Kitesurfing Cocos Islands - Kitebeach to reef

Session 481. There was time for a quick session after our visit to Direction Island. We did another tour out to the reef to check it out again. Very careful this time to avoid shallow water!  We didn't go out into the waves.

I walked past preparations for the annual ball at the Sailing Club. It was a great night, good music, food and dancing.

Cocos Islands - Direction Island

We took the ferry to Direction Island to have a look around. Several large turtles were mating around the ferry as we waited for the ferry. Levi and Michael arrived, put some gear on the boat, then left. What were they up to?  The ferry trip is a good one, the route goes past Home Island to Direction Island over some deeper water.  There are only a couple of ferries a week.  Yachties motor across to Home Island in dinghies to get to a shop and daily ferries to West Island.

Direction Island has mooring sites for visiting yachts and a jetty where the ferry pulls up. Its a lovely spot. There are beach huts along the southern side, the lee side of the island, with palm trees, white sand and clear azure water.  There is no accommodation or shops so you need to take food, water and snorkelling hear.

Levi and Michael arrived by kite!  It is a fair trip across with some largish chop and swells making progress difficult at times.  Levi did some big boosts then they landed their kites.

We didn't take our kites due to the offshore wind conditions, but kiting from the eastern tip is quite feasible.  Kiting from West Island is quite a journey, its best to have boat backup and a PLB is mandatory.

Adam and I walked up to "The Rip" at the eastern end of the island. The fast flowing current is continually pouring into the main lagoon.  Jumping in to the fast current and swimming across brings you to some rock shelves and deep channels that are teeming with a variety of fish, including some large barracuda.  Its a marine reserve so the fish thrive.

After lunch I followed the walking track around the island. The remains of the radio cable station buildings are scattered on the rugged north side of the island.  The station figured prominently in the story of the sinking of the Emden, a German raiding ship, in World War 1 during the Battle of Cocos. The cable station was bulldozed when it was decommissioned after World War 2.

There are hundreds of hermit crabs on Direction Island, some of them quite large.

Its a great place to walk and relax.

The Rip

The Rip

 

 

Border Force boat

Ruins of Direction Island signal station

Ruins of Direction Island signal station

Ruins of Direction Island signal station

Ruins of Direction Island signal station

Ruins of Direction Island signal station

Leaving Direction Island looking towards The Rip

Prison Island (left) and Home Island behind

Kitesurfing Cocos Islands - hit the reef, ouch!

Session 480. For that afternoon session I tacked out to the reef to check out the surf again.  However, the tide was out further so the reef was shallow.  The water is so clear its very hard to judge how deep it is. 

I hit the reef out past West Cay Island. I came of the board and impacted some coral on my thigh tearing my wetsuit, ouch! The suit provided some protection as did my reef booties.  It was tricky walking back to some deeper water with the 12m kite in the air.  I was able to get going and find a route back to kitebeach.

Local advice is that if you can see the rock rib on the south side of West Cay out of the water then its too shallow.  Don't kite at kitebeach when the tide is low.

The cuts were not deep, I treated them with betadine back out the apartment.

I found out later that one of the fin boxes was cracked by the impact. Oke Surfboards repaired it when I was back in Melbourne.

Kitesurfing Cocos Islands - kitebeach to blue holes

Session 479. Day 3 on Cocos Islands. A short tour to explore the dramatic blue holes with Adam, about 4.5km out from kitebeach.

The Zephyr Kiteboarding tour group had headed off on a downwinder to Direction Island with boat support so the kitebeach was very quiet.

The coral surrounding the blue holes can be quite shallow and sharp so its important to treat them with respect. We cruised out and back in light wind.

Kitesurfing Cocos Islands after a day of rain

Session 478. It rained heavily overnight and for most of the day with squalls coming through. The  rain stopped later in the afternoon so Adam and I headed for kitebeach and scored a short session. I cruised out to the blue holes again and enjoyed the scenery.