8th Aug Blue Pearl Bay to Bait Reef and Hook Reef to Butterfly Bay 46nm

We awoke to another perfect day in paradise with light winds. We decided to go to Bait Reef and stay the night but that did not quite go to plan. We received a forecast of stronger winds coming through from the South East in the next 24 hours. The lure of the reef and a good snorkel meant we would go and if it did not look good we would come back. We left at 6.30am for the 18nm journey and arrived at Bait Reef at 9.30am. There were whales and their calves all over the ocean. We counted 11 masts when were about 4 miles out which meant no moorings available as there are only 9 moorings at Bait Reef. We had come 3 hours so we pushed on in the hope someone would leave. When we arrived there were two boats rafted together which is not allowed on public moorings and one yacht anchored which is also not allowed. Just as we entered the lagoon wondering what we are going to do a yacht slipped its mooring and departed. Fantastic our wishes were answered.  Straight away Peter and I took to the dinghy and went for a snorkel over the Stepping Stones which are huge coral heads. You could plainly hear the whales under water calling each other. We are sure the deeper calls were the adults and the high pitch calls were the calves. What a great experience that was. Later we learned from another yacht that a medium size whale entered into Bait Reef and with curiosity visited a number of yachts. We were disappointed to miss that experience. After the snorkel we had a coffee and decided to explore and set off to look at Hook Reef.

 Bait Reef

Hook Reef has a few anchorages which are well protected from the south east wind and when we arrived there were 3 yachts anchored. We decided we would stay the night if they did. I went for a snorkel to make sure the anchor was secure and swam around some coral heads. There were fish everywhere. I thought this was better than Bait reef for the number of fish and species that were there. And good eating ones at that!! However after getting out of the water and about to rig some fishing gear the other yachts upped anchor and left. It was obvious that the wind would arrive before 7am the next morning so we made the decision not to be out on the reef with 25 knots coming. It took 3hours to get back to Butterfly bay and we arrived just after the sun dropped below the horizon. Once the anchor was down we had a quick shower and were ready for belated sundowners. We invited Claudia and Craig from Gallivant whom we had met at the “Shaggers” bash for drinks. They were at Bait Reef and also decided to get in to shelter. It was a long day and we covered some miles but it was great to see the marine life at different locations and explore another great fishing destination that we will visit in the future when winds permit.