Oz East Coast
Macquarie Harbour to Port Davey - March 8th, 2009
We left very late in the day to go through Hells Gate whilst we had some light to get out because we didn't want to get to Port Davey too early in the dark.
As it was usual with a big motor yacht, we were first to arrive and had to stooge about a bit in the dark to get through the reefs and into Spain Bay. A fairly pleasant trip was found in company with a cray boat who was closing in on us from astern, so I switched on my deck lights to make sure he was awake on watch. Our fellow Nordie friends Opal Lady & Westwind 2 some miles back said it almost lit up the sky.
With a couple of days in Spain Bay at Port Davey, which is regarded as the ultima thule of Tassie, and some serious exploration in our Caribe inflatable at 30 -40 mph, I found at last the advantage of having a 40 hp pushing us along to see a lot in very quick time.
We also set our new rock lobster pot with some shark heads which sadly proved fruitless. No worries, keep on trying I guess.
The trip up to Bathurst Harbour through the Bathurst Channel was a delight in the sun and easily navigated.
On arrival we were met with one of the most beautiful vistas I have ever seen, dropping our pick at Claytons Corner at the mouth of Maleleuca Inlet.
How can I describe the view we had of the majestic Mt Rugby at 772 m of vertical up, and the changing colours occuring during the day. It was breathtaking to say the least.
Port Davey area
The next day we took the Caribe up Maleleuca Inlet then through Maleleuca Creek to the airstrip where hikers are flown in twice a day, and we explored the abandoned home of the fabled three generation King family who were originally tin miners, and then Deny the son became a serious naturalist, environmentalist, and protected the rare orange bellied parrots, and fire tail finches. They are fed today by birdwatches in a hide that they occupy in the summer months. Shame Richard and Loretta from S Cal weren't still with us as they are avid birdwatchers
We headed back to Bramble Cove in Port Davey for a fleet BBQ, and conducted the inaugural VDLC Ashes test cricket match between Tasmania & Victoria. No one can be sure who won as much treachery took place, with corrupt umpires, dubious styles from Michael and Suzan from Seattle, and the scoreboard written in the sand being stomped on by spectators from both teams trying to balance the ledger. Most people voted this as one of the best days of weather and fun on the whole trip so far.
Pete O'Brien (great cook, but ugly unfortunately) and I headed SKIE out to sea the next morning, turned south to the East Pyramids, skirting around some cray pots, around SW Cape then almost rhumb lining to SE Cape running between De Witt and Flat Witch Is, and inside Maatsuyker Is.
This trip to SE Cape and into Recherche Bay for the night was again sublime as we drank in the beautiful scenery of the rugged south coast.
As we were ahead of the fleet as usual, we decided we wouldn't visit the few overnight stops up the D'Entrecasteaux to Hobart, as I had visited there last year quite a bit, and plan to do a lot more in the future as it is so close to Hobart, and easy to travel in most weather being in the lee of Bruny Island.
Arriving at the RYCT and seeing some old friends, meant we were back on broadband and download a hundred or so e-mails. Whilst in Hobart I am having a new system put on to receive e-mails via satellite connection, expensive but reliable.
5 weeks and 830 nm, plus the 610 nm from Sydney, has been a wonderful experience, and one I will never forget, and was just a shame Marg got off the boat half way around to attend to builders and renovations at home.
Special thanks to Mark Johnson, Loretta, & Dick Rose, and Marg for being my shipmates to Beauty Point, Iain Couper & John Shuttlewood to Macquarie Harbour, and Peter O'Brien for the home run back to Hobart.
It has been an absolute blast.
