Day 186, Wednesday, 22.07.2009

Not the “red”, but a carpet rolled out for me at the campsite at Depuch Island

 

Destination today was Depuch Island!

 

I got out with catching some water in the cockpit on a dumper over the now flooded reef, but I was out safely! I was dragging the boat down the cliffs again over my trolley belts with no damage of the boat.

 

I was able to pass Reefs Island still inside on higher tide but already shallow water, but for Ronsard Island I better stayed on the sea side, giving the wide reef a good berth. The same with Sable Island…it forced me even more out, until I was able to turn in towards the steep shores of the quite high (157 m…) rocky Depuch Island. It was all day again a quite boring paddle on flat water with low winds…

 

I was passing the full exposed wreck of the 1894 sunken “Eddystone” on lowest tide at last light, and pulled easily onto the beautiful sandy beach of Beagle Bay on the only about 20 m wide reef-free gap.

 

I climbed the steep sandy beach to find a beautiful *carpet* rolled out besides an old fireplace – what a welcome! And quite a convenient camping on the carpet!

 

This island was inviting to walk around and to explore, as it had quite some history, but as I arrived in very last light there was no chance for me.

 

Text message from Freya via satellite phone:

20.37 117.44 Depuch Island. 55km, 7:30 am to6:00 pm. Someone has rolled out a (no, not red…) carpet on the campsite for me! It’s the only access on lowest tide.

2 comments on “Day 186, Wednesday, 22.07.2009

glicker

Depuch Island was of cultural importance to the Ngaluma Aboriginal tribe, who called it Warmalana.[1] According to Ngaluma legend, the island was formed during the Dreaming when Matalga, a leading Pilbara spirit man, lifted a large rock and threw it into the sea. The rocks and boulders of the island are covered with Aboriginal engravings and rock art.[2] The island was charted in July 1801 by François-Michel Ronsard, the cartographer on a French expedition led by explorer Nicolas Baudin on board the ship Le Géographe. The island was named Ile Depuch after Louis Depuch, a mineralogist on Baudin’s expedition. ] In 1912, a Norwegian steel sailing ship, the Crown of England, was shipwrecked as it lay anchored on the island loading copper ore, after the area was struck by a cyclone. Many other ships were sunk in the area, such as the passenger liner SS Koombana

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