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For an explanation of photos, position mouse over photo. We arrived back in Australia on Dec 13 and after a few days of running
errands and preparing the boat and a couple more waiting for the winds to
cooperate, we set off on the first leg of our next journey - 1100 miles
south to Tasmania where we will spend the summer. Our first leg was just over
500 miles south to Sydney.
Our plan was to reach Hobart in time for the finish of the Sydney-Hobart
yacht race, which departs from Sydney on Boxing Day (Dec 26). The racers have a
disadvantage though - they have to leave on that day no matter what the weather
forecast is! We, on the other hand, will wait until conditions are favorable in
order to have the most pleasant trip possible. The Bass Strait, in the Tasman
Sea, is known for being particularly rough, and in 1998 a massive storm hit
during the race, resulting in six deaths, the loss of over a dozen boats, and
more than 50 people being rescued by helicopter. We're not really interested in
sailing in those kinds of conditions! On Christmas Eve, everything looked good for our departure to sail as far as
Eden, 200 miles further south where we would stop for a rest before crossing the
Bass Strait. Again we had northeast winds, which allowed us to fly our spinnaker
(a special parachute-like sail designed for sailing downwind). We made great
time and arrived in Eden on Christmas morning. Eden is aptly named as it is a
beautiful little town situated in a deep-water harbor. It is primarily a fishing
village with three large wharves where the fishing boats tie up. There is not a
marina and as we were on a passage, we had our dinghy taken apart and secured on
the bow of Shear Madness. Thus, if we anchored, we had no way to get ashore. As
it was Christmas, the entire fishing fleet was in port, leaving no open spots on
the wharves. We did find an open spot and tied up to it. However, it
turned out to be the Water Police dock and was securely fenced off, still
leaving us no way to get ashore. A friendly off duty police officer soon showed
up and told us we could use the water to clean the boat and fill our tanks, but
that then we would have to move. We did see another empty spot on the main
wharf, to which we were soon securely tied.
We set off for a walk to town and had Christmas lunch at the Fisherman's Club, a very nice spot with a great buffet lunch. We also explored Eden which is a beautiful town. Our location on the main wharf was ideal that evening as many locals out for a stroll stopped to chat and to give us good information about the town. Eden used to be a whaling town and has a unique story. There was a pack of killer whales that used to drive other types of whales into Twofold Bay where the town is situated. They would then thrash about to get the attention of the whalers who would jump into their boats and pursue the whale until they could harpoon and kill it. The killer whales would then be allowed to eat the whales tongue (which could weigh up to four tons!) and lips, which is apparently all they wanted. The whale would then be towed ashore and processed for its oil and bone. It is the only known occurrence of whales working voluntarily with men in such a fashion. The leader of this pack of whales died in 1931 and his skeleton is preserved in the Eden Killer Whale Museum. I also had a chance to play golf in Eden. There's not room on the boat for me
to store a full set of clubs, so while in Mooloolaba I had purchased a 5-wood
and a 7-iron and had brought an old putter from home. I figured this would be
enough for me to at least play on occasion. Eden has a nice little golf course
just outside town. I easily hitched a ride there and was paired up with Bill, a
road builder from Melbourne. We had a great time. The highlight was that there
were dozens of kangaroos lounging about all over the course.
By Saturday afternoon it seemed the wind had shifted and the forecast looked good so we prepared to leave. We headed out of the bay only to find that conditions were not all that pleasant. The seas were rough and choppy and the wind was still coming from the south. Several of the yachts from the Sydney-Hobart race were passing by so we watched them and took some pictures. But we decided to wait another day before tackling the Bass Strait so we headed back in and anchored for the night. By morning, things were looking much better so we set off on the last leg of this journey. I have read several books and heard a lot of things about crossing the Bass Strait
in the Tasman Sea. I knew that even in the best of conditions it is usually a
rough crossing and we were prepared for that. Imagine my surprise when for the
next two days we had a very pleasant downwind sail in calm seas! It couldn't
have been a better trip. The time went by quickly with no problems and before we
knew it we were approaching Hobart. Our winds had been steady at 15-25
knots the entire trip. Finally the Tasmanian coast came into view. What a
lovely sight it was. Besides making us feel like we were nearly there, it was
just beautiful. The lighthouse on Tasman Island seemed to bid us a warm welcome.
AS we entered the Derwent River, we radioed to one of the
marinas to see if we could get a berth for a couple days. We wanted to stop in
at a marina because we need a dock to assemble our dingy, which gets taken apart
and stored on deck during a passage. It's also nice to plug into shore power and
completely recharge the batteries, and to have access to water to thoroughly
clean the boat after a passage. But because of the race, the first marina we
tried was full. We were about to try a couple others when we got a call from a
boat in Hobart offering to try to find us a spot. Within half an hour, they had
called back to say we could have a slip for a couple days at the Motor Yacht
Club in Lindisfarne, just across the river from Hobart. That was great news so
we headed up the river and actually passed two of the racing boats.
We were now getting a taste of Tasmanian weather. We had begun the day in
long pants, long sleeves and jackets as it was a little chilly, As the sun came
up it warmed up and we gradually shed layers until we were down to short sleeves
and shorts. Then it clouded up and cooled off again - back to long sleeves. The
it was warm again - back to short. As we headed up the river, the wind started
to pick up. It went from 15 knots to 20 , then to 25, finally to 30 and chilly
again! Back to the long sleeves and jackets. Ironically, the strongest winds of
the whole trip came in the last half hour of the trip, while going up the Derwent River - they reached 35 knots, just as we were trying to dock!
Fortunately, there were five people waiting for us on the dock ready to help
take lines and get us secure. Soon we were settled into our new home where we
found everyone to be very friendly. Beth and Kevin aboard Red are from Alaska
and had helped secure our slip.
Bernard and Carol also invited us to accompany them and some friends on their power boat on New Year's Eve. They were heading across the river to the main wharf in Hobart for a good view of the fireworks. We accepted the invitation and had a wonderful time. We met lots of wonderful people, including the former assistant police commissioner. We had a great view of the fireworks which are set off from a barge in the river just a couple hundred yards from where we were. It was a great way to celebrate our passage and the New Year!
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We were joined on this leg by our friend Salvadore
from Mooloolaba. Our winds were from the northeast and we had a very pleasant
downwind sail, reaching Pittwater, just north of Sydney on Dec 21. Upon our
arrival Salvadore, who is originally from Spain, prepared us a wonderful Spanish
chicken dinner. While in Pittwater we caught up with some old friends and
enjoyed a few nice days exploring the surroundings, again waiting for a good
weather window to continue south. Salvadore headed back North, leaving me,
Bradley, and Ron to complete the journey on our own.
They seemed very
accustomed to people and just sat there watching us most of the time. I
went back to play nine holes the next day and this time took my camera - of
course then there wasn't a kangaroo to be seen!
And
if that wasn't enough, we were greeted by a huge pod of dolphins who swam
alongside us for nearly an hour, jumping and playing and entertaining us. 
Chris,
aboard Getaway, was the former commodore
of the yacht club and although the marina was full, he had known that one of the
fishing boats was out for a few days and had arranged for us to use his slip.
Our next door neighbors, Bernard and Carol aboard Cassida, gave us a warm
welcome and offered to loan us a car for a few days! 
