As per the plan we went in for a snorkel on the afternoon of Friday 4th October.  The first thing that we spotted when we slid into the water was a 6 foot long white tipped reef shark which kind of took my breath away but managed to remained calm as it slowly swam by.  The snorkelling was fantastic, the water here is amazingly clear, as you would expect in a mid ocean reef, and there are so many different types of corals and an abundance of all sorts of fish including some huge ones.  We even got to swim with some enormous sea turtles and in all saw 3 to 4 white tipped reef sharks, we even came across a bommie which seemed to be totally dedicated to housing all sorts of clown fish.

 

Late in the afternoon we went ashore in the hope of seeing some turtles come ashore to lay their eggs and were not disappointed.  It seems that they come ashore during the evening high tide which luckily falls late in the afternoon during our stay.  We were lucky enough to see one turtle come ashore and lumber its way up the beach to its nesting spot and start digging a huge hole.  We also got to see a few others start their way up the beach but had to head back to the boat as night time was quickly approaching as it seems to in the tropics.

 

The weather on the morning of the 6th was very calm so another great opportunity to go for a snorkel and see how many turtles and sharks we can spot.  Again this place never seems to stop amazing us we both reckon this was some of the best snorkelling we have ever done.  There are so many different types of coral and the fish are amazing including some really big Maori Wrasse which just wandered by.  We also got to swim with plenty more turtles and luckily found another shark but this time a Black Tipped variety.  As forecast the wind came up in the afternoon which unfortunately meant we were boat bound for the afternoon but still got to watch hundreds of birds as they flew by checking us out.

 

Sunday the 6th October and we were up at first light and we are on our way heading to Chesterfield Reef which is around 300NM SW of Huon Reef.  We had a fading forecast so sailed as long as would could but ended up motoring for around 30 hours.  We arrived at Chesterfield mid morning on Tuesday the 8th October and not long after we had dropped the anchor and lowered the dinghy we spotted a small pod of Hump Back Whales including a least one juvenile.  We couldn’t help ourselves and were soon into our bathers with our snorkelling gear to investigate a bit closer.  The whales swam right up close to the dinghy and we were lucky enough to sea one swimming under water.  The most amazing thing is the sounds they make – just like Dory speaking whale in Nemo!  Not wanting to miss out on anything and while the weather is calm we headed ashore mid afternoon to check out the Island.  As there are some scrubby bushes on the island there are a lot of different birds here which build nests in the shrubs (compared to Huon which all nest on the beach and in the grass).  It is quite odd to see a bird with web feet hanging onto a tree branch and all these white fluffy chicks perched up in a bush.  There are quite a few Frigate birds here including a few young ones sitting on nests – they are not the prettiest of chicks. 

On the ocean side of the island we spotted some Black Tipped Reef sharks swimming in the shallows which was amazing to see.  And again we saw plenty of turtles basking on the shore line waiting for right time to head ashore.

 

Monday and as per the forecast the winds have increased and gone into the SSE so it is a bit bumpy aboard.  We are hoping to fit in at least one more snorkel and maybe a trip ashore in the afternoon but is very much dependant on how the weather shapes up and if we feel comfortable leaving the safety of the yacht.

 

The plan is to leave early tomorrow morning once the wind has moved more into the ESE which is favourable for our trip home to Bundaberg.  This passage is approximately 450 NM and expect that it will take us a bit over 3 days if all goes well.  The weather forecast is showing that the winds are fading so we envisage a bit more motoring on the trip back so may take us a bit longer.

 

Mustang Sally’s current position at Chesterfield Reef is “19:53.428S 158:27.947E”

 

Left Chesterfield Reef at 6.00am this morning (9th October) heading to Bundaberg,  20-25 knot ESE wind blowing and scooting along at 7 knots.