Thomas Bay: There are no lead lines or lights to enter this bay. There is a drying reef in the middle of the bay to be avoided. We entered on the southern side of the reef, which is a relatively narrow gap. All reefs are fully exposed at low tide. Depth contours were not accurate on C-map and Navionics, so we entered cautiously using the depth sounder. We anchored in the centre of the bay southeast of the small drying reef, in approximately 7 metres of water. Bottom is sand, good holding. There is a Telstra tower nearby so phone and internet connectivity is available. Tip: put tracks on your chart plotter so you can follow your way out.
Silver Gull Creek: We anchored in the bay at the end of the creek. We anchored in 9 metres of water at Neaps, good holding in mud. Very tranquil and picturesque anchorage.
NB In this region we have found that on retrieval of the anchor and anchor chain they are generally covered in mud. In these instances, we use our saltwater deck wash to remove as much mud as possible as we are bringing them up.
Dugong Bay: Once again anchorage was in mud. It was challenging to find a level sea floor at the right depth to anchor. This required us to anchor further out in the bay than we had planned. That said holding was good once anchor was set and the bay was quite protected.
Talbot Bay (Horizontal Falls): Good anchorage in mud, but it is essential that anchoring occurs outside the Anchorage Exclusion Zone. For details of exclusion zones refer to the WA Department of Transport Boating Guide for Horizontal Falls.
Melomys Island: We anchored in the middle of the bay on the western side of the island in approximately 9 metres of water at mid tide. Slightly sloping bottom, but this didn’t present any problems with setting the anchor in sandy mud.
Raft Point & Doubtful Bay: We couldn’t get the anchor to set at Raft Point, the seabed was too steep. As a result, we moved to Doubtful Bay (Raft Point east) and successfully anchored here at the entrance to the lagoon. Good holding in mud and very sheltered.
Red Cone Creek: We anchored in the middle of the creek (lagoon) before the Y split in the river. Good holding in mud.
Deception Bay: Pleasant overnight rest stop. Large, sheltered bay, well protected. Anchored in the southern end, good holding in mud.
Sheep Island: We anchored in Brecknock Harbour on the southwest side of Sheep Island, between the island and the reef. When entering from the southwest be aware there is a shoal area extending from the reef to the shore, of approximately 3 metres depth. Good holding in mud; reasonably sheltered though we experienced a westerly chop in the afternoon due to the sea breeze coming down the Harbour. And best of all, bug free.
Near Greville Island (Prince Regent National Park): In terms of depth contours, both C-map and Navionics charts were incorrect. We anchored in mud near the shore in 9 metres of water during Neap’s. Holding was good. Beware, we did note an uncharted rock in the area which was 4 metres underwater close to high tide. We used the forward scanner and adopted a slow and cautious approach. Anchorage was well sheltered.
Careening Bay: Good anchorage in sand, not recommended in northerly winds but well protected from easterly and southeasterly winds. Easy dinghy ride to the beach and Mermaid Tree.
NB The cliffs and hills to the west of the beach are known indigenous burial and ceremonial grounds and are off limits.
Tjungkurakutangari Island: Deep and well protected bay between the island and the mainland, with good holding. We didn’t experience any issues with current or tides.
Bigge Island (Wary Bay): We anchored in about 9 metres to the western side of the bay. Bay is fairly deep with good holding. Beware of coral reefs closer to shore. Beach access is best from the western side of the bay as the reef is deeper here. Tides were 3 – 4 metres on Neaps.
Wollaston Island: The bay provides easy access to indigenous rock art via the beach on the mainland directly across the bay. (Look for large slab of rock on the beach, and conch shells on the rocks). Great anchorage, very sheltered and gently shelving. Mud bottom.
Swift Bay: We anchored in the western horseshoe harbour. Navionics and C-map contours were totally inaccurate, the anchorage has much shallower depth. Well protected, good holding in mud.
Vansittart Bay: We anchored for the day in sand and mud near the beach access to the DC3 wreck. The bay is very exposed, and the only alternative anchorage would be around Jar Island which we did not visit. There is a coral reef that protrudes from the beach, so care must be taken when coming into anchor and when accessing the beach. Best to come in from the Jar Island side. Holding was iffy in 15knot winds, and it took us two tries to set the anchor. Definitely not an overnight anchorage off the beach.
Glycomis Bay: Great anchorage near the beach and headland near the sand bar. Good holding in mud and well protected from winds other than north/northwest. Tidal range was very small 1.5m.
Koolama Bay (near Lesueur Island): Anchorage near King George River. We stayed overnight anchoring on the northeastern side of the bay close to the cliffs, which provided shelter from the south easterly winds. Anchorage is marked on Navionics and depths are reasonably accurate. We anchored in 6m on low tide on Neaps. Holding was very good, and very protected. Not recommended for winds with a westerly aspect, the other side of the bay could be used for that scenario.
Fannie Bay (Darwin): Good anchoring in sand and mud in approximately 6m of water. Anchor held well on both days that we anchored here. If possible, get in close to East Point to gain some shelter from the winds. The bay does shallow, so you will end up anchoring a fair way from the beach. No major obstructions other than the charted shoal area which exposes at high tide.
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