REVIEWING THE STEAMER TRACK.

 The steamer Albany, 1898:

"At noon on Friday Bedout Island was passed about 6 miles out."

If we are to return to speculation, it is generally assumed that if Captain Allen had decided to follow the standard course rounding the northern aspect of Bedout Island, given the gale force winds and long rolling seas coming up from the southwest, he would likely have given the island a sensible 10 mile plus clearance (some say about 9.5 miles).

But what if visibility was still good and the worst of the cyclone was bearing down towards Balla Balla some 100 miles to the southwest, he might have done what was described by the extract above, passing Bedout Island '6 miles' out. The risk factor vs. getting as far away from the cyclone conditions as fast as possible, if you will...

If this hypothetical case is true we might need to review the trajectory from a 6 mile clearance point heading towards Gantheaume Light (Broome). An interesting picture emerges of the steamer track Koombana would have followed before disaster suddenly overtook her.

The revised Upjohn quote "27 or 28 miles" could be a significant, 8 miles 'south' of his given coordinates. This is a bearing of 52.26 degrees from Bedout and equates with 53m as per navigation chart.

If this hypothesis has merit, we are looking at a potential search block significantly further south of the original coordinates - some 8 miles, in 53-63m water, depending on tidal variations.

In fact, the wreck might lie significantly to the south of the presumed track and should be factored into future searches.

In the quest to find Koombana NE of Bedout one must also not lose sight of the possible coordinates deviation factor (James Martin, 10.5 miles further out).

All factors considered one hopes that ultimately a broad airborne magnetometer survey will reveal Koombana's final resting place whether she be intact or a significant debris field.