g'day all
i'm planning to sail my 20' trailer sailer to rotto next week and was wondering from those who have ever sailed over is there anything we should look out for? i'm going with another forum member 'vance' and both us are competent sailors (12yrs each) boat is in good nick etc. and we have maps.
planning on anchoring on the beach in either geordie or longreach bay due to the Southerlies forecast for all next week (will definately be kiting though!)leaving from hillarys and longreach/geordie looks almost dead south west from hillarys according to my map reading ability, so will head off in that direction.
any input suggestionas are welcome as it's our first trip over.
cheers

Schoolies week!

Start real early coz the first time I took our 36ft cat to rotto in a howling swester it took me about 5 hours and you wanna get as far south as you can before the wind shifts. From hillrys you can go out through 3 mile but you wanna be careful sometimes a big swell will roll through and make it a little tense plus theres some lumps out that way (polarized sunnies are a big bonus for spotting rocks). We used to go inside centaur reef mark (down scarborough way) and I would still do that if it is blowing from the south as it gives you a chance to beat upwind in the relative calm (inside the reef) before it shifts more to the west. If it is offshore then go through the reef carefully and point high (slightly south of rotto) to get as far south and toward rotto as you can before the wind shifts round. Also, as you get out toward fairway mark you get to a stage where you don't seem to be getting any closer to rotto no matter what you do, this is just an illusion it happens to me every time, a GPS should keep you confident that rotto is getting closer. We usually entered thommos from duck rock on the north, it gets a fair bit less windy and flatter as you get close to the north of the island.

Tips for you in a 20fter, be prepared to don a wetsuit when the wind shifts, take your kwells coz thats a little boat (not meaning to be rude) and it'll bob around a bit. Don't be afraid to turn around and run for home if things get pear shaped. I have even ended up getting there under a no3 and double reefed main with two 10hp 4 strokes running and still only making about 4 knots VMG in a boat that'll do 13kn to windward on a good day. Take care, be prepared with all the safety goodies and remember that despite that patch of water being a really pleasant bit to sail on at times, its still a potential life threatener. I have proabbly sailed that about 50-60 times and it can vary hugely from a beautifully pleasant ride to a scary, sickening and cold trip if we get a howling sea breeze.

In short, if the wind is gonna go to the south west, then get to the south as fast as you can.

I hope I haven't freaked you out just reminded you that it can be a fairly serious trip as the indian can be temperamental. Oh and also (yes I am still harping on) if you decide to sail around the island a) realise that its a f***ing long way around and b) be very wary at west end, you can think that you are giving it a wide berth (I recommend at least 400m from the breakers) but some monster swells roll through there from time to time and it can shelve quite quickly. It wouldn't take much to pick your boat up and surf it into the hard stuff (though its only sea rescue who can really be that stupid)

Good luck and have a great week

Laurie (not the webmaster)

cool thats pretty much what i wanted to hear, thanks guys.
we're gonna set out as early as possible maybe 6am so we can do the bulk of it in a south easter and will take your advice of heading south as much as possible at first.
don't plan on sailing around the island, i realise that would be 20+km and not something i'd enjoy doing.
i suppose leaving from freo is still an option and coming back to hillarys on the way back. where in freo is good to launch though bearing in mind that i don't want to launch in the river and go through the harbour.
cheers

sounds good might check it out this weekend. it'll be at about 6.30-7am tues so hopefully no1 will be about. the parking thing isn't a hassle.
that would make things much easier on the way over though plus it's a shorter distance!
cheers