Tazzie!!

Miss Molly 4
Bob & Peggy Wilkerson/Geoff & Merel Pettifer
Wed 5 Jan 2011 08:26
42:17.82 S
148: 17.08 E

With the wind now coming from the South East we had to motorsail to keep the speed up. Molly was averaging 8.5 knots that way and that was good. We have seen many boats heading North over the past days, judging by the size of their sails they must have been participants of the Sydney - Hobart race.

In the afternoon we got the company of an albatross circling around the boat. The wing span of those birds is really something different - enormous! We have been looking out for penguins as well. It certainly feels cold enough for them to be around! The temperature inside the boat is 15 degrees C. It is slightly cooler outside and with the breeze in your face... brrr, takes some getting used to! But no penguins so far.

Wineglass Bay would be no good in a South-easterly so we moved on to Moreys Bay on Schouten Island. It gives Merel goose bumps when she comes across all those Dutch names here when she thinks about the Dutch discoverers sailing those very same waters centuries ago. Schouten Island is at the Southern tip of the Freycinet Peninsula, a national park. We could see why it is a national park when we sailed past. The rocky hills are very colourful and majestic with interesting structures. Our bay has a little beach with people camping ashore, smoke coming up between the trees - dinner time! There are a few other boats anchored here as well, which is a confirmation that Wineglass Bay is not a good place to be at this moment.

Our first impression is that it is rugged here, but fascinating. All we have to do now is get used to the Tazzie summer temperatures. Tomorrow we will press on to Safety Cove, another 60 miles, before heading into Hobart.

But first: a good night's sleep in a lovely calm anchorage.

Cheers from Geoff & Merel