HEADING NORTH
We had been day-hopping our way up the coast
and had stayed the night in the Escape River
with a fantastic quiet night anchored down the
back of the river near the red patch on the shore.
The depths were good going in and we were well
protected from the SE trades that were blowing
pretty well when we pulled in.
The only obstacles were the f loats and
platforms used by the pearl farmers, but it
was not hard to steer around them as we were
entering in daylight; however, at night it may be
a different story as there did not appear to be
any lights on the f loats.
There was no rush to get going in the morning
because we needed to have an incoming tide to
go through Albany Passage. Albany Passage issituated between the mainland and Albany Island,
about fourteen miles north of the Escape River.
If the tide is with you it can be a quick trip
through the passage and on to your destination.
But if you get it wrong you may almost come to a
complete standstill. The currents can reach up
to five knots in the right conditions.
We could easily see the tidal f low at the
entrance to the passage when we got there,
the tide line was a quite pronounced line of
foam and shimmering water. Once we were
in the passage proper we zoomed through the
passage at a steady seven to eight knots; we
did also motor to give us enough propulsion to
keep steerage. Once through the passage we
unfurled the head sail turned off the engine and
started sailing to the northwest with the final
destination Cape York.TOP PERFORMANCE
Cape York is almost exactly halfway between
the Escape River and Thursday Island Harbour,
approximately twenty miles to either. There are
more than two ways to get into the bay but I will
only discuss the ones when coming from the east.
The first is through the narrow passage
between the mainland and York Island, the other
is to go around both Eborac and York Islands.
We did not go between the mainland and York
Island, though one of the catamarans we were
travelling with did and they said there is good
depths if you keep close to the mainland to miss
the large submerged rock.
The other entrance into the bay can be found
by staying close to the west side of York Island
where good depths can be found. We tried
several times to enter by what we first thought
was coming in close to the island but each time
we touched the bottom until we moved very
close to the island.
Another vessel turned up not long after we
had the anchor down and tried several times
to get in, we tried to contact them on the VHF
to give them a hand but they did not respond.
When travelling in remote areas it is a good idea
to have your radio on scan, you never know,
someone may try and contact you.
The waypoints supplied (see breakout box)
were taken from the track as we entered, there
was another boat in the bay when we got there
and they were anchored over more to the west.
So, once through the entrance, there appears to
be a lot of room.
The chart shows a twenty metre patch in
the bay but we did not find it, however we have
talked to others who say it is still there. After
talking with the couple on the other boat,TOP: Albany Passage
entrance coming up.
ABOVE: What a view looking
out toward Thursday Island.
OPPOSITE PAGE: Remember,
the tides are fierce up here.12
Cruising Helmsman July 2018DESTINATION
QUEENSLAND