Fremantle and Perth

Fremantle is just over two hundred nautical miles south of Geraldton. Reaching Fremantle would be a big milestone for us, meaning we had conquered most of the west coast and we had promised ourselves that we would stop there for several weeks and enjoy some time on land. I couldn’t wait.

But first we had to get there. We settled on a plan of three day sails, stopping at Port Denison, Cervantes and then finally in to Fremantle for Brian and Sandra, and Mindarie Marina, just slightly north of Freo for us. (Our berth at the Royal Perth Yacht Club wouldn’t be ready for us for a few more days, so we were stopping in Mindarie, a northern suburb of Perth). The first passage went well and we had a pretty good sail in moderate winds.

Getting on to the jetty in Port Denison harbour proved to be a challenge as the winds had picked up by then and kept pushing us off the dock. Fortunately for us, Brian and Sandra were already on the jetty and they gave us a hand. I threw them a line each and they slowly pulled us in against the wind as Matt manoeuvred the boat over. It was a relief to have ticked off part one, even if it was the shortest leg. I put a casserole in the oven and went and lounged on Sealeaf for the afternoon, drinking Baileys with Sandra.

Leaving the little harbour just after sun up, we emerged into big seas and I felt sick immediately, even though I’d taken sea sickness pills. It was slow going, the yacht slapping hard into the waves and crashing down heavily. I felt horrible. We backed off the throttle, worried about damage to the boat from the constant smacking into the water. With the decreased speed, we realised we wouldn’t make it to Cervantes before sunset and it was not an anchorage we felt comfortable entering in the dark. Our only option was to suck it up and continue on through the night. Brian and Sandra were having a similar experience on Sealeaf and also made the decision to carry on.

We did shifts overnight as usual. Mine were from 12am to 3am and from 7.30am to 9.30am. I continued to feel nauseous and crappy, relieved only by lying down. I was exhausted and frustrated. When Matt asked how I was, I replied that I wanted to sell the boat. And I was only half joking.

It was a long, long 31 hours, but finally, finally we reached Mindarie Marina in the early afternoon. The sun was out, matching our mood of happy relief. Stuff was strewn all over the boat, so I tidied up, vacuumed and put fresh sheets on the bed. As always, restoring order and tidying up helped to restore my sense of calm. The marina showers were bliss and we headed to the nearby brewery for congratulatory drinks and an early dinner.

We spent four nights at Mindarie Marina, recharging and recovering. The facilities at Mindarie were the best we’d come across on the WA coast so far. Proper floating docks, clean bathroom facilities and free washing machines. It doesn’t take much to please us!

Don and Corinne (SV Truly Madly Deeply), some WA locals we met there, described this as the longest, coldest, windiest winter/spring ever. It was reassuring that even the locals were finding the weather conditions challenging.

The docks at the marina were crowded with these birds and Matt enjoyed photographing them.

We motored the 20 miles south to Fremantle. Fremantle is a small port city on the harbour, with the larger city of Perth inland and up the Swan River. Unfortunately the numerous low bridges meant we couldn’t take Cool Change up the river into Perth itself. With the Fremantle Sailing Club booked to capacity we had managed to secure a spot at the Royal Perth Yacht Club Fremantle Annexe. Just like the Sailing Club, they were at capacity, but they kindly managed to squeeze us in and we said we’d stay for as long as they’d have us.

Danny, the manager, came out to greet us as we tied up alongside the wharf that would be our home for the next three weeks. It was a good feeling to know that we wouldn’t have to move for a while. Danny was very friendly and helpful, as were all the yachties we met here. Within a day, Matt had been introduced to a diesel mechanic, an electrician and an upholsterer.

We also had our own list of jobs to do, the most important being taking the diesel tank out and cleaning it. Matt pumped the remaining fuel out, then we manhandled the empty tank out of the boat and began the laborious procedure of ‘rinsing’ the tank with diesel. Time after time we swished a small amount of diesel around in the tank, then tipped it up and filtered out any particles. Big chunks of a soft, black, tarry substance came out. This was a microbial bacteria, known to yachties as the ‘black death,’ and is what had clogged the fuel filter, causing our engine to seize.

It was hot and messy work. When we were satisfied that we’d removed all the gunk that we possibly could, it was time to put the tank back in. Turns out this was easier said than done, and involved much frustration and bad language from Matt. In the end, after borrowing a jigsaw, he enlarged a hole in one of the walls and the tank was finally shoved back in.

We caught up with Brian and Sandra and their friends from Perth, Carol and Michael. Brian and Sandra were heading back to NSW for Christmas and had had their ute shipped over so that they could drive back. They kindly lent us the ute for a few days and we got a few more jobs done, as well as a quick trip out to Kalamunda where Matt went mountain biking.

After a week in Fremantle, we farewelled Brian and Sandra. It was sad to see them go and we’d miss their company. We didn’t know exactly when or where we’d see them again. Maybe somewhere on the south coast, or maybe not even until South Australia.

Fremantle is a lovely city and I really enjoyed our time there. It is renowned for its well-preserved architectural heritage and the streets are filled with beautiful heritage buildings with ornate facades. It was just a short walk from the marina into the city centre with heaps of great cafes and restaurants, and also just a short walk to Victoria Quay where I found a great yoga studio.

I posted home Christmas presents for our nephews and niece, and wrote and posted Christmas cards too. I felt very efficient completing all my Christmas shopping in November! It is a very bike friendly place with plenty of bike paths, so we used our bikes a lot, including cycling out to Coogee Beach on a very windy day.

We also did some touristy things, visiting the WA Shipwreck Museum, the Roundhouse, the Fremantle Markets, the WA Maritime Museum and the Fremantle Prison.

Fremantle Prison was built as a convict barracks in the 19th century and remained in continual use until 1991. The prison was a place of hangings, floggings, dramatic convict escapes and prisoner riots. Inmates included imperial convicts, colonial prisoners, enemy aliens, prisoners of war and maximum-security detainees.

We did a couple of tours with a very knowledgeable guide and then went back a week later to do the underground Tunnel Tour, which involved climbing down steep ladders to an underground network of tunnels and then moving through them in a canoe, at times in compete darkness. It is a fascinating place, with an extraordinary history and well worth a visit.

The WA Maritime Museum is also well worth a visit with some very interesting exhibitions. Australia II, the yacht that won the Americas’s Cup in 1983 for the Royal Perth Yacht Club, is on display complete with life sized models of the crew.

Probably the most interesting was the real life submarine. Guided tours of the submarine HMAS Ovens are offered and we ended up on a private tour with an extraordinary guide who had actually lived and worked on Ovens as an SAS soldier. His personal knowledge and insight was incredible.

An authentic Cold War-era vessel, HMAS Ovens is 89.9 metres long with a submerged speed of more than 15 knots. Her motto was ‘Silence is Golden’ and she was built in Scotland in 1967, before arriving in Sydney in 1969. During her 26 year life she travelled over 410,000 nautical miles, before being decommissioned in 1995 and turned into a museum.

More pictures from inside HMAS Ovens:

On two occasions we caught the train into Perth and wandered through the city and out along the Swan River. It was very pretty along the river, and we noticed lots and lots of moorings. What a shame that the low bridges are there, effectively excluding all boats with a tall mast. It would have been wonderful to anchor or moor right in the heart of the city as we have done in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

King’s Park afforded some beautiful views back over the city and I was especially taken with the huge boab tree from the Kimberley, that is said to be around 760 years old.

We also attended our very first protest rally in the city. Thousands of people descended on the city to protest against border closures, lockdowns and vaccine mandates. It was a peaceful affair and there were people there of every age, nationality, religion and occupation.

It had been a long, hard slog to get down to Fremantle and so we had really enjoyed and appreciated our time exploring on land, including an inland road trip to Kalgoorlie that I’ll write about in another post. After three short weeks we were back on the water, off to explore the beachside towns and sheltered waterways of the south east. We hoped!

When faced with a challenge, look for a way, not a way out.

David Weatherford