At 3.45am on Saturday 16 September we lifted the anchor and departed Raft Point, where we had anchored for a couple of hours overnight. We had to wait for the tide to turn before we could head out to Montgomery Reef.

Sailing into unsurveyed waters is a challenge. Sometimes the chart depths do not match the sea bed. We were approaching the reef right on dawn, and had to throw the engine into reverse, after an uncharted island appeared just below the surface. The depth below the keel went from 4 metres to 0.7 metres in under 30 seconds. We stopped and retreated back the way we had just come in, to look for an alternate route.

Eventually we tried another track into Montgomery Reef and covered the final 3nm with 2 - 6 m of water under the keel. Just as we were pulling up to anchor in 5m of water, the depth under the keel dropped from 2.8m to minus -0.6m and we went bump as we touched the bottom. We were only moving at 2 knots, so easily backed up once again and anchored in 6m of water. With coral reefs there are random bommies and rocks that can pop up anywhere.

Once safely anchored, with the engine off, we witnessed a remarkable thing. The sound of hundreds of water falls in full flow, as this massive reef system of 400 square kilometres drains like huge bath tub with hundreds of plug holes. With the tide dropping 9 metres, the lagoon can’t drain fast enough, so it creates horizontal water falls everywhere as the water spills over the top. You experience sound of gushing water in stereo, in every direction.

Teeming with fish, birds, turtles, sea snakes and supposedly crocodiles, it’s an amazing backdrop. The marine life flees from the reef as the water cascades from it. The water around us was alive with many different species.

A 100m wide channel into the main cay of the reef was too shallow and rock laden for Silver Fern and Salt Lines, so we set off upstream to explore it in the RIB’s. The water in the channel was clear, but despite this we touched the bottom with the outboard’s ske,g as the rocky outcrops appeared randomly below the bow. The sound of the cascading water got louder as we got closer to the largest cascades and you could hear it above the sound of the outboard motor.

It would have been nice to turn the engine off and just drift in the current, so we could listen to the unblemished sounds of the reef in full flow, but the speed the tide was dropping and the threat of crocodiles made this an unwise move.

We nudged the bow into the base of one of the over-reef falls and the force of the water was so strong, it just pushed us backwards despite the engine being in forward gear. Some cascades looked like bridal veils and lots of photos were taken by all. It was just remarkable and a real privilege to be in a such a remote and beautiful place.

I can’t imagine what it was like for those sailors centuries ago, that did not know this reef was on their course. For them it would have been terrifying discovery as they were dragged onto the reef and wrecked, but for us it was a marvellous experience.

With our exploring finished we ate great omelettes produced by the crew; Ken, Freya & Ange, before setting off to our next destination: the Horizontal Falls. 

David (co-written by Jo Copeland)