Wax ON - Wax OFF

Dear 'Owner' (i.e.  the 'Blog Mistress') you will be pleased to know that today I waxed your boat. After removing the old antifouling, raising the 'Scum line' and painted the hull with the expensive paint that is designed to fall off, it was time to wax the hull.

We, and by that I mean 'I', wax the boat for several reasons. Firstly, it makes the boat look good. Then there is the added protection provided by a layer of wax. This is protection from aquatic hitchhikers, because they do not like nice smooth waxed surfaces and fall right off. Wax however, provides no protection from bad parking and indeed only helps to emphasise scratches. Finally, waxing the boat gives us, and by that I mean ME, a chance to look carefully at the entire hull, repair any scratches and become aware of any other problems.

So today was waxing day. It involved climbing up and down a ladder while moving it slowly around the boat. Carefully rubbing expensive BOAT wax onto the hull and then rubbing it right back off again. Did I mention that this process is expensive?

Wax ON

Wax OFF

Boat maintenance continues

In my previous post I mentioned that The Owner (i.e. The Blog Mistress), had flown back to Perth while the maintenance was being done. It would be totally unacceptable for The Owner to get her hands dirty and heaven forbid that she should pick up a paint brush. Had she have been here today, pick up a paint brush she most certainly would have. Today was painting day!

After a most enjoyable evening with dear friends Chris and John Sandow, I was delivered back to the boat to start painting. Now for the uninitiated in the art of boat maintenance this does not mean whacking on a coat of any old cheap paint. No, this is a boat so the paint will cost upwards of $200 per 4litre can. Did I mention that this process is expensive? It is a special paint that is supposed to prevent hitchhikers, in the form of algae and molluscs by wearing away as we sail along. So today I painted the boat with expensive paint that is designed to fall off! All sorts of apparatus are required to complete this job including masking tape to define the region to be painted, rollers, brushes, paint trays, more rollers, rags and roller handles. These are disposable items, to be used once then thrown away, and are of course expensive!

Painting commenced. Old blue paint being covered with new black paint

In the past this painting exercise was simple because we were just painting over the region, that is the bottom of the boat, that had previously been painted. On this occasion, however, the region to be painted had to be increased. You may be wondering why.  Well, The Owner has accumulated a few more toys along the way and refuses to discard anything just in case it might useful at some future time. Why we are carrying upwards of 3000 plastic containers is beyond my simple powers of comprehension. The Owner's actions have resulted in the boat siting lower in the water. This encourages hitchhikers by exposing parts of the boat that they find very attractive. So we needed to paint more of the bottom of the boat. I have termed this raising the 'Scum line' and it involved Mark, using expensive tape, marking out a new line and sanding, filling and sealing the region with yet more expensive products. I then covered all this good work with other expensive paint, designed to fall off, and Hey Presto the bottom of the boat is painted. The 'Scum line' is raised and the hitchhikers given the flick.

Job done tape removed and 'Scum line' raised

So today I painted the bottom of the boat, while The Owner had coffee with some of the family. 

Picture sent by owner of my Mum, Vivian and daughter having coffee with the 'Owner'

Thus the world is balanced and  Zofia is looking better each day.

Boat maintenance begins

For those of you not familiar with the yachting experience, there is an annual event called Boat Maintenance. This is different from ongoing boat maintenance in two respects. Firstly it involves the removal of the yacht from the water and secondly, it is expensive.

For the owners of super yachts this activity does not interrupt their normal life because they do not get involved and might not represent a financial burden because they are wealthy enough to own a super yacht. For normal sailors like ourselves, this activity is inconvenient and a finical drain. To minimise the former, The Owner, aka the Blog Mistress had arranged to return to Perth to supervise the birth of our fourth grandchild. This means that The Skipper, that is the 'Bloke', is left carrying the 'can' on this one. So for one of us this is the super yacht experience while for the other it is hard dirty work that cost a lot of money.

Enough of the complaints. What is actually going on? Well, the boat is maneuvered into a cradle that is submerged to a depth below the keel. Of course while the wind is non existent both before and after this maneuver, during the process it will gust up to 30 knots from the beam, making the handling very tricky and a little frightening. Once secured to the cradle the boat is then hauled out of the water, revealing the algal and moluscan hitchhikers that have accumulated over the preceding 12 months. On this occasion they were in limited number, suggesting that they did not want to cross The Great Australian Bight nor Bass Strait or that a boat in motion is difficult to attach to without the use of arms or legs.

To remove those that were successful in attaching, the boat is high pressure-washed, removing the hitchhikers and leaving all surrounding craft covered in a thin blue film. Once washed, the yacht is maneuvered to its resting place on the hardstand where the real work can begin. This involves firstly acid washing the 'scum line' before washing the hull with detergent and water. The result is a clean hull ready for polishing. On this occasion, the water line was to be raised so the polishing had to wait. Mark the shipwright, inspected the hull and confirmed that due to a built up of antifoul paint over the past seven years, the hull need to be dry sanded. Did I mention that this process is expensive? Further inspection revealed a slight cracking in the gel coat around the front of the keel which would need repair.  So Mark rang the appropriate expert for a quote. They arrived very quickly, inspected the damage and came up with a price. Did I mention that this process is expensive?

To try and reduce the expense, I helped Mark dry sand the hull. This was a most interesting activity involving the removal of the old anti-foul with a sander attached to a vacuum cleaner. Now why the latter was needed exactly is in doubt because it seemed that most of the old anti-foul ended up either over the surrounding boats, in my hair, on my skin, up my nose or in my throat. Three hours later, I have saved $100, shortened my life by 10 years through the increased chance of cancer, discovered muscles in my arms and back that I thought I would never use again and turned into a pretty good impersonation of a blue smurf.

To end on a happy note, the staff at the 'Royal' have been great and the boat is improving by the hour. I am confident that Zofia will be better after this exercise than when we started and the standard of the work will warrant the expense.

Did I mention that this process is expensive!!!!!

Leg 40 - Leaving Port Arthur for Hobart

We are off to Hobart this morning. On the way our first obstacle will be to pass a cruise liner that arrived early this morning in the Port Arthur Fjord. Busy place this. A submarine spent the night here over the week-end.!
We've been at Port Arthur for a week and need to get to Hobart ASAP - grandbaby no far from the breathing world now!
We'll tell you all about Port Arthur and Tasman Island after we get to Constitution Dock where Chrissie and John will meet us -YAY!

Mixed news at Port Arthur

We arrived at this iconic location to some mixed news. Firstly, that there are significant renovations being undertaken at the Port Arthur World Heritage historic site with some buildings under scaffolding. Secondly that the Post Office/General Store burned to the ground a few months ago. Read the news item in The Mercury newspaper.  There won't be much more than a loaf of bread and some milk to be purchased.

So what's the good news? The good news is that the Port Arthur district volunteer fire brigade building didn't burn down at the same time. It's located adjacent to the former Post Office/General Store. A near thing indeed!

Having very limited options to replenish provisions will make for some interesting menus as we anticipate it will be at least 10 days before we will reach Hobart. It's been nearly 3 weeks since we provisioned. Inquiries indicate there is no bus service on the peninsula and the closest town is a 10 minute drive away. The lady on the information counter at the historic sight cheekily suggested the local taxi service. I'm not a fan at this stage. We'll see if we can make do with the occasional bag of 2 tomatoes for $2 or 2 carrots for $2 or $1 for a piece of fruit. Very 'occasional' being the operative word!

 Half way - neither here nor there.

The helpful crew at the Eucalyptus Cafe

Who ever thought you could get sooooo excited about the gift of a couple of onions 

and some locally made soap?

A beautiful postcard - a print of a Port Arthur glass slide.

Only available at the Eucalyptus Cafe.

Under repair.

At the end of the day I suspect that the Bloke will be secretly pleased about my food insecurity and propensity to stock up a lot of food. At last, this is the moment I'd anticipated and we are ready for it! By the time we reach Hobart, where Zofia will be lifted for her annual inspection and anti fouling, she'll be empty and hopefully our tummies won't

Remembering 28th April ,1996.

Vivian turned 15 on this day and it should be remembered for the happy occasion that it was however for too families in particular,  and the Australian population generally, it will always be recalled as the most terrible day.

35 people lost their lives on this day at the hands of a single gunman in what has become known as the Port Arthur Massacre.

Our arrival at the Port Arthur Historic Site was via the ocean and not the usual entry through the main gate. We came ashore at the jetty at Mason Cove and began heading to the Visitors Centre further up the road when we were attracted to a 'ruin' screened by some tall shrubs. We thought it odd that there wasn't a story board in the immediate vicinity and it was not until we'd walked through, the now-roofless, Broad Arrow Cafe and out to the area behind it where there is a beautiful reflection pool that we realised; a) that these were the ruins of the Broad Arrow Cafe, and; b) we were standing in a part of the memorial to that most awful event.

This is the beautiful reflection pool.

This circle of 35 leaves in the corner of the pool represent each of the lives so cruelly taken.

We exited the memorial precinct via the proper entry, complete with story board. It is quite discrete and understated; almost private. Over coming days we observed only a few people approach the storyboard and fewer still actually enter into the memorial garden. Maybe they hesitated because the memory of the event was too awful or maybe they sensed that this was somewhere private.

More stringent Australia-wide gun laws are a positive legacy. My blood boils whenever the media report on a significant anniversary and mention the name of the perpetrator or even display their photo. Why? Should that person have a right to a public identity? I think not. Only those now absent from this breathing world ought to be remembered.

I for one, will never forget the day this happened and recall it only with the deepest sadness, not just for those whose lives were interrupted but also for the their families and friends, plus the survivors, whose hearts must have collectively almost stopped beating since they learned of what happened.

RIP

Sausage Roll - Table of Fame November 2014

The Bloke here,

A disappointing month so far. Several of you have asked if I have gone off the little bundles of joy because there have been no reports of new delights in the sausage roll department. Well I can assure you that I still crave sausage rolls. Since leaving King Island, however, there have been no sausage rolls worthy of a mention. Indeed in several ports there have been no sausage rolls at all.

In Stanley the only offering came in a packet, out of a pie warmer and from a undisclosed location. Not worth wasting any calories here. Wynyard showed more promise, as I came across bakery in the back streets. I entered with anticipation but left with only disappointment. The offering where so small that when I ordered ONE the attendant gave me a look that said "This is not worth the trouble" and she was correct. Small and tasteless and too small to even qualify as a sausage roll. A larger location like Devonport should have created something that could at least be considered. The backer, in the only bakery I could find,  had obviously done his apprenticeship in Wynyard , because again the offering was small and tasteless. A non qualifier and definitely not worthy of any rating. In the Tamar river it was impossible to find a sausage roll at all. We did travel to Launceston, however, any thing they had to offer was far out weighed by the need to spend lots of money at the Chandler's.

Our passage down the East Coast has of course taken us away from civilisation, you know those places that make sausage rolls, have coffee in cups and sell 'The Australian" newspaper. So I have had nothing to report for November, other than the blog mistress took pity on me and made me some of the BEST sausage rolls I have ever had. Now given that I was desperate, I may be over stating their quality, however, hot or cold they were great.

Now it is on to Hobart and to say that Tasmania's reputation hangs in the balance is an under statement. Forget the beer, scenery and that yacht race, if they can not come up with a reasonable sausage roll then no amount of glitz tourist promotion will save the apple Isle.

Table of Fame

Favourite Anchorages - Year 1

Our round Australia expedition has just clocked 1 year. We haven't been 'on-task' full time seeing as we took nearly a month off visiting our family in Perth and Brisbane but we did throw off the lines 12 months ago. The winter months spent on Southern coasts have dictated some marina time but we have anchored wherever we could. As we reflect on our trip so far, there are some anchorages that make our hearts sing just to think of them, and we thought a round-up is justified.

Quindalup, Geographe Bay, Western Australia.

This is hardly an anchorage that is exclusive to this journey, it is in fact one we have visited multiple times over the last 7 summers but it still sits right up there as a favourite. It is hardly a bay, it's in a corner of Geographe Bay, Western Australia, but what a fabulous and sheltered place it is with the headlands of Cape Naturaliste visible and shielding it from swells coming from the Southern Ocean.

The water is crystal clear over a sandy bottom. There are times you can watch blue swimmer crabs walking along. It glasses off sometimes and diving off the boat you have to persuade yourself that there really IS water between you and the sand!

The prevailing SW winds are an off-shore wind here due to Geographe Bay being north facing. A northerly here will put you on a lee shore so you do want to be on a strong mooring or safely away at the Port Geographe Marina. Easterlies aren't much fun as fetch can really build up by the time it gets to Quindalup. The rest of the time, it's a peach.

It is at Quindalup that we waited patiently to really launch this journey to firstly round Cape Naturaliste and then the mighty Cape Leeuwin in a single day.

John Cove, Bremer Bay, Western Australia.

 
The Farmers were on holidays with all their big boys toys.

The cruising guide says it's rolly and recommends other locations in Bremer Bay. The locals want to swear you to secrecy. When we arrived there in January the conditions were just right. We were expecting SW winds as opposed to the prevailing SE. We tucked up behind the point and enjoyed a 'dream' 4 days before the SE wind came back.

The headland  creating the cove is red but the sand of the whole crescent of Bremer Bay is eye blindingly white. The water reflects such a clear turquoise that the undersides of sea birds appear blue as they fly overhead. We'd never seen this before.

The beach sand is fine, hard, white and it squeaks. Cars drive along the beaches and anchoring in it is solid. The outlook is lovely.

It's no place to be in anything East or in a well developed swell. It transforms into a surf break off the point. At the right time though, it's nothing short of perfect.

Cape Blanche, Sceale Bay, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.

We were tipped off about this location by Geoff Georgieu who used to own Killas Garage in Streaky Bay.

So here's a place were you tuck up behind a Cape skirted by a reef underneath 80m limestone cliffs. The headland and reef take care of wind and swell and there are enough sandy patches to avoid anchoring in the dreaded south coast scourge - ribbon weed.

This is technically still in the Great Australian Bight so the water is as clear as can be and the soil and rock of the Eyre Peninsula is so porous there are no rivers. Any water making it off land into the ocean has been filtered by the limestone first!

The cliffs change colour throughout the day depending on the light - a bit like Uluru. To be parked-up right under these imposing rock faces is splendid indeed.

This anchorage does not appear in the cruising guides. It should. It's a cracker!

Coffin Bay, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.

Well this is almost not an anchorage because we took a mooring here but makes our list because of it's unique entry through a zig-zag run of some 17 channel markers outlining a journey through shallow oyster leases and narrow rocky overhangs. Visually, it's a magical 1.5 hour trip with the tide.

Once in the Coffin Bay basin, the water in not crystal clear at all but fecund with sea life - fish, molluscs etc.. Inside 10 days, our dinghy, ropes and Zofia's under-bits were already growing a crop!
It's a very safe haven from all weathers if you can get in without grounding. You can be rewarded with Coffin Bay oysters (bought from the garage or the processing sheds), mussels (conveniently growing from your mooring ropes), cockles (collect them from the shallow ledges, nobody is much interested when oysters are the prize) and King George whiting (need to get in the dinghy and away from the anchorage to the shallower areas).

Many people miss this either because of depth issues or because they don't want to wait for the tide or navigate the channel. They are the poorer for it.

Walkers at Fortescue Bay, Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania.

When we decided to include Tassie on our trip, this is exactly what we signed up for!

The entrance into Fortescue Bay is very grand indeed. The cliffs are made of tall red/brown pipes and the land on top tilted at 45 degree angles. It is guarded out to sea by the Hippolyte Rocks and on the south by The Lanterns. Anchoring areas are deep, deep in, and far away from marauding swells and malevolent winds. Tree grow to the waters edge and even if they are 'regrowth' and not the original forest, 60 years makes a big difference to a sapling.

The cove we fell instantly in love with, is sometimes known as Canoe Bay but locals call it 'Walkers'. Walkers Creek runs into it and there is also a walking trail along the shore. This is deep in the Tasman National Park.

The water is clear and avoiding kelp, there is lots of fine, fine silty sand to literally swallow the anchor under 3m of water, almost to the shoreline. Recommendations are for anchoring behind the wreck of the William Pitt to cut swell. We wonder though, what kind of a hellish swell would reach in so deep? We sat through some decent SW offerings that made the horizon a sawtooth but delivered, not even a ripple in this tree embraced pond.

Our enjoyment here was amplified by the sound of wind in tree tops, bird song in the forest, schools of Trevally flipping out of the water at night while being chased by a snorting seal in the darkness.

Watching Orion rising above the silhouetted ocean horizon, bracketed by the far off 'Lanterns' and the headlands on a still and clear night will be etched to the back of my eyeballs for years to come.

Beyond already high expectations, this anchorage is secure, still and velvety.

Leg 39 - Fortescue Bay to Port Arthur

15.3 Nautical Miles

Before we left Devonport, the Bloke printed out a map of Tassie to assist in breaking up the balance of trip to our next important destination (Hobart Airport - grand-baby coming, tic-toc, tic-toc) into manageable passages and with approximate dates. We've managed to follow that rough plan quite well in terms of timing even if 2 destinations were skipped and Tamar added in.

Rough passage plans

We left 'Walkers' in Fortescue Bay around 08:00. The anchor took a little encouragement to come up. Watching Gus on 13Beaufort depart a day before made it quite apparent that the anchor would likely come up with half the sea floor still clinging to it. We had a bucket at the bow in anticipation and it took 2-3 goes to remove the silty mud. What a good place to anchor! With great reluctance to leave such a fabulous bay, we made for the ocean and what we expected to be a spectacular trip past the Cathedral Rocks at Cape Pillar.

Looking North as we exited Fortescue Bay

A gap between 'The Lanterns'.

Just sticking out of the water like a needle.

A closer look at the pipe-like rock that's prevalent around here.

In places it's like pages in a book.

We motored in almost glassy conditions quite close to the shore and completely protected from any swells until we approached Tasman Island where the swell, although a lot lower than previous days, was still a healthy 2.5 - 3m and beginning to wrap around. Initial plans to sail around the southern and more picturesque side of Tasman Island were abandoned in favour of the more sheltered but heart-stopping route under the Cathedral Rocks at Cape Pillar. Wow factor? Ten out of ten.

Tasman Island Lighthouse.

We could see it from Maria Island.

The now disused landing site on Tasman Island.

How men once managed to build this or even access the Island at all had us boggling.

Birds nesting on Tasman Island

Approaching the gap between Tasman Island and Cape Pillar.

Ooooh it does look a bit squeazy!

Depth is between 10-12m and and the gap around 300m.

Cathedral Rocks at Cape Pillar.

Nasty rock in the passage between the Tasman Peninsula and Tasman Island.

Nasty rocks on the other side too!

The sea was beginning to fizz with current and backwash from swells as we went through the passage.

Plenty to look at.

From a distance this looked like a man made cairn but its a natural formation at the top of the Tasman headland.

The Bloke focusing  on the task.

We were motoring in case you are wondering.

The wind had become southwesterly and COLD!

Phew! Good to get that behind us.

Beyond Tasman Island and all the way to Budget Head below Arthurs Peak, Port Arthur, the sea was vile. The swells disintegrating on the steep rock faces and back-washing against one another, made for a horrid sea state - as bad as the inshore areas of the Zuytdorp Cliffs near Shark Bay, WA. Remember that? We were not sure if wind would have been a help or made the transit any better. With all the pitching and yawing it would have been difficult to keep a sail usefully trimmed in the wind that was mostly only 5-8knots. We were a motor cruiser until we rounded the corner into protected waters.

Happy to leave that behind us, as we turned into Port Arthur and a totally new view.

The Isle of the Dead.

Notice the changed geology and calm water.

The Port Arthur Historic Site coming into view.

We'll be here a week with more cluster fronts predicted. With so much to see, and time up our sleeves that should be 'No problemo'. We are only 1 days sailing from Hobart now and on track.

Dropping the pick behind the wreck of the William Pitt

Depending on the map you are reading and who you are speaking with, this is known as Canoe Bay or just 'Walkers'. Walkers Creek runs into the top of this bay within Fortescue Bay and there is a bush walkers track around it's edges too. Walkers therefore suits it well, and we are not so convinced about the Canoe Bay name. This bay is within the Tasman National Park and is a little ripper.

Sea eagle patrolling for dinner

Wreck of the William Pitt.

Shagadelic Baby! these shags love a nice perch.

Fortescue Bay was once a bustling fishing port with a freezer and cannery. Timber was also exported via this bay. The William Pitt (seen above) was at one stage used as a breakwater in another part of the bay near the cannery. It broke loose in a storm and washed up at the head of Walkers creating an interesting folly and breakwater here.

Walkers was the preferred anchorage for up to 10-15 boats, we were told. It's not hard to see why. Among fishermen it's reputed to be the best anchorage on the East coast of Tasmania. That all changed when a National Park was proclaimed. Bulldozers were brought in and leveled the shacks, cannery and all evidence of occupation and then set fire to the lot, we were told! The only evidence left behind was the William Pitt. It's remains a superb anchorage and stunning with it.

Sun going down to the West.

We didn't hog Walkers to ourselves...

....we shared with 13Beaufort.

Fishing for Trevally. Jason worked small nets along the shore all night.

We met Jason the local fisherman. He fishes 4 nights a week and drives a truck for 3 days. He worked his nets all night. It was freezing. In the morning the Bloke called him over to offer him a coffee. He was very informative and grateful for the chat and the coffee and unbelievably, threw a Trevally into our dinghy. Thank you, soooo much Jason!

Golden sun beams illuminating the tree tops just before sunset.

When you anchor here you are in a pond in the middle of a forest. If ever you are down this way, it's an anchorage not to miss and will be treasured in our minds eye as one of the best to date!