The weather, not us. We are at anchor in Chinamen’s Bay, Maria Island, just off the Tasman Peninsula. We came here from Triabunna, a small fishing town at the top of Spring Bay where we had spent the night on a marina. The town had quite a community feel as it was very tidy, had memorials to the fishermen, a community arts centre, and a community shed. It had a bit of interesting history in that there is a small island nearby called Dead Island where the early settlers buried the dead. One of the gravestones has an inscription written in the early 1800’s which we though quite sobering:
“Remember me as you pass by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now so you will be
Remember death and eternity.”

The cruising guide recommended the local hotel for a meal so we followed this advice and each had a lovely seafood dinner.
Although only a short sail from Triabunna, we left early this morning in calm conditions so that we would arrive before the forecast 20-30 knots. The wind came in and it started to rain just as we were anchoring so good timing. It has been raining on and off for most of the day, and gusty winds to 28 knots and it is quite chilly, being a southerly. In between the patches of rain, Phil caught about 8 flathead in quick succession, most of which were too small to keep, but we have enough legal ones for dinner tonight. The sea and ocean gulls became quite interested in our boat when Phil was filleting the fish, making a fair racket. We have been snug for the afternoon, cooking (a curry) for another day, listening to music, planning our next passage, knitting (Lesley, not Philip) and playing board games.
Tomorrow (early again), we will go to Hobart (Bellerive Yacht Club) via the Marion Narrows and Denison Canal, which short cuts the Tasman Peninsula. Unfortunately, the weather has chewed up some of our time, and so we will not be able to fit in Fortescue Bay and Port Arthur as we had hoped. Further, we have noticed a tear in our smaller headsail which we will need to get repaired before too much longer. So we have arranged with a local sailmaker to get the repair job done over Thursday and Friday. While we are waiting for this, we will catch up with friends who live near Hobart. Once the sail is repaired we will be ready for the next stage – the D’Entrecasteaux Channel for which we are hoping to be joined by friends from Melbourne.