Dampier to Cape Leveque and Yampi Sound

Dear friends

Now that we have arrived in Darwin and are back in the land of digital connectivity, I am going to post a number of blogs which cover our 6 week journey through the wonderful Kimberly. 

The Kimberly was amazing and very beautiful, but we found it quite a challenge to sail in such an isolated place with little contact with the outside world, not to mention the tides and strong currents and, of course, the crocodiles!

We left Dampier on 10 July, sailing and motoring through the Dampier Archipelago and Flying Foam Passage to spend two nights anchored off Dolphin Island, before setting off to the Kimberly.   

The Dampier Archipelago is a very beautiful place, and we had windless conditions for our two nights.  The calm seas were only disturbed by passing whales, dolphins, and large fish jumping out of the water each evening to feast on the many schools of smaller ones. 


We departed on Monday 12 July, deciding to sail directly to Beagle Bay, bypassing Broome.   It was a sail of 438 nautical miles, which took us 3.5 days and 3 nights. 


The conditions were amazing - we motored much of the first day until we got some gentle wind, and then we hoisted the spinnaker and sailed through the night and the following day.  

Having calm seas, we got to observe some amazing sea life - large jellyfish with 3 metre long tenticles, lots of sea snakes swimming past on the surface, lots of whales at both ends of the trip when we were closer to the coast, several turtles, pods of dolphins, and amazing bioluminescence in the water at night.   We also dodged a few big ships leaving Port Hedland en route to China. 

The birdlife was also amazing - flocks of terns and shearwaters floating on the surface or swirling around the boat.  One night we had a tern hitching a ride, firstly perched on the front deck and then finding it more comfortable to sit inside the dinghy.   The next night we had a brown boobie perched on the front deck.   These are an amazing handsome bird, and we enjoyed having them flying along next to the boat for much of the journey (this is not my photo).


I fished early on in the trip, but lost my enthusiasm after catching a sailfish.  What started with much excitement turn to distress when we realised what it was.  We managed to haul this beautiful fish to the back deck so we could release it - the poor fish was totally exhausted.  People have told me since that they normally do recover after being caught and released.  Warning, some bad language in this video. 


We spent two nights at Beagle Bay, then another at Thomas Bay (Lombadina) before a short sail to Cape Leveque where we anchored for two nights.   Both Beagle Bay and Lombadina Aboriginal communities were closed due to Covid-19, so we could not visit.  But the campground at Cape Leveque was open and very busy, and we went ashore for a lovely lunch at the restaurant there.  

We then sailed a full day across King Sound to reach the Buccaneer Archipelago and our anchorage in Silver Gull Creek.   Buccaneer Archipelago is home to Cockatoo and Koolan Islands, both of which were originally mined for iron ore by BHP.   Koolan Island is still an active mine, albiet operated by a different company.  In the 1980s, Alan and Eileen Bond opened a luxury resort on Cockatoo Island, and since then it has had a number of iterations as either a mining camp or resort, and is now operated as a "less" luxurious resort and tourist base for day trips to Horizontal Falls. 

We stayed in our anchorage in the lovely Silver Gull creek for three nights, exploring the area in the dinghy. Upstream on the creek is an old campsite, now used seasonally by Aboriginal rangers, but originally established by a yachting couple where they lived for many years.   There is a spring which flows continuosly and has been piped into a number of water tanks, and to a filling station for boats in the creek.  One of the tanks has been transformed into an infinity pool, covered with shadecloth and complete with chairs and a bar stand. It is a favourite place for yachties to sit, keep cool, and enjoy the views, and we certainly joined in the tradition. 




We also motored around to the neighbouring Dog Leg Creek, to fuel up from the barge which is operated seasonally for boaters like us.    The only other thing sold at the barge are ice-creams, which were a very welcome treat! 


That's all for this blog, will try and get the next Kimberly episode posted in the next day or two.  Love to all. 





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