I couldn’t leave the beach before the water was at least there where it has been when I arrived – at the edge of the steep sandy beach. The sandy and muddy tidal flat needed to be flooded.

The sound of the rushing in tide tried to keep me awake last night, until again I reached for my earplugs… 

I was waiting until 8am, typing blog updates on my laptop. Then I felt I couldn’t wait any longer, although once I was out the flood stream was still against me, and it went slow…

I was planning to cross to the eastern spit of Koolan Island and then land on Cockatoo Island for the night.

The tide was still flooding that strong that my direct line to Koolan Island got into a dogleg with me being washed almost against the steep cliffs of the northern end of Scaddan Island! I just about was able to pull clear of the cliffs…amazing tidal strength! But it would be quite dangerous for a less strong paddler, I reckon…

You may think to avoid the dogleg and to go in kind of a direct line I should have pointed my bow north into the tidal stream…but then my forward speed would be going down to almost zero…so rather making a dogleg with some progress than making no progress at all! I felt that effect already on other strong tidal areas, no chance to correct the drift and making NO dogleg…thanks to the GPS where I could check my drift and speed always carefully.

Clear of the cliffs of Scaddan Island, the tide was about to turn, but it brought some strong bow beam wind as well! This meant some confused waters with wind against tide now…plus the fat mother of a tidal race waiting at Sanders Point at the eastern edge of Kooland Island, plus the backwash of the steep cliffs…it made quite an exciting ride!

The bumpy stuff at Sanders Point really topped everything I experienced so far. Holla die Waldfee! But it was simple fun! It never felt it was throwing me, it just went up and down with steep waves from all sides. Conditions for sea sickness…but I was lucky this time not getting sick.

I felt it was a pity having no one there to take that ride on video…I half expected some people to nose over the high cliffs, as I knew Koolan Island’s airstrip was to the left with frequent planes taking off and landing that morning. But no one was there to document my heroic ride!

I was eventually free of the tidal rips on Sanders Point and was dealing for a while with bumpy backwash “only” along the cliffs. Roberts Island with Mullet Bay was offering a welcome shelter and a break of the bumpy ride. I was more than happy to pull into the quiet bay, and the fast tidal stream continued to flood me through. Not too much time to relax, and I was out again for the “final” along the last stretch of cliffs of Koolan Island. Nothing to shock me any more…

The open iron ore mining works of Koolan Island were visible at one bay from my side, nothing really attractive. I could hear the noise of the trucks shifting the earth around.

Crossing over to Cockatoo Island was almost a quiet ride, and nosing around the first corner I could see the open mining works and loading facilities there as well. But the works were even more noisy with plenty of trucks driving around, and I simply didn’t feel like to keep on going along the mining area on the southern side of Cackatoo Island to find the housing area and landing for private boats.

It would have been a slight detour north, and across Yampi Sound there was a beautiful white sandy beach luring on Conilurus Island…so what was it worth to hook up with people for maybe internet access…I had enough fresh water for the last three days (I was foreseeing on leaving Kuri Bay something like this…) and I rather felt like a bit of relaxing on an early stop around 3.30 pm.

So I abruptly turned away from Cockatoo’s shore, heading for Conilurus Island, and was probably disappointing some truck drivers already seeing me coming up to their island…

The beach on Conilurus Island was long and steep on low tide, but I saw a small beautiful cove on one corner – this was my spot for the night!

I was walking up to check, and was amusing myself by rolling downhill two stranded black pearl farm floats– glad they didn’t hit my boat, like good aimed bowling balls!

Two paddling days left in the Kimberleys, the crossing of King Sound would top it all up. At Cape Leveque the BIG tidal country with rips, races, whirlpools and eddies would be over!

Text message from Freya via satellite phone:

16.08 123.34 Conilurus Island.  45km, 8:00 am to 3:30 pm.  Lovely cove, strong tidal pull across to Sanders Point on Koolan Island via Scaddan Island then bumpy ride.