Date: 9/04/15 Position: Evening Cove, South Arm, Port Pegasus
On Monday night it blew a gale. It was extremely windy around midnight and we were getting very strong gusts in our anchorage at Disappointment Cove. There were willy willies forming near us which were amazing to watch in the light of the full moon. They tore sheets of spray off the surface of the water and spun the spray up to great heights. The average wind reading around the corner at South West Cape at midnight was 66 knots. We'd believe it. By morning it was all over and calm again. It was quite a dynamic change with the build up of the pre frontal high winds, the change arriving at midnight and the wind moderating all happening within twelve hours. The barometric pressure in the last twenty four hours had dropped from 1021 hpa to 992 hpa.
After a fairly sleepless night we had a relaxing day on Tuesday. In the afternoon we followed the short track from our anchorage across to a beach in Broad Bay which has a wide entrance to the ocean south of Port Pegasus. We were enjoying our fossick along the beach until we spotted some juvenile male sea lions in the surf. One of these young males was not too pleased that we were on his patch so he surfed in, stood up and roared at us to be on our way in no uncertain terms. We didn't stop to argue and ran. Still wishing to explore some more we crossed over a small headland to the next beach and this time we each carried a stick just in case we met some more sea lions. Apparently if they get too close you just tap them on the nose and they will turn back except for the fact that their sheer size is pretty intimidating as is their manner as they approach lumbering towards you and roaring. There were plenty of signs that the sea lions had been lounging around on the sand at some time during the day but it was deserted. We also noted quite a few tracks obviously made by seals going into the bush. So we didn't feel too comfortable walking along the narrow beach due to the high tide with the prospect of meeting another sea lion from either the sea or the bush. So we retreated back to the track and back to Ambler.
On Wednesday we awoke to passing showers and since another front was due to hit in the afternoon, we decided to hang out on board. Early in the afternoon the rain cleared with the passage of the south westerly so we took to the kayaks to have a more detailed explore of the coves around us. The craggy shorelines consisted of sandstone which has been eroded by continual wave action, creating many interesting features such as overhangs, small caves and honeycomb surfaces. Above the sandstone is a layer of peat which was often overhanging the more weathered sections of rock. The hills around Port Pegasus are covered by low to medium bush and there are bare rocky outcrops and slopes with a few attainable summits that we hope to walk to over the next week or so. Since Blue Cod was on the menu we took the fishing gear with us and kayaked to a small island with a deep drop off at the entrance to Fright Cove. Sure enough we caught the perfect size cod for our appetites. We continued to explore other interesting little coves to the west of Disappointment Cove before returning in the sunshine to Ambler. There is now a noticeable chill in the evenings and we have had the heater on making the cabin warm and cosy.
Today (Thursday) we woke to a crisp morning and a clear blue sky. We weighed anchor and cruised around to have a look at Sylvan's Cove before sailing with just the headsail to windward to our current anchorage of Evening Cove. As it was a very a low tide we could easily see the bottom which seemed alarmingly shallow but we still had an under keel clearance of 2-3 metres. We tied ourselves in securely with four shorelines and an anchor. Knowing the boat was secure we dinghied ashore and followed a track that led up through low scrub to a ridge. From there we followed a cairned route to a high point of around 250m. The top consisted of great slabs and boulders of open, bare quartzite. It was great to explore around the boulders as the elements had eroded the boulders into fascinating shapes. We had clear views of the south arm of Port Pegasus, the peaks of Gog and Magog (which we hope to walk to tomorrow) and through a gap we could even see the west coast of Stewart Island. It was very easy walking and the vegetation was similar to the alpine areas of South West Tasmania.
All is warm and content on board. Kathy and Wayne
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment