Tasmania has been reluctant to let us go. Every time we saw a little departure opportunity appear, the winds/swell/weather changed and the window was closed. We got all ready last week; set up the satellite system, refueled, baked, topped up the water and were a day away from going, when a large cold front came through, picking up the seas, gusting up to 70knts off the south west coast and dropping snow on the top of Mt Wellington! We spent some more time in Barnes Bay…walking the Dennes Point circuit (18km) twice more, picking brambles and scrumping apples to make a couple of pots of jam and catching our last glimpses of the local wildlife. We had fun times – celebrating first Michele’s birthday, with a yummy pizza night, Matt’s birthday on SuperTed (with a raucous rendition of Ilkley Moor????), going to a curry evening at the Kettering Yacht Club and accompanying the fleet for the Cygnet Regatta weekend down the D’Entrecasteaux Channel to Cygnet. (Photo of the beautifully restored yacht, Varg).
We sourced some great produce at the Fat Carrot Farm and Gerry from the Marina kindly gave us some of his super sweet, homegrown tomatoes. We started to think that we have been here for too long, when the cygnets we saw when we first arrived have started growing their adult feathers and we were even being invited to the Marina staff Friday night beers. Again, the marina staff have been fabulous, with Gerry even doing boat to boat fuel deliveries, stopping to sing happy birthday to Matt on the way past!
Finally, just as everyone in Tasmania was suggesting that the winter was approaching, a good weather window has appeared. A large high-pressure system is developing in the Tasman Sea and we aim to use the SW winds to blow us home to Nelson. We have been in contact with Customs, who insist that we leave with the boat in Hobart, so we are currently sailing up the Derwent River once more. We left Michele and Richard back in the water in Kettering, waiting patiently for today’s bank holiday to be over, so that the engineer can come tomorrow and start their new engine. Theleme has been painted all over and looks brand new! Hopefully, we can catch up with them again in New Zealand. We saw John and Shirley for the final time while at Cygnet and are meeting Margie and Sniper this evening for a last supper.
While we are sad to leave this beautiful island, it’s wonderfully hospitable and friendly residents and it’s interesting and at times challenging, weather patterns, we are both ready for the trip home. We hope to clear out first thing tomorrow, to sail down the Derwent, round Cape Raoul, turn left and set sail for Nelson.