A dugong at West Pethebridge Islet

 

The Captain will at some point be updating you with the action packed account of our journey around Cape Melville and onward, but in the meantime here is one of those beautiful things that occur just when things seem to be getting unpleasant.

 

The Kindness of Strangers

Stokes Bay - our turnaround point.

We spent 10 days in Flinders Group exploring and fishing. 

 

Over a couple of days at Owen Channel we had bid farewell to Ceilidyh  and Endurance of the South http://www.enduranceofthesouth.com  as they headed on towards Darwin. We made the short hop across to Blackwood Island.

Yithuwarra Rock Art - Flinders Group

Until 80 years ago, Flinders Island Group was a thriving community. It was home to the Yithuwarra people for thousands of years. More recently in the late 19th and 20th centuries there was a trader station on the Aapia Spit which was the base for the pearling, fishing and beche de mer fleets. Now it is empty and deserted, visited by a handful of yachts heading to Darwin and the occasional fishing trawler for the secure anchorage afforded in the Owen Channel.



Yindayin rock art

Cape Melville

Tuesday 16th September saw us raise anchor at dawn and set off northwest from Watson's Bay towards Cape Melville. We had initially planned to overnight at Howick or Ingram Island but a brisk 20 knot wind steadily built behind us and we passed Howick shortly before lunch. So we decided to push on for Cape Melville.



 

Cape Melville - a lizard on every termite mound.

Here is Arjuna

In April 2014, while Arjuna sat down at Sheridan Flats in the Great Sandy Straits thinking we were having strong winds, Cyclone Ita sat over Lizard Island for around eleven hours and ripped the place to shreds. However, not having seen the place before, the clear surrounding waters were obvious even from a distance although the island itself looked barren. When the southeaster blows, which it does often, 400-450 days a year on average in fact, Watson's Bay on the northern side is the place to drop your plow. There were about ten boats in the bay when we arrived which we understand is on the empty side. Being a marine park A area we saw the obligatory batfish wander up at our arrival. A few reef sharks also swam over to check the newcomer out. The water was the clearest we had seen since Lady Musgrave Island so the bottom was clearly visible through the depths. In fact, it was the first time on the trip we could swim along the anchor chain and see our trusty hunk of iron embedded in the sand.

This be a  fine island