Friday 5 April - We stayed anchored at Prosser Bay on Tasmania's East Coast near Triabunna ticking off more jobs on board. On Sunday we weighed anchor and sailed 25nm through to Dunnalley via Marion Bay Bar. The keel came close to the bottom a few times but we made it through.
Mon 8 April - We waited at Dunnalley for slack water which came at 1300 and then passed through the swing bridge at the Denison Canal. We then sailed 7nm to anchor at Monk Bay and waited a few days there at anchor while a front passed over.
Wed 10 April - We sailed at 7.30 around to the Iron Pot which marks the mouth of the Derwent River. We crossed the Derwent River and entered the Dentrecasteau Channel and turned south. We had a mixed bag of wind directions and wind speeds up to 25 knots which gave us a good work out winching, tacking, reefing and hauling sails about. We were bound for Cygnet but had to give up when we arrived at the Huon River mouth as it got dark. We anchored in Randalls Bay having covered 54nm in 11 hours.
Thurs 11 April - We motored 6nm in the calm reflective water to Cygnet where we caught up with a sailor friend Susanne and also met some local sailors at the yacht club over the next 4 days.
Mon 15 April - We departed Cygnet for some cruising in the Channel and anchored overnight at Randalls Bay again, Snake Island, Kettering and then caught up with friends on Wild Goose and Snow Petrel 2 at Gentleman's Corner and the Duckpond over Easter.
Tues 23 April - We departed the Duckpond for Hobart and arrived to anchor in Cornelian Bay 25nm later. The weather didn't look too promising over the next week. So we booked a week at the Prince of Wales Bay marina to try and get our windvane and steering system sorted out.
Wed 24 April - We sailed 3nm to the marina where we actually ended up staying two weeks ticking off jobs and catching up with friends and family.
Tues 7- Fri 10 May - We sailed from the marina and spent nights at Cornellian Bay, Hobart visitors dock, Sandy Bay and King George Sound visiting friends.
Sat 11 May - We again transited the Denison Canal and anchored off Rheban for two days on the east coast opposite Maria Island.
Mon 13 May - We sailed 7nm around to Prosser Bay.
Tue 14 May - With a good forecast ahead we weighed anchor at 00:30 and motored into Mercury Passage to pick up the south westerly change that had just rolled over us. We were soon running wing and wing before it. We passed to the south of Schouten Island and at 07:00 we were east of Freycinet Peninsula where we watched the granite mountains turn from a deep purple to pink as the sun rose. We adjusted our course to Cape Howe on the NSW/ Victorian border.
At noon we had covered 65nm but had to motor from 11:00 to 16:00 through a wind shadow of the NE coast of Tassie, as per the forecast. Once north of this area the westerly was to fill in as we arrived east of Banks Strait. Indeed it did but the sea became really rough in only 10 knots from the west. On examining our position we were passing over the continental shelf where a strong southerly current met a southerly swell and a westerly wind wave. (The direction of wind, swell and waves are described as coming from, whereas currents are descibed as going to). We altered course to stay west of the shelf until the wind abated.
Wed 15 May - Unfortunately the wind built to 30 knots from the west through to 02:00. We had half a headsail and no mainsail at this point. The seas were crashing over us from beam on and we were thankful to be in a sturdily built 70's model where the deck is just as strong as the hull. It needed to be. The wind and seas began to abate at first light and soon after we unfurled the headsail completely. At 10:00 we raised the mainsail with 2 reefs. At 16:00 we shook a reef out and at 22:00 we raised the full main.
Thur 16 May - At 00:00 we had just 10 knots from the west, then 10 knots north west at 08:00 with Cape Howe in sight. At 10:30 we were abeam of the cape with less than 5 knots and batteries that needed charging, so on with the Perkins for a few hours until a north easterly filled in. We arrived at Eden at 17:30 and went alongside the wharf briefly to wash the encrusted salt from Ambler with a fire hose then off to anchor nearby. The distance covered was 367 nm in 65 hours. Our average speed was 5.6 knots.
Friday 17th through to Monday 20th May was spent washing and drying all clothing and gear affected by the Bass Srait crossing.
The next installment is coming soon, who knows we might even catch up to where we are now in New Caledonia.
Wayne and Kathy
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