Phase2: Norfolk Bay and the Wooden Boat Festival

Monday, 4 February to Monday 11, February 2019

It was an 0630 start on Monday from Maria Island to time our transit of the Denison Canal for slack water, 2 hours 20 minutes after Hobart high tide. The canal was opened in 1905 to shorten the route between the east coast and Hobart and largely avoid the notorious Storm Bay. Two and a half hours motoring saw us at the red seaward marker to the Marion Narrows. Another hour later we were at the leads for the canal. We were a bit ahead of schedule but as we went through the canal, we only had 0.5 knot against us. It can run at up to 10 knots which would be a problem as we only motor at 6 knots.

We sailed and motored south from Dunalley Bay to Little Norfolk Bay where we spent the night. In convict days, boats used to come here and offload cargo and visitors for Port Arthur. A railway, thought to be the first in Australia to carry passengers, was built in 1836. The carriages were pushed by convicts up over the hill then they jumped on for the descent.

I went ashore for a walk but the town of Taranna was pretty quiet – highlight was the chocolate factory.

Jetty at Taranna

On Tuesday morning we motored around the corner to Eaglehawk Bay. We tried out our new Tassie boots for our wade ashore to see this historic site.

First up was the dog line. 9 ferocious dogs were placed along the narrowest part of Eaglehawk Neck and 2 were later put on platforms in the water to guard the escape route for convicts. They would bark and alert the soldiers of any disturbance. The old officer’s quarters contained an interesting museum.

After spending some time reading about life here, we walked a short distance to the Tessellated Pavement, an unusual rock formation in Pirates Bay.

It's getting colder - Warren in his Christmas present!

On Wednesday, we sailed across Norfolk and Frederick Henry bays, inside Betsey Island and up the Derwent River to the Prince of Wales Bay Marina.

Sailing through flocks of birds

The marina is 3nm upstream of the Tasman bridge and has been enlarged since we were last here in 2015. There are lots of cruisers here for the same reason as us – to attend the Australian Wooden Boat Festival.

The festival ran from Friday to Monday and we attended every day. We looked at all the boats (sail, motor, rowing), tall ships, remote controlled boats, model boats and boats in bottles.

Ross Muir showing Warren his recently finished Trevassa Too

HMB Endeavour

We learnt how ropes are made, saw how wooden boats were traditionally made, watched the sailpast and some races, attended a talk about the evolution of the 18 foot skiff and were entertained by singers. It is a great event and I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.