Second Blog from onboard Perie Banou II

by Jon Sanders on 15 Nov 2016 This is day 13 since leaving the mid Western Australian town of Carnarvon. Remote region. Beautiful town. Kept cooler by the strong south winds, which make the trees bend and grow to the north. Carnarvon is nice, especially the months of September, October, November, and December. The wind is strong. Often near gale strength, with squalls and blue skies. Carnarvon is located in the northern portion of Shark Bay, and is a World Heritage region.

I sailed from Fremantle (superb place) at the coast near Perth, which is the Capital of the State of Western Australia. Perth’s population is 1.3 million souls and is very modern. It is clean and the most isolated major city on the planet.

We participated in the Fremantle to Shark Bay yacht race held to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the landing of Dutch navigator and Captain of the sailing ship, Eendracht, on Dirk Hartog Island in Shark Bay. His name was Dirk Hartog. He would never know that 400 years later the King and Queen of Holland would be in Perth as part of the celebration.

The latter part of the racecourse follows the sheer ‘Zuytdorp Cliffs’. The strong wind is dead against the ‘Leeuwin Current’. Together with the cliffs, it can make for a breaking and ugly sea. We came nowhere much race wise. We kept our gear small to tiny. Long way to go. We broke or busted zilch, zero and nothing. Other yachtsmen more keen, more daring, enjoyed the thrill. Two masts were broken, a rudder lost, and there was a demolition of sails. That’s great news for the sail makers. I should have been a sail maker!

My nicest crew of Robin Morritt, Gareth Owen-Conway and Vera Walby left from the Shark Bay town of Denham for the 12-hour bus ride back to Perth. I am on my own. Again. You get that.

But before leaving my friend and sometimes long-range crew, Chris Hopkins, age 33 and Master of sea going tug (first mate) came and used his intelligence, bulk and energy to make ready this yacht. I’m now ready to cross the Indian Ocean and the rest of the world. There were those previous, in Perth, who had done like wise too. I will always remember them well. Always and always!

The yacht club in Carnarvon also looked after me. The Shire of Carnarvon, their President, Flag Officers and members of the club gave me morning tea, before departure. I had coffee. (So did the others). They made me Honorary Member.
It was windy when I left. What did you expect? I put three, full and deep reefs in the mainsail and put out a snippet of jib from the furler. How is my nautical language going?

Further, much further from the coast, I found the southeast trade winds. Favourable winds. Light but good. At times the yacht is gliding along quietly. Nice.

I am really impressed with the new electronics supplied by B&G, in particular the accuracy of the AIS and the clarity of the displays. As a lone sailor, the AIS system is really important to alert me to ships nearby and means I can avoid collisions. The AIS system provided by B& G detects other ships early, and provides an audible alert with plenty of time to take necessary action to avoid collisions. This time around I’m getting more rest, knowing I can rely on the system. Does so.

Tuesday 8 November 2016. Listening to Radio Australia on the Barrett HF radio. It is 8 am here. Not in USA. International date line got in the road. They are still in yesterday. There is going to be a new President soon. If he loses, I wonder who he will blame. I better not say anything. He might end up being in command of the world’s biggest navy. And I am stuck out here. (I better make a ging. Small one).

Regards to all.

Jon

N.B. Jon subsequently asked Robin, a long time friend, confidant and regular crewmember to give us some details about the geological areas that he is crossing. Robin is a geologist by trade and has a great love of our planet and sharing his knowledge.

Robin commented, “Jon’s 10th circumnavigation of Planet Earth is underway. He has left Australian shores to head westward across the Indian Ocean. It is a good thing Jon didn't set off about 70 million years ago.”

“Had he done so he would have been at risk of being run down by a rampant Indian (tectonic) Plate as it ripped northwards across the Tethys Sea from its Gondwanaland ‘anchorage’ off Antarctica and south-Western Australia. The Indian Plate had plenty of energy to wipe out Perie Banou II too…”

“Witness what happened 20 to 45 million years later when the Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate; formation of the Himalayan Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau, the Salt Range and other associated mountain ranges. Tethys Sea sediments, including fossils of marine creatures, were thrust to the very top of those mountains. A fossilised PBII could have been perched near the very summit of Mt Everest!”

“As Jon sails westward across the Indian Ocean detailed Navionics bathymetric charts displayed on his B&G digital screen will reveal tantalising sea bed remnants of the path taken by the Indian Plate back in the day… There will be time for Jon to ponder the remarkable topographic features he sails across. Time to contemplate his good fortune by not heading off across the Tethys Sea during the breakup of Gondwanaland.”

“There will be opportunities for us too, remote witnesses to Jon’s voyage, to explore certain elements of our Planet Earth and time itself; Jon’s time and geological time…”

For Jon and Perie Banou II: “fair winds and a following sea” (anon)

Robin Morritt