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Hi Boydy, Good to hear from you. Plenty of people use Derby as a base to head into the Kimberley, mainly trailerable power boats going to the Yampi Sound and Camden Sound areas.
One bit of advise for that area – your Hood 23 will need a decent motor and plenty of fuel, as the tidal currents up there are very strong and if you try sailing everywhere, you could spend half your time going backwards. Even motoring against the tide in a small sailing vessel can be a challenge.
If you aren’t already a member of the Mary Island Fishing Club, its probably worth joining, as that’s where you’ll find the guys with heaps of experience in that area.
All the best,
Ross
Hi Querida,
12 days will be very tight to see much at all, because many good anchorages require some fairly big side tracks where you will easily loose days getting in and out, as well as the days it takes to explore them. Tides will also govern and slow your progress in and out of anchorages. But here’s a few I can recommend that aren’t too far off your route.
King George River. (Can only get in and out at high tide)
Freshwater Bay
Rainforest Ravine
Hanover Bay
Deception Bay
Silver Gull Creek
Coppermine Creek
Hi Helen and Pete,
Most people cruising the Kimberley will be there now, and the boats heading east usually head back to Darwin in Sept and Oct, with the aim of leaving Darwin to cross the Gulf of Carpentaria and down the east coast in Nov or early Dec, when hopefully the strong southeasterlies are easing in strength, or if your’re really lucky, change to northwesterly. You will likely catch up with boats heading east in Darwin.
All the best,
Ross
Hi Kia Orana,
The southeasterlies start to drop off around October, and the later you leave it after September, the less chance of strong southeasterlies. From late November, you might even be lucky enough to get a norwesterly breeze. I’ve crossed W to E 7 times between late Sept and Dec and I’ve yet to see any sign of a breeze from anywhere near the west. People tell they do exist though.
My strategy is to sit in Gove and wait for a reasonable weather window to head across the Gulf. Anything under 20 knots for a few days is reasonable to me. Dont try it in anything from the east over 25 knots – you won’t enjoy it!
You need to consider cyclones in December. Although unusual to get a cyclone in December, it is possible. If you’re still in FNQ in Dec, keep a close watch on the weather and consult “Cruising the Coral Coast” for the nearest bolt hole if you see a cyclone forming.
The toughest part of the trip can be down the Queensland coast from Cape York to Cairns, where you’re just about guaranteed to get southeasterlies. Be prepared to spend a few days into 15 – 25 knots on the nose. If you’re a power boat, staying close to, and in the lee of the reef can significantly reduce the short, steep seas in this area. If you’re sailing, you’ve got lots of tacking to look forward to.
Have a great trip,
Ross
Hi Bruce and Kay,
Good to see you are in the best travel mode for the Kimberley, a power cat.
I look forward to meeting you at the Berkeley. Unfortunately, Ros and I will be staying “on the ground” at the Berkeley Lodge this year. R&R is in the Gold Coast on the market, so we are having a boat free year.
If you’re still in Gove with internet, I suggest you get on the net and book a hire car. June is full on tourist season in the NT and hire cars can be difficult to get at short notice.
You will also get 3G for internet at North Goulbourne Island, and as you pass some of the aboriginal settlements on the mainland, if you’re sailing close to the coast.
All the best,
Ross
Hi Phil,
Good luck trying to see much of the Kimberley in 1 month. You will just scratch the surface.
I suggest you download all the Anchorages from The KCCYC website. The info in there will keep you busy for about 2-3 months at least.
If you haven’t already got one, buy a copy of the Fremantle Sailing Club’s 4th edition of “West Australian Cruising”. It’s invaluable for the trip you are doing.
Use the list of places in east to west order from the anchorage pages in this website. You will get into most of them with a 2.1M draft. You just have to be careful entering the rivers and always go over river bars, or shoal areas on a rising tide, just in case. The really shallow places are noted as such in the anchorages.
Once you are west of the Osborne Islands, there’s plenty more places you will get into that we haven’t got around to writing anchorages about yet, but they will have basic info in the West Australian Cruising sailing guide book, and you can download Dennis and Annette Ford’s Kimberley leaflets from here. It has additional info on some of the more popular places to see.
The above should give you more than enough places to choose from for 1 month’s cruising. Have fun.
Ross
Hi Lyndon,
The fuel efficiency and reliability of outboards these days is making ventures like yours possible. We have met 2 separate couples in the last few years who have cruised from Derby to Wyndham in trailable boats. I won’t mention contact details here, but I can put you in touch with one of them if you like. Many jerry cans strapped to the rails was their method of carrying extra fuel.
The barge out of Wyndham that services Kimberley Coastal Camp (Port Warrender) early in the dry season can drop fuel off at KCC for you.
Paspaley Pearls are starting up their Port George (near Kuri Bay) pearl farm again this year (2015) operating off a mother ship. They may take fuel out there in drums for you, but they don’t want to know about small orders, so you will need to contact them to ask. Again, I can give you contact details. They will not be land based at Kuri this year, but next year it’s possible they will be back there in strength.
I spoke to Dean Kemp from Dog Leg creek a few weeks ago, and he is considering putting a small fuel barge in the Sampson Inlet area with ULP, mainly because he is getting quite a few enquiries from outboard motor style boats wanting to venture further out of Derby. Give Dean a call. His number is in the “Fuel in the Kimberley Coast” anchorage leaflet.
Regards,
Ross
Hi Bat,
I’m not familiar with the names Waterfall Beach and Camp Beach. There is a Camp Creek in the Prince Regent River. The guys at Mary Island Fishing Club in Derby are probably very familiar with the Cone Bay/King Sound Area.
Have a great trip, Ross
A recent ABC news report shines some light on drinking and driving a recreational vessel in West Australian waters. Apparently its not illegal in WA. Seems ridiculous to me. See http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-30/rescued-drunk-boatie-performed-idiot-act-police-say/6359838?WT.ac=statenews_wa
Hi John,
Any modern marine GPS plotter will do the job. It’s a matter of how much you want to spend, more than anything else.
You need a good depth sounder/fish finder. You will be spending a lot of time in uncharted water, and you need to keep a close eye on depth. Also, you could be anchoring in areas with 10M tide variance, and its very important to know how much water will be left under your keel when the tide goes out, as well as how much anchor chain to let go.
Radar is handy. If travelling at night, it’s an absolute must have. (Coastal travelling at night is not recommended in the Kimberley if it can be avoided.) Some electronic charts have anomalies in certain areas of the Kimberley coast. (IE they can be up to 100M out.) My Navionics charts are out by about 100M around the Koolan Island area, and there are a few other places they are out by around 20M. When you get close to land, such as in a river, your plotter is likely to show that you are actually on the land. Radar overlay over your chart plotter will show up these anomalies – in these situations, always believe the radar, not the chart plotter.
Radar is also very handy around pearl farms. Most farms have radar reflecting buoys on the farm boundaries. They can be very hard to spot by eye in bad weather, sun glare, or low light, but a radar will pick them up.
Our boat is in the Gold Coast up for sale while our new one is being built. Unfortunately, Ros and I wont be out there this year, except for the KCCYC Beach Party at the Berkeley. We are flying in and staying at the lodge for 4 days. Someone has to keep the French puppeteers under control.
Hope this helps.
Ross
Hi Sally & John,
Draft of 1.8M might prevent you entering a few of the shallower rivers like the Drysdale, but I think you will get into most places. You will need to work the tides to get over a few of the shallow bars such as the King George and the Berkeley Rivers. Always go over a river bar on a rising tide just in case you touch bottom. Put a sounder on your dinghy so you can survey the depth before you cross a shallow bar if you aren’t confident of the depth.
The main advantage of a multihull is the shallow draft, which is obviously handy in shallow water. But I can’t see why a multihull would make any difference related to tide and currents. There will be quite a few days with little or no wind, and you will be motoring. If your motoring speed is 7 knots or less, expect to go backwards in some spots if you don’t work the tides. (You will very quickly learn how to work the tides).
Crocs like to mouth things in their territory to test them out (probably to see how they taste). It’s not uncommon to have a fender left hanging over the side at night to get punctured by croc teeth. I have 2 on board as souvenirs. Thats how most of the reports of inflatables being bitten occur. But there are also reports of dinghies being bitten with occupants in the dinghy. The attacks are not restricted to inflatable dinghies, but I would much rather be in a tinny or GRP dinghy if a croc took a liking to it. The fact is that such attacks on dinghies are few, and you would be very unlucky to be attacked. Read these links for more info on RIBS. https://kccyc.org.au/topic/some-help-for-a-kimberly-newbie/ and https://kccyc.org.au/topic/large-crocodiles-attacks-rib-and-kayak-in-kimberley-coast/ Also read the General Information pages about crocs in this website’s Anchorages page.
There have been quite a few reports of crocs lying on the sugar scoop of a vessel, but I’ve yet to hear one where a croc has actually made its way on board into a cockpit. A cup of hot water in the face should get them off a sugar scoop.
There are literally hundreds, perhaps thousands of safe anchorages along the coast from Yampi Sound to the Berkeley River. Many are no more than half a day’s sailing apart, or less. A “must have” on board is the Fremantle Sailing Club’s “West Australian Cruising” guide book. Latest, 4th edition has just been published. (Jan 2015). Best $80 you will spend. It has been written by sailors of the wind driven kind, so it provides handy info on anchorages that are generally used by sailing yachts. Also print a copy of the anchorage pages on this website. It doesn’t include as many of the overnight type anchorages, but there is much more detail on many of the popular areas, mostly with details of several anchorages in each area.
Adventure is what cruising the Kimberley coast is about. Provided you, your crew and your vessel are well founded, you will love it. And living in Broome, I would put money on a bet that you will be going back for more, year after year. There is no way you can hope to see all the coast in 1 or 2 dry seasons.
Get out there and have fun,
Ross
