Sir Joseph Banks Group

Reesvesby has 3 good anchorages the first is the main bay good in all winds apart from N to W which is usually a indercation that a southerly change is not far away....watch the series of underwater boulders just to the NE of the bay I ended up inside them after dragging anchor after arriving with engine trouble! That's another story! Make sure you have king George whitting rigs handy and fish the weedy sand patches in the middle of the bay....also squid and scallops directly under the anchorage (well there used to be) !

The next anchorage is on the Northen tip it's a lovely sandy bay perfect for any winds apart from Northerly.
Last time I visited while heading to shore I noted large dark patches moving around in the sand shallows after returning to the yacht and collecting my rod and lure in my little zodiac I headed back to the school and within seconds of the lure hitting the water I had a hook up....I was getting towed around abit and finally landed approx 5 kg Australian salmon after catching 3 more i decided that was enough to feed us on the beach BBQ !

The next anchorage on the East I only used once but didn't feel to at ease there its best
to be used when the wind is backing round to the West and usually it will go SW change and then back round to SE-E overnight so it's best to get back to the main anchorage once the change has come. Most of the time it blows from NW to W just for a few hours before the change arrives.

There are a few more islands around but I personally have not stopped of at them I have been to Spilby island on a surf trip with another boat there are some sandy anchorages available but most southerly sides are rocky.

You can snorkel with sea lions at Blythe or Hopkins islands which is a awesome experience.

I know the Thorny passage well with Wedge and and Thistle islands as well as Boston island. Let me know if you have any other questions I should be able to answer them?

I would suggest a visit to Tumby Bay, my home town, although I have not been there for 5 years.

Check out the rabbits on Spilsby, I think it was Spilsby or one of the others. They are Angora and don't have burrows.

Avoid swimming near Bolinbroke. That's where the real shark scenes from Jaws were filmed. I had a close encounter with a bronze whaler there in 1963 while spearfishing. Few weeks later a young mother was bitten in half by a white pointer in front of her family.

One thing I never trust on digital charts is the placement of fish farms. They are inside the N and S shipping channel but I do remember seeing them on the Eastern side of the south Chanel. While I was sailing in Boston bay at Christmas I was surprised at the number of new mussel farms caution needs to be taken.

I have only been to tumby bay on one occasion reason being its the closest bottle shop to the island about 4 hours round trip at 6 knots.


Here's a nice googled earth pic of Reevesby.





And the large underwater boulders I ended up in after dragging anchor just a day after I had passed my coxswains ticket and found myself putting a Pan Pan Pan out on the radio!