Rory

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  • in reply to: sale river #4056
    Rory
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      Hi Tom you can find some more info here too :

      WA Cruising Guide

      Sale River
      15° 59.0’S, 124° 36.0’E
      AUS 323, 732
      Sale River is in the northeastern corner of Doubtful Bay. Exploration of the Sale River has taken
      place but is not for the faint hearted. A visit to the Sale River is rewarding if you have sufficient time
      (four to five days) and patience to work the tides to reach the upper anchorage, 12 nm from the
      mouth of the river. This anchorage is only accessible to yachts with 2 m draft or less. Access is
      across the drying sandbars in the upper part of the river within the period of four days either side of
      spring tides.
      Leaving from Raft Point or Red Cone Creek at about half tide, proceed to the mouth of the Sale
      River where there is a rock bar that dries about 1 m at LWS and almost blocks the mouth from the
      southern entrance point. This rock bar causes a line of white water and overfalls running north-
      northeast towards George Water on the incoming tide.
      ⚓ Anchorage can be taken either just inside the mouth of the river over a sandy bottom, or about
      3 nm upstream at 15° 59.2’S, 124° 38.4’E about 400 m south of a rocky point on the eastern bank
      of the river. Check out the drying sandbars on the following low tide and prepare to head upstream
      on the incoming tide the following day. Leave either anchorage about two hours before HW (Lizard
      Island) and follow the incoming tide to the upper anchorage in the deep pool opposite the low
      mangroves just before the rock bar 16° 01.2’S, 124° 45.2’E.
      Due to the blocking effect of the sandbars over the last 5 nm of the river, the tide level at the upper
      anchorage will only drop between 5 m and 6 m during the first three or four hours of the ebb. The
      water will not return on the next tide for about another five hours, and when it does, it rises the last
      5 m in two to three hours. Despite the large tidal range, this anchorage is quite safe as it has a
      ‘sticky’ mud bottom and is not subject to any more than about 3 kn of current even on the highest
      spring tides.
      From this upper anchorage it is possible to explore by dinghy further upstream across the rock bar.
      There is a sandy beach above the rock bar with a freshwater creek running into the river beside the
      beach. A 200 m walk up the creek will bring you to fresh water pools in a cool rainforest setting. Be
      sure to return to the dinghy and cross the rock bar before the tide drops too far.
      263
      Caution: Swimming is not recommended. A crocodile attack occurred in the upper freshwater
      section of the Sale River.
      Fishing: Fishing can be good around the rock bar on both the incoming and outgoing tides, and
      also during the long low tide period

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