Tasmanian West Coast Legend - Day 2 Port Davey Visit

The weather is King in these parts and lingering at the anchorage at Carvers Point in Port Davey was not a good option. We were able to receive weather information from the 3 daily TasMaritime Radio broadcasts there and a re-location was definitely called for. We'd been lucky to capitalise on a small weather opportunity to visit the Davey Gorge in the morning but now was time to find a spot for a small ‘change’ due overnight. We headed for Brambles Cove beyond the Breaksea Islands at the head of the Bathurst Channel.  This narrow strip of rocky islands form a screen in front of the entrance to the Bathurst Channel and Bathurst Harbour beyond. We would be shielded from anything from the west. What a curious landscape this is.

We’d not long been anchored before some radio traffic involved relaying messages between boats beyond radio range of one another. Since VHF radio relies on line-of-sight, the steep valleys and quartzite hills create a lot of interference and dead spots. Co-operation between boats is critical and we all needed to know the weather, right? Weather messages were relayed between invisible boats. The booming voice of an old hand cut in. Someone on La Golondrina. Wait a moment, we’d been told about La Golondrina by Richard and Marianne of Tauranga and of her legendary skipper, Morrie. A quick call was immediately put out to confirm if he was this 'Morrie'. Greetings on behalf of Richard were exchanged. "Where were we" he asked? Brambles Cove we answered, adding that if we should be spotted, he should consider himself ‘invited’ for a cuppa and cake. We’d be easy to spot, a mono in company with a ketch, and not just 1, but 3 catamarans!

La Golondrina 
 

As luck would have it, La Golondrina was at that very moment turning into Brambles Cove, confirming our selection of anchorage to be a good one. Morrie Wolf knows this place like the back of his hand and these days conducts fishing charters and logistical support for kayaking eco-tourists within Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour.

Now THAT’S a tinny! Tall sided and with a powerful outboard.

Tucked in for the evening, safe from the evening weather 'change'.

Since we were invited for an anchor dram aboard Gradiva, it being their turn, Morrie and deckhand Peter were encouraged to join the rest of us. Taking little encouragement, we sat in thrall of this ‘Old School’ retired Tasmanian cray fisherman. We were told story after story.

From watching Garry Kerr’s Australian Maritime History DVD entitled “Crayfishermen of Tasmania” in which 10 old-time cray fishermen were interviewed, we were already familiar with Morrie’s credentials. And here he was in the flesh! To say this put us in the mood for exploring Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour would be an understatement.  We were in company with a local legend!

Morrie Wolf