NORDLYS - Trip to Tasmania

Trip to Tasmania

NORDLYS

David and Annette Ridout

Sat 14 Jan 2006 03:29

To the Down Under of Down Under

(with apologies to Mike Pocock)

Flinders Island

14th January 2006

My last entry in this diary had us about to leave Pittwater for Eden with Nordlys's crew now up to four. Stuart and Annabelle having left Troubadour on a mooring in Careel Bay and joined us for the cruise to Tasmania. Things did not pan out quite as planned (how often do they in the sailing life?). As we came abeam of Sydney Heads the sky went black and a brisk wind from the south sprang up to replace the gentle easterly that we had been enjoying. I understand that the family motto of the Ingrams is 'he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day'. We obeyed this and reached the few miles into Sydney harbour and up to Rushcutters bay. Securing alongside at the CYCA with a by now strong southerly blowing we congratulated ourselves on a sensible decision. Next day with conditions the same a walk into the city, a museum and a most successful visit to the cinema, Mrs Henderson Presents, occupied us happily.

An easy sail south with the luxury of four of us making the night watches short got us off Eden with a forecast of another 24 hours of favourable winds before yet another southerly change thus the decision was made to carry on to the very most south eastern tip of Australia and as the sun set we anchored in the shelter of Gabo Island having rounded the magnificent red granite lighthouse on its southern tip. As Nordlys lay quietly at anchor the only noise was the moo of some grazing cattle and the cries of roosting penguins.

First light and Stuart and I got underway treating the girls to a slow get up. The forecast was for NE 20 to 25 with perhaps 30 knots offshore. The Bass Straight was about to show us what it can do. Two hours out and the single reef was replaced by a double. The genoa was rolled well down. Noodles rolled on at 8/9/10 knots and we soon had a full gale up the chuff. As Stuart said while helming with 12 and once 14 knots on the clock 'good character building stuff'. Annette said she had enough character to last a lifetime and had no need to build more! The seas shortened as we went into the shallower water of the continental shelf and all I will say about the wind speed is that very little was being said by anyone and the whole of the top of the water was 'smoking' with the tops of the waves were being blown off in a blur of spume. For the first time in our ownership Nordlys suffered a mini poop. I was helming with the others down below listening to the weather forecast and suddenly the wind appeared to calm, Nordlys slowed and the next wave arrived down by neck and left some six inches swilling around the cockpit floor. As someone said to me. 'It does not matter how high the waves are but how deep the troughs are'. Suffice to say that by evening time the wind was down and the night was spent motoring over a glassy calm sea!

The Kent group of islands lie to the north west of Flinders. Uninhabited except for two volunteer rangers who do three month stints on Deal Island. The group provide some fairly snug anchorages. Yachties and the odd maniac Kayaker are the only visitors. The scenery is beautiful, very like the Hebrides only with different wildlife. The place has many wallabies and a flock of Cape Baron Geese. We walked to the original lighthouse, a five mile round trip with a thousand foot climb, visited the mini museum situated in the old lighthouse keepers cottages and enjoyed the company of the ranger and his wife. He is the chief pilot for the Victoria search and rescue and police helicopter fleet. His wife had run a helicopter fleet in Mozambique and also on Christmas Island. Interesting people enjoying a sabbatical from ordinary life. One night we were invited to another yacht which came in. Four men and two ladies were returning from the Sydney Hobart. They were the epitome of that rare breed the genuine cruiser and racer. Two years ago they were second overall in the aforementioned race, the year before they won their class. Here they were enjoying a cruise back via many odd out of the way places. The owner had earlier cruised with a well known RCC member while he was in Europe.

It was in this group that the Beagle was nearly lost while sheltering here some time after her famous trip with Darwin on board. The mini museum that is in one of the old keepers cottages tells a story of much hardship and a fairly frugal life over the years that the Light House was working. Approximately the 1890s until 1992. Altogether the visit was a magical one and will not be forgotten quickly by any of us.

Leaving Deal Island behind us we motored out towards Lady Barron, the small village on the bottom of Flinders Island. The Tasman was about to do its trick again. After just under two hours of motoring the wind arrived. At first a lively breeze but soon a full gale from the NW was speeding us on our way. The final turn across the sound into Lady Baron was almost into this by now force nine and we elected to anchor under the lee of a small island some two miles south of our destination. Here we enjoyed a peaceful night and awaking to sunshine and calm we motored across to the harbour. Perhaps this word gives the wrong impression as it consists of just a double jetty. However the attitude of the locals was a pleasure and we were invited to tie up alongside a fishing boat. An hours walk to the local hill top gave us a splendid view of yesterdays windy passage in. Dinner in the local hostelry and a good nights sleep.

0730 hours. Sunshine and a gentle westerly. 0800hrs. Sunshine and fifty knots across the mast. By 0900hrs Nordlys was tied in a veritable cats cradle of lines to the fishing boat on our starboard, the head of the jetty in front of us and also to the rest of the jetty on our port side. To windward the sea is a mass of white and when ashore I found I could not stand up to film without holding to the fence posts. Our anemometer is reading constantly over 35 and most of the time over 40 with the odd trip into the fifties. The noise is deafening. On the other, inner side there is a very seamanlike aluminium catamaran that does tours of these island groups. The owner has been a real help. Lending us two huge balloon fenders for when the wind goes round and pushes us onto our steel neighbour. His advice over the lines has also been gratefully accepted. I am beginning to realise that anyone who spends much time in this part of the world becomes experienced in the handling of boats in strong winds. The thing we are finding it hard to come to terms with is that the forecasts are good at the general situation but make no differential between a front that produces 20/25 knots and one like this that flings over fifty knots at you. Perhaps our wind is a local effect as there are hills both to the north and south of us. Anyway since I wrote the above more locals have been down to see us and have produced another two huge, about five feet diameter, fenders. They say it should all be over by the evening. The photos below do not really show how severe it is, perhaps because the sound is missing!

So dear readers I sign off with the wind howling, Nordlys bobbing up and down, Annette with a patchwork spread over the cabin table, Stuart downloading photos from Annabelle's camera to his computer and Annabelle herself deep into her embroidery.

David and Annette