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.


Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Sailing to Flinders Island

Flinders Passage
To Flinders Island
Saturday 1st March 2014
once again we sail out as the sun rises
hand winching is no fun

How appropriate to be start a new leg of our journey on the first of the month! We were heading for Flinders Island it was to be an overnight sail. As much as I love to be doing day sailing the NE part of the Tasmanian coast lends itself to either north anchorages or south anchorages and nothing in between or allowing for any changes in the weather. MrJ and I could not risk the chance of being caught out in one of these anchorages so we decided to sail right through.
morning light on the cliff faces
we had wonderful dolphin moments


we didn't seen nearly as many sea birds - they must have all stayed back at the Tasman Peninsular 

AR had been sailing along quite fine till a NE wind change kicked after lunch on the first day. Slamming into the wind and the wind waves is not my favourite pastime. It was an uncomfortable and tedious part of our passage as we watched the NE coast slip by very slowly.

only the sea birds like this kinda sea
with the sloppy seas come the end of our first day at sea
the sun was setting across the land, something we had not seen in a long time
with nightfall came the end of my watch
Night fell and Nancy went to bed!

Sunday: 2nd March 2014
Midnight: I had taken over the watch, my graveyard shift as I like to call it, just after Eddystone Point. I had AR motor sailing with sails reefed and one engine going on a course following the coast about 2n/m out. I was heading for between Salamander and Eucalyptus Rocks which lie just off Cape Naturaliste, then to head NNW making a rum line for the western side of Clark Island near Lookout Point. This was a guide to get us across Banks Strait without any hic-ups. Sometimes on watch when there is nothing much happening I manager to do a bit of reading in between check around and checking sails. This night all I did was watch for fishing boat lights. I’m sure that the whole fishing fleet was out!
So slow going, making not much better than 4.5knts and only getting as far as off Swan Island at the end of my watch and MrJ could take over again. MrJ crossed Banks Strait reaching Clark Island just after daybreak. By this time I’d had a short nap and was up and about to see a rather dull start to the day. It was not long before we were rounding the western side of Cape Barron Island to enter Franklin Sound between Pig Head Point on Flinders Island and the Little Anderson Island.

Approaching Flinders Island
small islands near the entrance to the Franklin Sound
We were motoring; the wind had dropped out the sea was dead flat, a glassed out sea which gave us a special treat of seeing several groups of Fairy Penguins frolicking about on the sea surface. When AR came closer the penguins would dive below to resurface some distance away.

entering Franklin Sound
fairy penguins
MrJ and I were heading for the Port of Lady Baron, on the southern side of Flinders Island.
there is an anchorage on the other side of Billy Goat Reef in Adelaide Bay
I had given the Harbour Master a courtesy phone call to be able to go alongside at the jetty. This gave us plenty of time to organize our fender and fender boards that we need for the old wooden pile type wharf. And wouldn't you know it, as luck would have it or not; a strong sea breeze kicked in just as we were approaching the wharf. I need not have worried as MrJ used his fabulous expertise as skipper to bring AR alongside the wharf without hitting any other boats. Yeah!
on the foreshore of Lady Baron
small housing at Lady Baron
the Lady Baron Jetties

Alana Rose alongside
MrJ and I cracked a beer; we sat back to relaxed for the first time in over 30hours.

FLINDERS ISLAND - in photos
2nd – 4th March 2014

Sunday:
Alana Rose at Lady Baron Jetty
Lady Baron Jetty
Monday:
Hire a car and visit the lookout.
we hired a car from the main town, Whitemark, to get fuel and supplies
MrJ and I also went for a pie picnic up to the lookout
the view of Franklin Sound from the lookout
a great place to kayak
the view inland
Tuesday:
Roadtrip to Whitmark and other places.

Strzelecki National Park
the road to Whitemark

Walkers Supermarket in Whitemark where we met with the family owners
the local Whitemark pub is where we had a great lunch
inside the pub
the old jetty at Whitemark
the view from the old jetty - Mount Strzelecki 
On my morning walks:
I would walk down to the water in the little bay west of the wharf
where I would find a few friends
and catch the morning light
sometime I would find interesting things
sometimes I would find lots of colour

sometimes I would find a load of junk
everything I found was interesting!
Wednesday 5th march 2014
the morning starts on the wharf
and the sun woke
Things I found around the wharf
craypots

fishing boats
a working jetty
a simple way of life
And then we leave:
At 1715 MrJ and I leave our wonderful Tasmanian experience to sail across Bass Straight and back to the mainland of Australia

Tasmania - to sum it up: beautiful and a well keep secret!
There is something of attraction all the way along its coastline.


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