Our fourth and last Coral Sea Atoll for this trip is the Saumarez Reefs which we managed to track back to while an easterly was blowing. We feel very fortunate to have had the weather to discover the four atolls we had targetted.

The Saumarez Reefs are a band of reefs which extend in a SW to NE direction with a cay at either end, the northern one with a navigation light, although it does not appear to work! The atoll is 70nm SW of Frederick Reefs, about 55nm from the Swain Reefs and 210nm from the coastal town of Hervey Bay. The rim of reefs is quite thin but provides adequate protection.

We left the Frederick Reefs, heavily reefed for the gusts to make the rowdy beam run a little less uncomfortable and to ensure we arrived at our destination in good light the next morning. As usual, Roobi left at 4pm, Anui at midnight and we got to Saumarez together after a good sail. It was a quick passage. By 9.30am on Tuesday 25^th June, both boats were safely anchored not far from the wreck of the Francis Preston Blair, in about 10m of water over sand. It goes without saying that we intended to check out the wreck from all angles: from the air, the dinghies and underwater!

Our first two days at Saumarez were quite windy and overcast. The reef platform is not very wide and it gets choppy at high tide in these conditions, making for an ‘active’ anchorage. Flying the drones had to wait for a lighter day. Both Helene and Chris are always keen to fly, but launching the beasts in 18 knots and more importantly landing them on a heaving boat is not advisable! So initially we had to be satisfied with a dinghy trip, Canon cameras in hand. We also checked out the reef with the bathyscope and found the coral looked reasonable.

The Wreck of the Francis Preston Blair

The Francis Preston Blair was an American 7196-ton Liberty ship which got stranded during a cyclone and was forced aground on the Saumarez Reefs in July 1945. Much of the ship is now collapsed. It was used for target practice by the RAAF in the 1980s for its F111 bombers. Got to love the RAAF! It is now a rusting hulk, loved by seabirds who perch there and cover it with guano, and although parts of the wreckage are identifiable, such as the bows, engine, bollards and anchor chain, much of the wreck has crumbled. The debris field is extensive when you snorkel around the area.

Snorkel Time!

The coral at Saumarez was like undulating meadows as far as the eye could see, unfortunately bleached but still alive and the best we saw, particularly close to the reef edge in front of the wreck. You could imagine how beautiful it would have been a few years back. There were lots of colourful fish, and the wreckage brought added interest! Here is a gallery of what caught our eye.

Fly over

On the third day, the conditions had lightened a bit and we could at last launch the drones for an aerial view of the wreck and our anchorage. The shots really show how far onto the reef platform the ship was pushed. It ended up on the broadest part of the shallows and had no chance in the horrendous winds!

Change of Anchorage

We then moved the boats to another spot further to the SW, for a different perspective. This second anchorage was in shallower water and was more comfortable than the first. The snorkeling was not as good though and the reef thinner and more exposed.

Return back south

A very big blow was on its way with southerly winds forecast to reach over 40 knots offshore. We have used a period of quite strong easterlies then northerlies ahead of the blow to sail south to Hervey Bay, a 210nm passage. Here we are sailing well and taking pictures of each other’s boat!

We got back to civilisation on Sunday, re-provisioned and refueled, then headed for Fraser Island to hide. This is where we are now, hopefully not for too long and of course we are plotting another adventure together as soon as the weather improves.

We are thrilled to have done everything we hoped for during this first Coral Sea Atolls foray, without rushing. We were fortunate to be able to stay offshore for three weeks and are particularly pleased to have been able to come back south instead of letting ourselves drift inexorably north. We have looped the loop! And now we are using the wet and windy weather to assemble our Southern Coral Sea Atolls story which we hope to share with you soon.