Sunday 7 July Bowen Straits to Port Essington

Today we had another channel subject to tidal flow to navigate and as it always seems to be, the optimum transit time is early in the day and another pre-dawn alarm call. Fortunately we never tire of seeing the dawn; it's a magical time of the day, especially when you've been sailing all night, feeling a bit sleepy towards the end of your watch but as soon as the first brightening is perceptible you wake up again.

For the Bowen Straits we wanted to go through the 13 miles between Croker Island and the mainland on an ebbing tide which sets west and would give us a lift on the way. In the middle of this imperfectly surveyed (probably a friend of Capt Cook back in the 1800s) is a shoal patch which might catch a keeler boat. The cruising guide says to take the east side for deeper water – we followed the advice and had plenty of depth al the way through. Another boat took the slightly shorter western side and reported a 3m shallow patch at low water.

Once through the tricky bit the wind piped up so we could unfurl the twin headsails and romp along to Port Essington, our next designated anchorage. Of course we had to turn into 25 knots of south easterlies to reach Berkeley Bay, 7 miles in. Seven miles of engine pushing against the wind and stray pearl farm buoys at random intervals to catch an napping captain. All OK and Berkeley Bay or Caiman Creek of Table Head to give the alternatives is a flat calm area backed by scrub and a pleasant beach. However, if you're close to somewhere called Caiman Creek it's wise to look around for the neighbours. None seen.