Anchored in Depuch Loop, Shark Bay
When I came on deck just before dawn this morning I found that second mate Andrea Cicholas had positioned the ship perfectly for our entrance into Shark Bay. From two miles out to sea we were able to watch a magnificent sunrise over Dirk Hartog Island as we made our final approach to South Passage, running between Steep Point and the Island. None of us has been through this passage before and the legend on the chart is a little menacing: 'CAUTION-During moderate to heavy swell, seas may break across the entrance'. This is why we slowed the ship down to enter during daylight, even though the ship rolled even more vigorously once we reduced canvas. We are all short of sleep as a result. Once we were close enough to the bar to see it clearly it was obvious that we were in luck, and there were no breakers in the centre of the channel. In fact once we rounded Steep Point the swell died away and the ship stopped rolling for the first time since leaving Geraldton, much to the relief of one of our voyage crew who has eaten nothing for about the same period. Shark Bay is a beautiful and peaceful place. We came to anchor at Giraud Point in Depuch Loop at 1600 (hours, not years) and have seen not a soul since then. We are privileged in this country to have such magnificent areas still largely untouched. I couldn't help thinking as we came to anchor that we were looking at scenery that has not changed since well before the first Europeans came here. The sun set on Duyfken in her anchorage with no sign of modernity to detract from the illusion that we are in the 17th century.
Peter Manthorpe
Master
