Tuesday, 19 February
to Tuesday, 5 March 2019
On Wednesday, 20 February we left the Prince of Wales Bay
Marina after 2 weeks enjoying first the Wooden Boat Festival and then our road
trip to Cradle Mountain. We only made it as far as Constitution Dock in the centre
of Hobart. Tasmanian Maritime has a number of berths available for free for 5
hours, although you may stay overnight if you send a text. It is very
convenient for shopping and a meal in the city.
On Thursday, after a visit to the new fuel dock at the Royal
Yacht Club of Tasmania, we sailed down the Derwent River in a strong south-westerly
to The Duckpond on Bruny Island.
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| Still chilly! |
We spent 2 nights here – it is a very
protected anchorage but there is nowhere to go ashore. On Saturday, we sailed
to the Huon River where we anchored off the Port Cygnet Sailing Club.
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| We stretched our legs with a walk to Cygnet |
On Sunday, we headed further up the river to Castle Forbes
Bay, to visit new friends Rob and Anne. Relatives of a golfing friend of mine,
we had first met them at the Wooden Boat Festival and, typical of the
hospitality of Tasmanians, they invited us to come and visit them. They have a
gorgeous house on the Huon River with a pontoon.
The Huon Valley has been threatened by bushfires for weeks, with firefighters managing to control most of the blazes. Fires have been raging across Tasmania with the most severe in the SW of the state. Rob and Anne were forced to
leave their home as the bushfires approached and made their escape in their
motor cruiser Geni, a 36 foot King Billy Pine fishing launch.
Luckily the fires did not reach their home but like many people
in Tasmania they were at the mercy of the fires and the weather. We had seen
evidence of the fires, many not far from houses, as we motored up the river.
We
were shown the sights of the Huon Valley, enjoyed a dinner party with their
friends and departed with fresh eggs and fruit and vegetables from their
garden.
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| Warren and Rob in Geeveston |
On Tuesday, we motored the 4nm to Franklin, a small town on
the Huon with a long history of boat building. It is home to The Wooden
Boat Centre, a school that is now operated by the town. We both thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the
facility - Warren loved it so much he is trying to work out where to store a wooden dinghy he could build on one of their 6-8 week courses!
As we only had a depth of 1.5m getting to Franklin, we
decided to head down the river at high tide and spent the night at Copper Alley
Bay in Port Cygnet. On Wednesday, we sailed back to South Bruny Island and
anchored in Mickeys Bay. Warren caught a few flathead and we searched for a
track through to Cloudy Bay, but after a long walk we failed to find any public
access to the bay.
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| Closest we got to Cloudy Lagoon |
On Thursday, we tacked 20nm up the D’Entrecasteaux Channel
to Quarantine Bay. We went ashore at the new pontoon and walked to the old
Quarantine Station. It originally was used to quarantine ships coming to
Australia to prevent the spread of diseases such as typhoid. After the end of
WWI, returning soldiers were quarantined for 7 days before being allowed to
return home. This was to prevent the spread of the Spanish Flu that was killing
millions around the world. Over 9000 soldiers spent time here in 1919. A local
group is restoring the station to preserve the history of the site and we would recommend a visit.
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| The "Cleansing Station" and Medical Officers House |
On Friday, it was back to Constitution Dock as I was flying
back to Brisbane on Saturday for some family functions, while Warren was taking the boat
back to the marina until my return on Monday.
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| Dinner overlooking Phase2 |
