02/28/2012, St Helen's Tasmania

Looks like we might be staying in St Helen's until Saturday due to predominately southerly winds. It is a nice little town with good services so we will find things to do plus catch up on some boat maintenance and ready ourselves for the next part of our trip.

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Lesley
02/27/2012, St Helen's, Tasmania

So we invited the two adventurers on board for dinner which they gratefully accepted. Phil picked them up from the beach in our dinghy- couldn't really expect them to paddle over in the kayaks! It was quite a sight as our dinghy is only small, so there was not much waterline by the time the three of them got in. We had an enjoyable meal with Peter and James, although they were clearly very tired. They certainly appreciated having a meal cooked for them. Phil rowed them back to the beach were they were camped for the night in a little tent. While they were gone I heard splashing out the back of our boat and looking out to investigate, I saw apps of dolphins who had come into the bay on dusk, probably rounding up fish for thei dinner. There was a baby with them who looked very cut doing his little jumps as he swam along side the adults. Phil got to row back among them which was an absolute treat. People say that these islands in Bass Strait rival the Whitsundays and we would habe to agree, although it is obviously different. We fell into bed after a fabulous day in a truly beautiful spot, and with Tasmania in sight (literally).

Next day was the leg to Eddystone's Point on the north east tip of Tassie. Unfortunately, we had to go against the tied again, unless we wanted to leave in the very early hours of the morning, and the wind was not very strong. There was also more swell than we had had for mot of the trip, so we had afailry uncomfortable day with the boat and sails flopping all over the place, making slow progress and in hot humid conditions. It was a bit of a shock after the relatively easy time we had up to then. Still we got there in the end, but then had a very restless night as there was a considerable easterly swell and our anchorage was not protected from that.

And so to the final leg of this section, the trip to St Helen's which was much better. Decent breeze and good boat speed. Getting into St Helen's means crossing a bar and so we had arranged with the local coast guard to come out and meet us to guide us in which they did. The crossing went well,but we could see that it could be very treacherous in the wrong conditions. So now we are at the wharf, rated up to a fishing boat which is not going anywhere for a few days. Last night we enjoyed long showers and a night uninterrupted by any anchor alarms, wind shifts, or swell. Will spend today here before we set off tomorrow for the next section of our trip, down the east coast.

Thanks to very one for your messages. It is great to be able to stay in touch, and I expect that Internet access should be more reliable for this next section. It seems that we have to upgrade our blog membership in order to put up photos which I will investigate in the next few days.

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Lesley
02/27/2012, St Helen's, Tasmania

After our overnight stay at East Kangaroo Island, we set out for Preservation Island, another small island off the coast of Flinders Island. It was a glorious sunny day and we started out on a lovely beam reach accompanied by some of our favourite music on the stereo. The wind died out, this was becoming a theme, and so we motored the rest of the way to Horseshoe Bay. Another nice spot, similar to East Kangaroo Island, althought the holding was not so great. Spent a nice afternoon - Phil diving for abalone with good success (despite cutting himself on the rocks getting the ab off), and me sitting on the beach which was very pleasant, until the next day when I realised I had been feasted on by sand flies and had lots of itchy bites on my legs! Thank goodness for the soove cream.

Next day we set off for Rebecca Bay on the southern side of Clarke Island to set ourselves up for the next big jump across Banks Strait to the Tasmanian "mainland". This was a tedious trio as the winds were light and we were pushing tide so motored most of the way again. Thanks to John Neilsen for the advice to take lots of extra fuel for just this purpose. Anyway, it was worth every second. Whoever Rebecca was, she must have venn stunning, as this bay with her name was the pick of the bunch since Deal Island. A large cover, deep water, sandy bottom, surrounded by rocky headlands covered in green grass, and the usual red fungus on the rocks. We shred the bay with Kim from Eden on his catamaran, and two kayakers who were paddling from Tidal River (Wilsons Prom), to Musselroe Bay, on north east coast of Tassie. We had sundowners with these three guys on Sandpiper. What a character Kim turned out to be. He lives on is boat in Eden and had been in Tassie for two months. He was a shipwrights and had worked in the abalone industry for many years, so Phil got lots of tips from him on the best way to prepare abalone. He came over to our boat for drinks wearing a sarong and a silver bracelet into which he had had his father's glass eye set, after his father had died, so that his father could keep an eye on what he was doing!

The two kayakers, Peter and James, were tow of the nicest most genuine guys we have met in a long time. The live in QLD and had planned this trip for 4 years. It turns out that they went through Deal Island just before we did. They had lots of interesting stories about the islands they had visited and the seas they had battled. Rebecca Island was their last stop before their final day paddling. To be continued on the next post.

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02/23/2012

My lovely stepsister, Lyn, re-wrote the Irish Blessing, with a nautical slant, for us:

May the waves rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall softly upon your decks.

May blue be the sea you gaze on
May blue be the skies around you
May pure be the joys that surround you
May true be the hearts that love you.

And until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of his hand. Amen.

Thank you Lyn

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Lesley
02/23/2012, Laughton's Beach, East Kangaroo Island

Over the last two days we have started to make our way south along the west coast of Flinders Island. Last night we were at Roydon's Island where Phil dived with success for abalone, which we had with some fresh fish he had caught for our dinner. A pretty spot but the anchorage there is a bit shallow. The trip to Roydon's started out nicely with comfortable wind which died off a bit so we put the spinnaker up as the wind direction was just right, but alas it died off altogether and we had to motor for a few hours. The salt water pump which cools the engine (impeller), stopped working which required some quick work by Phil to replace it. A few minutes and we were under way again. Today we did a short trip to East Kangaroo Island, zipping along at 7 to 8 knots. Had a leisurely afternoon walking on rocks and baking bread, and intend to get to St Helen's by Sunday, via Preservation Island and Eddystone's Point.

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Lesley
02/21/2012, Erith and Deal Islands, Kent Group

We explored Erith Island, walking across to the other side for a beautiful view over where we had sailed through the previous day - could see as far as the Hogan Group. The anchorage was very pretty, although weedy bottom so again we laid two anchors. Very calm night in West Cove. Next day we motored across Murray Pass to East Cove, Deal Island. another weedy bottom but this time, thanks to another experienced yachting couple, we found a patch of sand in which to anchor. Had a swim and drinks with Gayle and Alan from Geelong Yacht Club. Next day was spent exploring Deal. A very steep walk up to the caretakers residence with a stop off at Telstra Corner (seat where one gets best reception) to check phone messages. Glorious views of our anchorage - white sand then green and blue water surrounded by red rocks, and Erith Island across the pass. Chat to caretakers and some other yachties from tassie, surrounded by very friendly wallabies. Walked up the even steeper path to the lighthouse (and I mean calf tightening steep) to fulfil one of phils's long held ambitions. Sensational views of Bass Strait and the various islands. Phil also walked down to the WW 2 plane wreck just near the lighthouse. When we returned, the caretakers had prepared tea and scones for us, would you believe. They do it for all their visitors. so we sat around their kitchen table and chatted for quite a while. Apparently there is a long waiting list to do a stint as caretakers, and we an understand why. Everything we have heard about Deal Island is true. It is just beautiful. We ended the day with a BBQ on the beach, using the facilities there- great wood fired BBQ with wood supplied and tables and chairs right on the beach in front of where we were anchored. This was followed by a port sitting out on deck enjoying the milky way before falling into bed.

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