The big delivery

Vessel Name: Roama
Vessel Make/Model: Duncanson 37
Hailing Port: Was Port Stephens, Is Kettering, Will be Brisbane
Crew: Hans, Martin, Ian & Pete
About:
Hans and Martin are brothers and have owned a Triton 24 for a couple of years. They grew up mucking around on sailboats and their oldies did coastal and offshore cruising in the eighties. Ian has owned a number of boats including a beloved Hartley 21 (State champion). [...]
Home Page: http://www.sailblogs.com/member/bigdelv
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14 October 2011 | Port Arthur
10 October 2011 | Brisbane
30 September 2011
29 September 2011
26 September 2011
24 September 2011
22 September 2011 | Cronalla
20 September 2011
18 September 2011 | Bermagui
18 September 2011 | Eden
15 September 2011 | Near Eden
12 September 2011 | East coast Tassie
11 September 2011 | East coast tassie
04 September 2011 | Brisbane
24 August 2011 | Kettering Tas
Recent Blog Posts
14 October 2011 | Port Arthur

Holed up

Port Arthur

10 October 2011 | Brisbane

Home at last

Home at last

30 September 2011

Night Watches

Night Watches

29 September 2011

Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie 

26 September 2011

Oysters @ Port Stephens

Oysters @ Port Stephens:

24 September 2011

Cronulla to Port Stephens

Cronulla to Port Stephens

Thoughts on the trip

04 September 2011 | Brisbane
Hans
Well it's a long way from Hobart to Brisbane (just a fraction under 1000 nautical miles), and we have to cross Bass Strait (a formidable body of water) before making our way half way up the East Coast. It's a bit scary but very exciting at the same time. I have a good crew, we're well prepared, but still the trip is a leap into the unknown. I guess, that's what makes it an adventure - an activity with an uncertain outcome...
The conventional wisdom is to wait on the north east shore of Tassie for a favourable weather window and then just go for it and head for the mainland. I have become a keen student of synoptic charts and have watched a series of low pressure systems drift from west to east. Winds circle lows in a clockwise direction, and so favourable southerly winds are generally found once the low has passed and before the next one approaches. Fortuantely, our course will take us east of the shallowest part of the strait and so the waves should be rounded rather than short and steep. We've timed the trip so that we set off a few days before the full moon, which will make for better visability at night - provided we have clear skies.
As I write this, I'm half watching a show about little penguins on Port Philip Bay. I expect that we'll see some amazing wildlife and scenery along the way. One challange will be to identify the birds, and to convince Pete that they're not all Shearwaters. ;-) We should also see the Humpbacks as they make their way back to Antartica for the summer.
Fishing, I hope, will be an important activity onboard. Tassie is a land of salmon and oysters, after all! I remember reading Jessica Watson's account of when she tried putting out a trolling line and caught a sea bird by mistake. She was quite upset and didn't fish any more for quite a while. Also, I have learnt that "unplanned tacks" can wrap fishing line around props and rudders very easily, so we will have to be diligent in managing the line.
Because our progress is determined by the vaguaries of the weather, it is not possible to have a firm itenary, however a broad outline has emerged:
7 Sep: Hans, Ian and Pete fly down and take delivery of Roama
9 Sep: Martin flies down and joins us
17 Sep: Martin leaves the boat and Burney joins us. Hopefully we will be in or near Sydney at this time. This will also be the day of Pete's 70th birthday!
26 Sep: Hans due back at work
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