Macquarie Harbour

1 – 7 March 2015

Hawks Nest Cove in Birchs Inlet proved to be a perfect spot for us to catch up on our sleep. The anchorage had good holding in mud and was very protected. Macquarie Harbour is 20nm long and 3 to 4 nm wide which makes it six times the size of Sydney Harbour.

As we were now at the southern end we decided on Sunday morning to motor up the Gordon River.  We followed another yacht, Marni, who had a local chart for the river. Our Navionics chart stops about 3nm up the river so we had the slightly disconcerting sight of the boat going another 15 nm over land.

There were showers throughout the morning but we still saw the spectacular scenery of rainforest reaching down to the river. 

We went up the river as far as Sir John Falls jetty where we rafted up next to Marni.

From here it was a short stroll to the falls and a slightly longer walk through the rainforest to the Lower Gordon Camp.               

The water in the river and all of Macquarie Harbour has a lot of tannin so is dark brown which results in beautiful reflections.    

We had a peaceful but cold (6 degrees) night. As Marni wanted to get away early Monday morning we cast off at 0700 in fog and mist for the trip back down the river.              

Early start

A few hours later

After exiting the river we headed for Kelly Basin, which is the site of Pillinger, a mining boom town of the late 19^th century. Another very protected anchorage, we went ashore Monday afternoon to explore East Pillinger where the Tas National Parks have boardwalks around the ruins.              

We walked about half of the 15km walk that follows the old rail line up the Bird River valley.

Tuesday morning we headed across the Harbour to Sarah Island, site of a penal settlement from 1822-1833. We joined a guided tour that explained how treatment of the prisoners changed with different commandants. This island was also the largest shipyard in the southern hemisphere at the time making ships up to 300 ton.

Tuesday afternoon we went back to Kelly Basin and ashore at West Pillinger. Not as much left here but an interesting shack with some old photos. It was windy and rainy all day Wednesday so we found things to do on the boat including Warren taking out the accumulator tank in the fresh water system which had sprung a leak. 

Once a bustling town

Not much left

On Thursday we sailed up the Harbour to Strahan where we anchored in Mill Bay. It has rained off and on since then and is cold and windy as well. We definitely did not see the town at its best. We had a good BBQ with the fleet yesterday, shopping and washing and we are now motoring towards the mouth of the harbour for the night. We plan to exit Hells Gate at first light and venture further south to Port Davey tomorrow.

Tamar River to Macquarie Harbour

21-28 February 2015

On Thursday we left Croppies Bay at 0620, set the spinnaker and headed for the Tamar River. We had a good sail in a moderate E to NE breeze and entered the river at 1215. We rafted up to Joule on the public pontoon in George Town to do the washing and shopping as this is the main town in the area. On Friday we moved 4nm upriver to the Tamar Yacht Club marina at Beauty Point where we spent 2 nights. 

On Saturday, VDLC cruise coordinator Nigel lent us his car to pick up our son Ben in Launceston.  As no one else needed the car, he recommended we take in some of the sights of the Tamar valley.

After picking Ben up at the airport, we headed for a walk up Cataract Gorge before admiring some of the beautiful examples of 19^th century architecture in Launceston.

We had lunch at Velo winery on the way back to Beauty Point. The VDLC dinner at the yacht club was the first time all 43 crews were together as the Geelong fleet had now joined us.

On Sunday we had the spinnaker up again for the 22 nm run to Port Sorell, where we anchored at beautiful Bakers Point. Ben had brought the sunshine and warmer weather so he even had a swim here.

On Monday we headed for the Mersey River and a berth at the Mersey Yacht Club. While an older facility, the locals could not be more helpful and somehow managed to fit in any boats from the fleet needing a berth.  As the river can run at 4 knots, this offer was taken up by many of the fleet.

Ben discovered that his flight home from Devonport was on Tuesday rather than Monday so we had an extra day to look around and enjoy Ben’s company. I had my first scallop pie here!

On Wednesday we headed for the NW corner of Tasmania to the Hunter Group. We carried our spinnaker for 7 hours in a 15-20kn easterly, dropping it when the wind freshened above 20kn. We averaged 8 knots for the 91 nm to Chimney Corner at Three Hummock Island. 

Some of the fleet at Chimney Corner

Thursday we headed 4nm across the Hope Passage to Shepherds Bay on Hunter Island to get out of the W swell that had developed. A lovely sandy bay where Warren had fun catching 8 large wrasse. We cooked two for dinner only to discover they are not good eating.

We had been keeping a keen eye on the weather as we looked for a suitable window for an overnight run to Macquarie Harbour. This would involve venturing out into the Southern Ocean for the first time where conditions can be rugged. We eventually decided to head off on Friday, even though the wind was not ideal, the swell was the smallest it would be for the coming days. Our original plan to leave Friday evening was brought forward as the wind was due to increase during Saturday so we headed off at 1030 Friday for an overnight trip expected to be 130 nm. About 10 other boats left Friday as well.

We motored for 3 hours down the Hope and Hunter Passages before raising sails once clear of the islands and tacking into the moderate SW breeze.  Seven hours later we had covered 44nm to advance about 24nm to windward.

Tacking duel with Tiara - they won!

With the breeze dying, we dropped sails and started a motor. The good news was that the seas were slight and we had an uneventful night.

By dawn the predicted northerly had arrived so we raised sails, killed the engine and even got the spinnaker up for 3 hours before the breeze freshened above 25kn. At 1030, we started the engines and in heavy rain approached Hells Gate, the infamous entrance to Macquarie Harbour.

Hells Gate was named by the convicts in the 19th century

The entrance is less than 100m wide, has rocks on both sides, an outgoing current that was running at 3.5 knots and poor visibility, so we entered with some trepidation! Luckily there was little swell and we had no problems through Hells Gate and into the shallow channel leading into the Harbour.

Entrance Island

We were tired, it was raining, so we decided to head to the southern end of the harbour rather than the town of Strahan. By the time we anchored in Birchs Inlet we had 173nm on the log in 28.5 hours.

Van Diemen's Land Circumnavigation (VDLC)

Hobart to Beauty Point, Tamar River
11-20 February 2015

Day 1 of the VDLC began in light winds with most of the 31 boats in the Hobart fleet motorsailing the 46nm to Port Arthur.

Not so stormy Storm Bay

More fun with dolphins, this time half a dozen riding off the stern and one doing tail slaps to get our attention.

We anchored in Ladies Bay which was very protected from the strong southerlies that came in during the evening.

The Port Arthur Historic Site was very interesting. We took a guided walk on the first afternoon to orientate ourselves and then a cruise around the bay the next morning. We also hired iPods for the self guided tour, a good way to learn a lot about the site.

We enjoyed it so much we were the last boat to leave the anchorage at 1300. We went outside Tasman Island which was spectacular but the confused seas and adverse current made for hard going. I can only imagine how intimidating it must be in strong winds and big seas.

Tasman Island

Once on the eastern side of the Tasman Peninsular, the seas abated and we had a good reach up to Maria Island where we anchored in Chinamans Bay at 2120.

Chinaman's Bay

We spent 4 nights in Chinamans as the wind was back in the north and we decided against another slog to windward as there were plenty of walks we could do.

We explored the convict cells with Helen, Lester, Fred and Marie from Joule another RQ yacht in the VDLC.

Riedle Bay on the eastern side of Maria Island

On Monday, a southerly change came through and we had a fast sail up to Morey's Beach. We had to furl our genoa when the wind got up over 25 knots but we practised setting the storm jib which did the job until the breeze eased.

Fleet anchored at Schouten Island

On Tuesday, we left at 0610 in thick fog and light rain. We had another good reach up the eastern coast until 1700 when the breeze died and we motored the last few hours to Great Musselroe Bay. We anchored at 2130 after covering 104nm in the day.

Watching the sun set while eating dinner

Another good night here before we motored through Banks Strait with the current early on Wednesday morning. The tide can run at 6 knots through here so you need to make sure it is working in your favour. We anchored at Foster Inlet to wait for the wind to arrive at lunchtime. We invited the San Souci crew to join us for morning tea to celebrate Julie's birthday. Spinnaker run in the afternoon to Croppies Bay.

Campervan on the hill above Croppies Bay

On Thursday we sailed 38nm under spinnaker to the mouth of the Tamar River, then 5 miles up river to George Town where we rafted up to Joule on the public pontoon for the night. We did our laundry and shopping here before motoring further up the river this morning to the Tamar Yacht Club for 2 nights. Ben flies in tomorrow to join us for a few days including dinner with the fleet here at the yacht club tomorrow night.

Hobart - Wooden Boat Festival and MONA

6 - 10 February 2015

We packed a lot into Friday, our first day in Hobart - a trip to the dentist for Warren, shopping for some more thermals, the wooden boat festival, Mount Wellington and pizza at a "quirky" unit with friends Karen and Maurice.

Parade of sail to start the Wooden Boat Festival

We wandered the show admiring the workmanship of the old and new wooden boats on display including several from RQYS.

Next up was a drive up Mount Wellington where we could see from the D'Entrecasteaux Channel to Maria Island, areas that we will be cruising in the coming days.

On Sunday we joined our friends Karen and Maurice for an 8km bike ride to MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) on a bike path that follows the railway line.

While some of the art was not to my taste, the building is spectacular and well worth the visit.

Monday was the briefing for the Van Diemen's Land Circumnavigation at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania where we met some of our fellow sailors and finished the night with dinner with the Joule crew.

Crazy photo for Lester

Roaring Forties

Flinders Island to Hobart - 29 January to 5 February 2015

Coastal day hops from Killiecrankie to Hobart I wrote in my last post. Sounds easy doesn't it! We had 3 nights in Killiecrankie while the wind howled and we waited for a opportunity to head further south. A monohull left one day and returned later that day saying they were only making 1 knot against the wind and current.

Killiecrankie was a nice spot to wait for the weather

Eventually on Saturday the wind had eased and we headed south in a 15-20 knot SSW wind. Tacking initially in moderate seas, at 1400 the log entry for latitude was 40 degrees - we were into the roaring forties! We got some relief from the wind and the swell as we approached Cape Barren Island on a tight reach and anchored in Munro Bay where we had 2 attempts before the anchor set in the weed. We sailed 61nm in 9 hours to progress 40nm south.

On Sunday, we started with a double reef that we shook out after seeing the wind drop to 10-12 knots as we entered Banks Strait. This area has a reputation for big seas that we glimpsed only briefly off Swan Island when the wind had increased again. Back in with the double reef for the final sail to Great Musselroe Bay - another pretty anchorage after 45nm to windward.

Wind generators are visible a long way out to sea

On Monday, we had lighter winds but still from the south so more tacking. We covered another 43nm to Skeleton Bay just north of St Helens, motoring the last few hours when the breeze died. Warren caught a couple of good sized flathead here which were very tasty.

Sailing in company with Kailani

We left before 6 on Tueday as we wanted to get to Schouten Passage if possible. The sun was out, the wind was from the north and we finally got our spinnaker up for most of the day before a nasty 30 knot SW change came through. We motored the last couple of hours to Moreys Bay on Schouten Island. During the day we were visited at one point by at least 100 dolphins - all looking so excited to see us and ride our bow wave.

Moreys Bay, Schouten Island

We went ashore Wednesday morning to look around before heading off at 1000 for Shoal Bay, Maria Island. Wind from the south again so another 61nm to cover the straight line distance of 40nm. Another amazing day with the dolphins!

Thursday we had an early start to get to Denison Canal before high tide. This is a short cut opened in 1905 to shorten the trade route to Hobart from the east coast.

Entering Denison canal

It is 895 meters long and has a swing bridge to allow the boats through. We went in a convey of 6 boats and as we had arrived early there was still a couple of knots of tide against us.

Swing bridge visible on the left

After exiting the canal we had to motor until we reached Iron Pot, at the entry to the Derwent river. The spinnaker went up in a 10-15 knot SE and we enjoyed the final leg of the trip to Hobart. We tied up in the Prince of Wales bay marina having covered 1263nm from Raby Bay.

Iron Pot