How many people get to live their dreams? I am..........!

This is my story from the time when Capt'n John and I first decided to sail around the big block, to circumnavigate this great land of ours, AUSTRALIA.


Tuesday 25 February 2014

Kermandie Marina and the Port of Huon

Kermandie Marina and the Port of Huon
9th – 11th Feb 2014


At The Marina
6 O'Clock and all is well

Kermandie Marina 
A small, intimate marina, Kermandie Marina is the kind of old fashioned place where everybody knows each other and keeps an eye on each other's boats. It's a modern, simple and secure 80-berth floating marina and it's very, very friendly. Plus there's the added bonus of the Kermandie Hotel right across the road, which boasts traditional country hospitality with a terrific restaurant that specialises in local seafood and produce.

storm damage to Red jacket
the Kermandie Hotel - great pub meals and restaurant - just a short walk across the road from the marina
lots of friends
marina and haul-out sling that is big enough to take AR - the entire complex, marina, yard and hotel is owned by well know Sydney to Hobart racer Sean Langman. he aslo owns the beautiful boat on the stand
getting ready for winter
a bit of marina decor
some of the boats on the marina - Olive May is also owned by Sean Langman  - Oh look! there is AR
the colour Purple


blue skies and gum trees
the sky's the limit
Mother Goose

The Port of Huon or Hospital Bay

There are two possibilities for the naming of Hospital Bay.
#1 - It appears Hospital Bay was named by Bruni D'Entrecasteau when he visited the area in 1792-3. (A RECORD of TASMANIAN NOMENCLATURE compiled by J Moore-Robinson 1911) As it is well sheltered in most winds I suspect that the name may have been anglicised from a French word "hospitalier" meaning "hospitable" ie a good place to anchor rather than Hospital. 
#2 - In 1836-7, three emigrant ships with Irish women on board, arrived in Tasmania. The ship Castle Forbes entered the south end of Channel and sailed up the Huon (River) looking for Hobart. It was believed that she got up as far as Castle Forbes Bay but could get no further. Having sickness on board the captain looked about for water, and finding the Kermandie River, erected tents, forming a hospital, hence the names, one bay named after the ship and the other from the hospital camp.

MrJ and I walked took a walk up the road to the Port Of Huon.
Along the way we saw:
an old bus shelter
small boats stored on the shore
old boast in the harbour
an old mileage stone
an old shed of a gone-by era
a new motel complex
and heaps of blueberries growing wild along the roadside

Port of Huon Wharf:
The Port Huon Wharf at Ship-wrights Pt. stretches 780ft. into the bay and is 112ft. wide. It was originally built in 1952 to relieve congestion on the Hobart waterfront during the fruit export season, also hoping to save on road transport costs. The wharf is now owned by the Huon Aquaculture Company P/L who also own all the fish farms in the area. 





















Monday 24 February 2014

The Day the Storm Hit


The Day the Storm Hit - Port Huon and the Kermandie River
8th - 9th Feb 2014

The things I see:
the sea is still
water skating
time to clean-up
playful seals
islands and trees

The Huon River

a day of fun
weekend sailors
fish farm and farm lands

















Port Huon
the old and the new

The Kermandie River
large sandbar at the mouth of the Kermandie River
black swans and their young all along the river
narrow entrance with stick markers
entering the Kermandie River
upstream



The Storm in the Kermandie Marina
the calm before the storm - the day before
life in the marina goes on
a young Pacific Gull
0600hrs - a morning's warning 

1400hrs - the storm hits 
I can hardly see anything outside


complete white our across the way
a torrent of water
wind gusts at 40/50plus knots
1800hrs - after the storm comes the promise of peace again