water tanks (not drinking water), BBQ areas and fire pits. There is also a Wifi hotspot and we were able to enter our pre-paid code and connect to the internet.

Ashore on tropical Direction Island

Jeremy rolled a coconut towards me from a fair distance away. Unfortunately, it smacked me on my leg below my knee and caused a large swelling and big bruise. It was painful at first and overnight, but much better now after many ice packs and ibuprofen. Today, he has been handwashing our laundry ashore and I have been writing this with my leg resting on one of the saloon berths.