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This year’s Bunbury Cruise was
very successful, with all boats and crews returning safely after the enjoyable
3-week adventure.
The customary pre-cruise dinner
was held at the FSC Galley on Fri 11 Dec followed by a discussion in the
Stateroom of the coming cruise led by Robert Morales in his role as cruise
coordinator. At this meeting Ric Oswald of
the Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club gave valuable information to the
group on the perennial issue of depth of water in the approaches to the MOFSC marina.
A second dinner followed by the
skippers’ briefing was held on Fri 5 Feb.
By that time all skippers had received the Cruise Notes, which are now distributed via email. The official start date of the cruise was Sat
13 Feb with the requirement that all boats be at Koombana Bay by Tue 16 Feb, giving
skippers wide discretion in taking advantage of favourable winds.
Only 7 boats and 16 crew were
registered for this year’s cruise, a marked reduction from the previous year’s
13 boats. They were:
Alyssa Lee (FSC) with David & Joanne
George
Diva (FSC) with Ron & Marlene Viney
Georgia (HYC) with Hugh & Robyn
Nankivell
Leola (SPYC) with Merv & Leola Holst
Pachuca (FSC) with Brenda Newbey &
Robert Morales
Stealaway (FSC) with Frank & Lucinda
Daly and Graham & Susan Suttle
Volare (RFBYC) with Zac & Anne
Armanesco
Five boats departed FSC on Sun 14
Feb with Georgia already in Busselton
and Volare waiting at MOFSC. Alyssa
Lee, Diva, Leola, and Stealaway
employed the proven strategy of sailing to Mandurah 30 miles to the south then
making the 50 mile passage to Koombana Bay Bunbury when the winds were
fair. Pachuca as usual did it the hard way, departing at 0030 and making
directly for Koombana Bay, an 85 mile passage that resulted in 20 hours of
beating hard against a SE wind while attending to a seriously seasick novice crewman
who appeared to be more dead than alive.
By Wed 17 Feb the entire fleet
was a Koombana Bay enjoying relaxed living at anchor under the hospitality of
the Koombana Bay Sailing Club.
On Fri 19 Feb the group sailed
the 28 miles to Busselton for two days on anchor at the Geographe Bay Yacht
Club. That evening they enjoyed a
splendid meal at the GBYC galley and met for drinks at the club bar on
Saturday. Alyssa Lee was no longer with the group because she had returned to
Fremantle from Koombana Bay as planned.
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| Quindalup |
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| BBQ Breakfast |
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| Morning Tea During Bus Trip |
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| Pizza Dinner at Koombana Bay Sailing Club |
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| Moored in front of Dunsborough Bay Yacht Club |
Then the boats headed for
Quindalup for 3 days on moorings at the Dunsborough Bay Yacht Club. The DBYC was most hospitable, opening the bar
especially for their visitors and arranging a special barbecue dinner where
members and guests mingled in a fun party atmosphere.
On Wed 24 Feb the fleet made the
15 mile passage Port Geographe Marina north of Busselton. That night the group enjoyed the hospitality
of Dennis and Kitty Gee and their family for a barbecue at their elegant
canal-side home.
With the boats safely tied up at
PGM the group went on a bus trip through the Ferguson Valley the next day. Robyn Nankivell had volunteered to use her
“F” license to drive the rented 20-seater bus.
The first stop was morning tea at
the quaint Wellington Forest Cottages, deep in the forest on the way to
Wellington Dam. This was followed by a pleasant
drive along the recently sealed Falcon Road to the base of the dam for an
interesting and informative. From the
dam there was a short ride to Honeymoon Pool on the Collie River then along the
scenic Henty Brook road for lunch in the relaxing atmosphere of the Evedon Park
restaurant. After lunch the bus returned
to the PGM via Dardanup and Boyanup, stopping at the local IGA for some grocery shopping.
Having one of our own as driver added another
dimension to the enjoyment of the day.
Looking back, the experience of 18 people in a bus lost in the forest
was a lot of fun, with Robyn exhibiting grace under pressure in contending with
several back seat navigators while managing the bus.
On Fri 26 Feb the fleet sailed
back to Koombana Bay for several days of relaxation sprinkled with sundowners
on the beach and a dinghy ride to the outer harbour for a barbecue brunch.
On Wed 2 Mar the fleet returned
to Mandurah. By then only 5 boats
remained because Georgia had returned
to Quindalup as is her custom. Four of
the boats were accommodated at the MOFSC collector jetty and Pachuca was moored at “Doddi’s Beach”
due to her 2.4 meter draft.
The next day the end-of-cruise
dinner was held at the MOFSC Galley.
The cruise coordinator paid special thanks to Ric Oswald for arranging
the dinner, Hugh Nankivell for his
splendid contribution as cruise
treasurer, and Robyn Nankivell for her
sterling effort in driving the bus.
On the following day, Friday 4
March, the fleet dispersed, with Diva,
Leola, and Stealaway making for
Rottnest Island, Pachuca returning to
her berth at FSC, and Volare heading for Rockingham.
The elements were generally very
kind to the cruise. There were two very
hot days during the first visit to Koombana Bay followed by a spell of chilly
weather that caught some participants short on warm clothes. Other than the first day’s passage from FSC
the winds were favourable and gentle enough to allow comfortable nights at
anchor and on moorings.
The evenings anchored
off GBYC were surprisingly gentle.
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