Ocean Watch

A month ago in New Caledonia, my crew member, Scott, and I were discussing Australia's saltwater crocodiles. "In Queensland you're not supposed to drag your hands or feet over the side of the dinghy."

"That's ridiculous," I said. "Says who?"

He shrugged. "I read it in the cruising guide."

I forgot that conversation until this week as I was picking my way through the shallow sand bars of Queenslands Island Head Creek, a popular anchoring spot. "It's beautiful," my current crew member, Kirsten, said. "Too bad we can't get in the water."

"We can't?"

"The cruising guide says it's dangerous because of crocs."

Often throughout this voyage across the South Pacific, I've concentrated on my cruising books sailing and anchoring instructions, leaving the nonboat information to my crew. Now it was time to read this Australia guide more carefully.

The book, I found, includes a fairly long list of do's and don'ts regarding salties, the local name for saltwater crocodiles, while cruising around the Great Barrier Reef. Swimming and diving on the coral reefs and outer islands is pretty safe, the author says, but is not a guarantee. For reasons unclear, "salties" sometimes travel considerable distances from shore.

It's true that saltwater crocodiles do occasionally kill people here, but like shark fatalities, the numbers are small. Between 1975 and 2000, on the remote Cape York Peninsula, crocodiles killed three people.

Close to where I anchored, salties have attacked people and dogs, the dogs sometimes snatched from decks. No human fatalities occurred but the dogs weren't as lucky.

Like sharks, it's wise to respect saltwater crocodiles. These apex predators, which can grow to about 27 feet long, eat most anything they can grab with their massive jaws, crushing larger prey before swallowing.

Crocodiles hunt at night and are particularly fond of fish.

They also have a gentle side. Female salties lay 30 to 70 eggs in a nest mound, guarding them for about three months. When the babies begin to hatch, the mother rolls the eggs gently in her mouth to help free them from the shell. Then she gathers the hatchlings in her mouth and carries them to the water where she protects them for the next three months.

These creatures were once hunted to dangerously low numbers here for fun and for their valuable hides. Today, Australia has a model saltie conservation program. With sustainable hunting, farming and public awareness, Australia's saltwater croc population is on the rise.

Now that I've learned more about salties, all those safety precautions for boaters make sense. Besides not dangling body parts over the side of our dinghies in croc country, we aren't supposed to fish from it or linger long at the shoreline. And if we must do an underwater boat job, the guide says, have someone stand watch.

I was going to clean my propeller while anchored in this lovely river. Now, however, I believe it's clean enough.