11th February 2010
Well the time finally came, we had birthday's, had visitors, went visiting and had bad weather, but on Monday 8th Feb at 10:00am it was all behind us and with the boat fully stocked, we set off for Tasmania.  But first we headed for Queenscliff for the night, for although the high winds had dropped, the seas still had not settled.

So on Tuesday morning at 10:30am we dropped the lines to get through Port Philip Heads at slack water.  Our first stop was the Kent Group of Islands that lie approximately 50nm (100kms) SSE of Wilsons Promontory.  Patricia had heard me talk about them a lot as a beautiful spot in good weather and has waited years to get there.

The trip across was good in relatively flat water and blue skies, arriving at the Kent Group at 4:30am in thick fog!!  We edged our way in to East Cove only to find ourselves in the middle of a lot of boats already anchored, so in the dark and in fog we decided the best strategy was to leave and go over to West Cove, which we found empty.  We later discovered that the boats were all on a rally.

Being sleep deprived, we hopped into bed for a couple of hours hoping that the fog would be lifted by the time we got up.  No such luck ...... we could barely see Buena Vista's bow.  Never mind, once the sun got up it would burn off the fog, at least you would think so wouldn't you ...... no, it was there all day, sometimes lifting in one little spot so that we could be tantalized by the sandy beach, before it fell again obliterating everything.

Being a bit tired, we were off to bed at 10:00pm looking for a good nights sleep after seeing Australia thrash the West Indies in a one day cricket match.  Falling asleep almost instantly, I was rudely awakened with the sounds of someone moving around the boat.  It was 11:30pm, must be Patricia getting a glass of water ..... but she was right there next to me!!  Then a light shone through the bedroom porthole ..... mmm not good, are we being raided? 

So with heavy torch in hand that could serve both as illumination and a weapon, I went off to investigate.  Looking out of the saloon window I could see the outline of a yacht circling around with a spotlight surveying for an anchorage.  So the light was not an issue, but what about the noises?  I went outside and all was solved, there were exhausted looking Mutton Birds (short tailed Shearwaters for the aficionados) on the side decks.

Now I don't mind providing a safe haven for needy wildlife as long as they know the house rules.  These obviously didn't, getting the cockpit and side decks confused with the Poop Deck!!  So I cleared three from the port deck and went looking, another two in the cockpit, two on the starboard side deck and another one on the foredeck.  Happy that I had cleared them away, I fell back into bed feeling very tired.

My slumbers were again disturbed by more scratching sounds and not really waking up and not knowing where I was, my first thought was "that bloody possum is back" (we had a possum removed from our roof space before we left home).  Once awake, I realised that our possum had probably not followed us here, so off I go again and found another Mutton Bird who had obviously avoided my earlier searching.  Back to bed again but alas my nights sleep was over.

Given there was no reason to stay as the whole area was still blanketed with fog, we left at 9:30am for Prime Seal Island.  Having now been to the Kent Group, it looks like Patricia will have to wait longer to actually see it. 

Once we were under way and by the way this is the first time I have really, really appreciated radar, I opened up the flybridge door and was confronted with a heap more bird poo.  After another search we found another four stowaways snuggled up in the dinghy!!

Anyway, the day was beautiful for passage making as there was no wind and glassy seas, although we could see nothing.  As we got close to Prime Seal Island, we decided this was too good to stop as the fog had also lifted at this stage and continued on to North Bay on Badger Island but again there was plenty of daylight left and conditions perfect so we pushed on to Spike Bay on Clarke Island.  Once there, yes you guessed it, we continued on through the night to arrive at Wineglass Bay at 7:30am on Thursday (11th).
                                                                                Some of our stowaways

18th February 2010
Wineglass Bay is every bit as good as Whitehaven Beach (The Whitsunday’s) if you exclude the shifting sands at Hill Inlet.  The sand is like white talcum powder at one end and coarser yellowy sand at the other. 

The is a well maintained (and used) track from the north end of the beach to the Wineglass Bay and Coles Bay lookouts but a word of warning, it is quite physically challenging.  However the effort is well worth it, the views are are not to be missed.

After a couple of days at Wineglass, we moved on to Port Arthur and a bit of historical culture but first breaking our journey with a night at anchor in Chinamans Bay on Maria Island.  The trip down there was in drizzling rain and poor visibility, which would stay with us as far as the Hippolyte Rocks the next day after which the clouds lifted and the sun came out.

                                                                                      Wineglass Bay

Our stay in Port Arthur was great.  We anchored in Carnarvon Bay adjacent to Commandandants Point, which has easy walking or dinghy access to the main attraction at the area, the Historic Penal Settlement.

We took a stroll around on Sunday afternoon once we had anchored and cleared up after a couple of locals pointed out a short cut track at the north end of the beach that led straight into the Settlement.  We also found out where to pay our entry as it is not all that clear when you arrive by boat.

The following day we paid our entry, $28 per adult which is a bargain and includes access to everything, a 45 minute guided tour and a 20 minute harbour cruise although we passed on that as we had already had our own cruise!!  If you have never been there, put it on your bucket list, as well as the history, it is a beautiful area.

Having had a couple of days at Port Arthur we moved on to another location of historic significance and a ‘must’ on our itinerary, Adventure Bay.  This is on the east side of Bruny Island and not being on the way to anywhere, is very quiet.

Adventure Bay was first charted by Abel Tasman in 1642 although he couldn’t land there due to storms, which is where Storm Bay got it’s name.  Tobias Furneaux (which in spite of his name was English) was next in 1773 using Tasman’s chart to land after he was separated from Captain James Cook on Cooks second Pacific voyage.  Furneaux did land there and the bay was named after his ship.

After that there was a stream of early explorers, Cook visited on his third Pacific voyage and Captain William Bligh landed on both his Pacific breadfruit voyages (having been there with Cook as a Midshipman).  D’entrecasteaux also visited and I am sure there were others.

It is a quiet place with a nice sandy beach, crystal clear water and two small settlements; Cookville and Adventure Bay.  There is a small Bligh Museum and a general store up near Quiet Corner.

On Thusrday (18th Feb) it was time to make our way to Hobart, a comfortable 4 hour trip in flat water.  Tied up and secure on the north side of the Elizabeth Street pier, it will be our home for the next week.

                                                               Port Arthur Historic Penal Settlement

 2nd March 2010
After a fantastic 12 days in Hobart, during which time we hired a car and had a good look around and also had family visit, we had to get moving as we had to be back in Melbourne by the 10th March and we really wanted to spend some time in Port Davey on the way back.  You could probably write a whole blog on Hobart, there is that much history and architecture here, our favourites were (in no particular order); The Waterfront, Salamance Place, Battery Point, Mt Wellington, Richmond and the Royal Botanical Gardens.  Then of course there is the local food and wine, which is outstanding .... if you are in Hobart go to the Wursthouse Deli just off Salamance Place, they make their own peperoni salami, which is the best we have tasted and we also got some King Island beef ... unbelievable!!

The weather was against us when we left with a Gale Force wind warning for our area, so we decided to take a short trip on the first day down to Barnes Bay, about a 2 hour cruise and play it by ear.  As we were in no hurry we had a leisurely 10:30am start and on our way saw the tall ship the “Lady Nelson” sailing in the opposite direction near the start of the D’entrecasteuax Channel.  We dropped the anchor in Barnes Bay in plenty of time for lunch and although the wind was blowing 30 knots, the boat was barely moving as the anchorage is well protected.

Although the conditions the next morning were no better, we thought we might see if we could get to Recherche Bay as the wind was west south west and therefore had flat seas as we were protected by the mainland.  The first couple of hours was fine but the journey deteriorated the further we got south until we cleared the southern tip of Bruny Island when we got the full force of both gale force wind and the seas that go with it.  Still only an hour of this and we would be anchored in an anchorage known as “The Coal Bins”.  The wind bullets were fierce, which spun us around a bit but the water was flat and we were comfortable.

We will see what tomorrow brings to see if we can venture around the south western tip of Tasmania and then up to Port Davey or whether we get better acquainted with “The Coal Bins”!!

                                                 The Lady Nelson sailing up the Derwent River


10th March 2010
We decided to leave Reserche Bay after one night as the wind was forecast to abate and we really wanted to get around to Port Davey.  With hindsight, this was not the best decision we have made this trip!!  There were 3 metre seas and a 4 metre swell and the wind had not abated as forecast and was right on the nose.  However, having started, we pushed on leaving at 8am and arriving at 3:45pm with the last couple of hours being far more comfortable as we turned the south west corner of Tasmania and headed north west and therefore off the wind.

We anchored in Spain Bay and immediately launched the dinghy and went for a walk on terra firma.  This really is a very beautiful area.

Over the next few days we cruised up Bathurst Channel, took a dinghy ride up Melaleuca Inlet, climbed halfway up Mount Misery ... well named ..... and anchored in Claytons Corner, Bramble Cove, Schooner Bay and Clytie Cove where we had drinks with some friends from our home yacht club.

Although we would have really liked to have explored Macquarie Harbour on our way north, by the 6th time was running out and we had a good weather window to put in an overnight run and get up to the Hunter Passage.  However, on the way the weather forecast indicated another severe weather event so instead of stopping at the Hunter Passage, we pushed on to Grassy Harbour on King Island arriving at midday on the 7th, which proved to be a good choice.

Safely anchored in Grassy Harbour a very deep low pressure system (990Hpa) was heading toward us.  To put this in context, the low pressure system that caused the carnage in the 1998 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race was 986HPa.  This was not a good prognosis.  However, even though this caused us a tense couple of days while the wind blue 35 - 45 knots while we swung around hoping the anchor would hold as we had a rock wall behind us, the low pressure system passed over us and has now eased to 20 - 25 knots which feels like a calm after the past couple of days.

Although the wind is abating and looks good for a departure for Port Philip Heads tomorrow, Thursday 11th, the seas will still be far too dangerous so Friday may be the day.  Today (10th) according to the Meteorological Bureau, the seas are 4 - 5 metres on a swell of 6 - 8 metres, which we will take as correct since we are not going out to look!!


                                 Buena Vista anchored in Claytons Corner, Bathhurst Channel

14th March
The seas did calm down faster than the Met Bureau predicted and after walking the breakwater scanning the horizon with the binoculars, we decided to leave Grassy Harbour on Thursday 11th and prepared for our departure.  Checking the tides at Port Philip Heads and allowing 14 hours for the trip, we left at 4pm, which should get us through The Heads at the 5:30am slack water.  For those not familiar with Port Philip Heads, there is a 6 knot tidal stream so entry should only be attempted at slack water when the wind has been blowing hard, or any time during a flood tide when the seas are calm. 

We had a great trip arriving at The Heads exactly on 5:30am and saw the tide light on the Lonsdale Lighthouse change from red to green, signifying the change from ebb to flood tide.  As it was still dark, we could not see the seas at The Rip, but our entry was uneventful other than plenty of traffic as we entered in the company of two container ships, a cruise ship, the Spirit of Tasmania ferry and another four cruising boats!!

We had a quick clean up travelling up the bay and moored at Yarra's Edge Marina at 9:45am.  Safely tied up for the next month we quickly departed for home to prepare for some family coming to stay.