Photo: Wineglass Bay - first stop in Tasmania
It was an early start on Sunday to continue our way south. It must have been too early for the skipper who forgot which side to take the starboard marker on the way out of the river and had Dol firmly attached to the bottom, for 30 seconds. We left Port Hacking and motor sailed for several hours before the wind picked up from behind, and we sailed wing on wing and had a good sail, with several pods of dolphins popping over for a look at us, to Crookhaven River, our anchorage for the night. Crossing the Crookhaven bar in 30 knots of wind was interesting but using the two sets of leading marks for the entrance and turning point we safely negotiated the bar and anchored off Greenwell Point. We stayed the following day in Crookhaven, caught up on the house work, went for a walk through the town and talked cruising with an American couple who were anchored nearby and also making their way down to Tasmania. Crookhaven is a pretty secluded, river anchorage with a small town and lots of pelicans.
Tuesday we had the anchor up early and with the exception of about an hour we motor sailed the 76 nm to Broulee Bay, the last 3 miles with 6 dolphins playing in the bow wake. We anchored in the NE protected anchorage behind a small island and although when the wind died away there was a moderate roll, the night wasn't too bad. However at 6 am the following morning, a southerly change came through earlier than expected, so we upped anchor and moved across the bay to anchor in the southerly protection. Broulee reminds us a lot of Whangamata, it is a long curved bay with surf beach at one end, an estuary and nature reserve.
From Broulee we motor sailed the 40odd nm to Bermagui to wait out an expected strong southerly. Bermagui is a small, picturesque fishing port, with a small marina, which has good facilities with power, water, shower/toilet blocks and fuel. The marina is run by the fish co-op and the staff and locals were very friendly and helpful and welcomed cruising yachts. Within easy walking distance to the marina there were shops, including a small independent grocer's supermarket, bars, cafes and restaurants. We walked along the cliffs and watched a large fur seal that regularly cruises through the harbour, just chilling without a care in the world. Gail took advantage of the local laundromat to do the bedding, towels and cushion covers. There were other yachts in the marina also heading south to Tasmania for the Wooden Boat Show, the one we were next to will also be our neighbour in Hobart. Len, Stu and John helped us with mooring lines and local information, including the must do cruising areas in Tasmania as John was from Tasmania.
A weather window opened for us on Saturday, so at 06:00 we left for the 350nm trip to Wineglass Bay, Tasmania, crossing the notorious Bass Strait. The trip took us just over 48 hours; we dropped the anchor at 11:15 on Monday morning, 31st January. The trip was without dramas; wind speed occasionally rose to 30 knots but mainly was within the 10 - 20 knot range. We had all points of sailing and motored or motor sailed approximately half the distance. Again as we entered the bay there was a large pod of dolphins playing in our bow wake, the weather was a lot cooler than we have had for a while, with both of us wearing track pants and sweatshirts. Wineglass Bay has a long sandy beach and we are looking forward to beginning our Tasmanian adventures.