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Very carefully and at slack tide. It is a dangerous trip in a small tender in anything but slack tide.
Better and safer alternative is to ask the tour operators if they will take you through in one of their boats. Last time I was there in 2021 they only took their fly-in customers through, but worth asking in case the policy has changed.
Cheers,
Ross
I’ve never anchored in there, and not a spot I have heard about other people anchoring in over LW.
Check out the FSC anchorage first, they are not always accurate, particularly in rivers that silt up. From there up to King Cascade, you should be OK on neaps, but make your own judgement on the day.
Cheers,
Ross
Should be OK, provided you work the tide to get up to King Cascade and back to a suitable anchorage such as Camp Creek or Purulba Creek on the one high tide and don’t stay too long at KC. The less stressful option is to dingy up to the falls from Camp Creek anchorage.
Another way to judge the access, is if the charter boats are going up there, then it’s usually safe to assume you will have enough tide to get up to King Cascade. Also talk to the charter boat skippers on 16 and ask their advice. Most are very helpful.
Cathedral Falls might be stretching your luck to get your big boat to in neaps. Best try it in your tender if you have the time while anchored outside KC during HW. Or dinghy up and back over one high tide to Cathedral from an anchorage the next day if you run out of tide the first day.
Cheers, Ross
That’s a fairly standard tinnie for the KC. You will be limited to the tide times if you land on mud or beach and going ashore for a while, If you are concerned, you can use an anchoring off system. I have one, but rarely use it. If you make one, use floating rope, as sinking rope catches on every rock and weed in the area. (speaking from experience). https://kccyc.org.au/topic/dinghy-anchoring/
Cheers,
Ross
Hi Indigo,
Anchor off Darwin Yacht Club in Fannie Bay. https://kccyc.org.au/darwin/
I wouldn’t call it easy compared to a marina. Bit of work getting your tender up and down the very tidal beach.
Cheers Ross
Hi Grith. If you want to explore the KC properly, you will definitely be heading up very narrow creeks and squeezing your way through overhanging mangroves in a tender. To turn your 28 ft boat around in a creek, it would need to be at least 30ft wide between the mangroves. I would call a 30 ft wide creek, big. You will miss many of the better creeks and not get anywhere near the rock bars and fresh water that are a feature of many places.
You will also be pulling your tender up against rocks to get ashore in many places. Much of the rock art is accessed from the rocky creeks or rocky coastline, not sandy beaches.
If you misjudge the tide in a tender and get it beached, you can at least drag a tender down to the water, but not your main boat.
My thoughts are that you would be wasting your trip to the KC without a decent, safe tender. Many smaller yachts tow their tenders around the KC, so its not difficult if you have a good tender.
If you are in any doubt about crocs and small or inflatable tenders, check out this video, from one of our Kimberley Member’s Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/870238784269713/?s=single_unit
Cheers,
Ross
Looks like there will be quite a few boats around the East Kimberley coast in May. This may be a good excuse for an impromptu KCCYC beach party around mid May.
Someone has already suggested the sand spit at the entrance to the King George River as a likely venue for a BarBQ.
If you have internet on board, I’ll send out an email and post it on the News and Events Page if we get enough interest from boats in the area. Or keep you ear on the scuttlebutt from other boats, as no doubt the word will get around.
Cheers Ross
Kalumburu is the only place. But you would need to get a lift into town from Honeymoon Bay or McGowan Island camps to pick it up.
Cheers
Ross
Hi Demise,
If you are using Austides app, you have a choice. Prince Fredrick Harbour around the Hunter River area, Cape Pond around the Rogers Straight area, or North Maret Island around the north of Bigge Island.
If you are using your chart plotter tides such as Navionics, North Maret Island may be your only choice.
I suggest you download the Austides app onto a laptop if you don’t already have it. It shows all tide stations for Australian waters with a map and in graphical format, along with moon phases, which is handy for predicting springs and neaps in the Kimberley. https://www.hydro.gov.au/prodserv/publications/ausTides/tides.htm
Cheers,
Ross
Hi Alan,
Looks like it will be busy around the east Kimberley in May. I know of at least 5 other Cullen Bay power boats heading over around then including Ros and I on R&R. All owned by experienced Kimberley sailors.
Might be an opportunity for an impromptu KCCYC Beach Party sometime in May. Many of the boats have Starlink internet on board, so keep an eye out for a post here if we decide to have a gathering somewhere.
Cheers
Ross
Hi Carol and Tony,
I will email it to you. But there are notes imbedded in the spreadsheet you can’t see in a pdf.
Cheers, Ross
Check with Paspayley in Darwin, but unless things have changed this year, you shouldn’t need to order or share diesel. They have a fuel dumb barge in the bay that you tie up to and Paspayley staff will come out to pump as much as you need on board. But its always a good idea to give them plenty of notice about when you are likely to be there and how many litres you think you will need.
Cheers
Ross
