Leg 45 - Across Banks Strait from Eddystone Point to Trousers Bay, Flinders Island.

If we left at 07:00 we could reach the Banks Strait with the flood tide. We nearly missed our agreed departure rendezvous time with Easy Rider. We had slept like bricks and woke with a bolt at 06:15. We were late already! We negotiated the dressing up in a synchronised ballet for 2.

Getting dressed for a day out at sea for us is a bit of a performance. This is not shorts and T-shirt weather and our cockpit is really quite exposed. Being properly kitted up is one of our routines and really important for our safety as much as our comfort. So the layers begin with undies, then there is our base layer - think long johns and long sleeve skivvy, next a shirt and long trousers, followed by a fleece or maybe two (for me). Next comes our Musto Fowlies; of salopettes and jacket. On our feet are explorer socks and our Dubarry sailing boots. Once we go topside we'll put on our life jackets, sailing gloves and possibly a beanie. This all takes ages to put on. With each layer, our limbs get progressively heavier and joints harder to bend. Ultimately we plod about the boat as if held down by super gravity! One always thinks twice about going to the loo after the gear is on.

Luckily we've got back into the groove, never really having stopped dressing-up all summer, due to the lack of lovely warm days. We had our tea and toast and were ready to meet the tide, as the saying goes, it waits for noone!

 Rob and Henma slept in too.

Goodbye Eddystone Lighthouse

Spectacular Sunrise.

Surely a good sign.

 

 Crazy rocks like Rodin sculptures and Georges Rocks

Swinging wide of Georges Rocks to avoid the craypots that The Bloke had observed the commercial fishermen were working on, we headed for the Strait. Our timing was perfect. We scored a trifecta for our punctuality: A 2knot flooding tide running westward, SE swells and SE winds to whisk us up the coast and around the top of Swan Island. SOG readings showed lots of 7.5-8 knots.Woot woot! It was a different story as we got closer to our chosen anchorage. This time the tide was ebbing southwards and the wind had swung through to the north. Never mind, we took it while it was going.

Goodbye Cape Portland and Swan Island

Weird rock outbursts near Clarke and Cape Barron Islands

Our new reality. 

Trousers Bay, Southern end of Flinders Island.

Trousers Bay became our home for the night. As the Cruising Guide advised, a very large bay with plenty of good anchoring spots in among the ribbon weed.We anchored in around 6m of water which allowed for the 2m tidal range. Seems OK, and we could stay 2 nights.

*** Patchy phone reception and OK internet