juggernaut1
Well-Known Member
- Apr 19, 2015
- 1,152
- Boat Info
- Boatless - sold Searay 38 Sundancer
- Engines
- 8.1’s
Hi all,
My favourite summer destination is Rottnest Island situated about 20 klm's off shore from Perth Western Australia. Approx 185,000 people arrive by private boat to Rotto each year. Until last weekend I had never been there in the SeaRay since taking ownership in April last year. Rotto is surrounded by many reefs and getting into bays can be expensive if you're not paying attention. Twice a year the BIAWA leads a convoy of boats over to the Rotto showing how to get in and out of the various bays. So I took up the opportunity and registered for the convoy. The weather ended up being a balmy 40 plus degrees C for most of the time. In fact I think Perth set some sort of new record for the number of consecutive days over 40 degrees.
Several convoys departed from various locations along the Perth coast. Our convoy departed from Mandurah where my boat is penned and is approx 70+ klms to the island. Along the way we picked up other groups of boats. Of the 6 boats that left from Mandurah only about half made it due to mechanical breakdowns and one boat even running out of fuel. It was certainly a lesson in maintenance and preparation and I took Friday off to focus on making sure all was in order with my brother. At a guess there were probably about 20 boats in all. Most of the boats are smaller in size than the SeaRay and accordingly the convoy speed was dictated by the slowest boat tackling the conditions which at times was only around 9 - 10 knots and up to 25 knots on the way back from the West End after the bay tour on Saturday. We also had flare demonstrations and Q & A session which was followed by a quiz and dinner at the Lodge on Saturday night. The SeaRay handled the conditions without a sweat. We stayed an extra day and headed back solo on Monday where the weather conditions were about as good as I have ever seen.
I'm glad I did the convoy as upon arrival we were greeted with a 40+ footer high and dry on one of the reefs from the day before which served as a reminder of the reef system around the island. This was also the first time I stayed on the boat on a mooring. All in all it was a great weekend.
I managed to snap a few pics and have also included a few pics when I visited the island for 8 days approx 2 weeks ago.
My favourite summer destination is Rottnest Island situated about 20 klm's off shore from Perth Western Australia. Approx 185,000 people arrive by private boat to Rotto each year. Until last weekend I had never been there in the SeaRay since taking ownership in April last year. Rotto is surrounded by many reefs and getting into bays can be expensive if you're not paying attention. Twice a year the BIAWA leads a convoy of boats over to the Rotto showing how to get in and out of the various bays. So I took up the opportunity and registered for the convoy. The weather ended up being a balmy 40 plus degrees C for most of the time. In fact I think Perth set some sort of new record for the number of consecutive days over 40 degrees.
Several convoys departed from various locations along the Perth coast. Our convoy departed from Mandurah where my boat is penned and is approx 70+ klms to the island. Along the way we picked up other groups of boats. Of the 6 boats that left from Mandurah only about half made it due to mechanical breakdowns and one boat even running out of fuel. It was certainly a lesson in maintenance and preparation and I took Friday off to focus on making sure all was in order with my brother. At a guess there were probably about 20 boats in all. Most of the boats are smaller in size than the SeaRay and accordingly the convoy speed was dictated by the slowest boat tackling the conditions which at times was only around 9 - 10 knots and up to 25 knots on the way back from the West End after the bay tour on Saturday. We also had flare demonstrations and Q & A session which was followed by a quiz and dinner at the Lodge on Saturday night. The SeaRay handled the conditions without a sweat. We stayed an extra day and headed back solo on Monday where the weather conditions were about as good as I have ever seen.
I'm glad I did the convoy as upon arrival we were greeted with a 40+ footer high and dry on one of the reefs from the day before which served as a reminder of the reef system around the island. This was also the first time I stayed on the boat on a mooring. All in all it was a great weekend.
I managed to snap a few pics and have also included a few pics when I visited the island for 8 days approx 2 weeks ago.
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BIAWA - Boating Industry Association of WA_Page_1.jpg87.3 KB · Views: 309
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Rotto Convoy 1.jpg92.9 KB · Views: 305
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Rotto Convoy 2.jpg92.3 KB · Views: 302
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Rotto Convoy 4.jpg93.1 KB · Views: 291
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Rotto Convoy 3.jpg83.4 KB · Views: 310
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Rotto Convoy 5.jpg89.3 KB · Views: 277
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Rotto 2.jpg64.1 KB · Views: 284
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Rotto 4.jpg77.6 KB · Views: 294
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Rotto 8.jpg77 KB · Views: 286
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Rotto 9.jpg78.1 KB · Views: 290
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