Ashore to Boyd's Folly

Experience has told us to take with a grain of salt the opinions given regarding various anchorages. The reality is that even the most marvelous of anchorages can be rubbish the day one arrives to admire it or one can immeasurably enjoy a spot that is generally disregarded and scorned. For instance John Cove, Bremer Bay and Hopetoun, WA were both rippers. Sand Rock Bay near Cygnet, TAS was dismissed as just a good spot for sundowners and was so much more than that. The world famous Wineglass Bay, TAS kept much of its marvel in hiding when we visited.

We'd been slightly put off the notion of going into Twofold Bay (usually just referred to as Eden) because no one seems to be able to be settled there. Cruisers refer to the 'Snug Cove Shuffle' whereby a southerly weather pattern finds boats sheltering in East Boyd Bay and then moving across to Eden for the Northerlies. A visit to the jetty might require rafting up to a fishing boat - all well and good but you'll be sprayed with diesel dust and be required to un-raft at stupid o'clock if the fishermen planned to go to sea. Mmmmm, these descriptions of torment and lack of rest painted a poor picture in The Bloke's head, so no proper plans were drafted to stop or to stay.

Since all plans are written in the sand at low tide, the Eden question: to visit or not was resolved in the affirmative. After an overnight passage we would at least stay the night and then pick up the predicted southerlies and keep moving, OK? Sort of. What we found was more than OK. We liked the 'look' of East Boyd Bay immediately, despite the presence of the wood chip and ammunition jetties. We had arrived at the Sapphire Coast and it's dead-set gorgeous! The water is crystal clear with a sandy bottom. There are beaches to walk on, elevated headlands to explore and plenty of historical interest. Additionally there is abundant bird life.

Imagine standing under a flag pole with a whipping halyard creating a pinging sound. Now imagine standing  under 100 flag poles all emitting a sharp and loud clanging sound and you'll be listening to a glade of Bell Birds similar to the ones just off the beach where we anchored. We've also been treated to pelicans, eagles, huge black sulphur crested cockatoos that seem to moan to one another and lots and lots of dolphins. It's hard to beat.

Did we mention we had some company?

With continued very gentle conditions predicted and having satisfied himself that the holding was, not just good, but excellent, The Bloke agreed to make a shore trip. We'd go in search of that tower we'd seen on approach into the bay.

We defied the fencing situation at the little beach next to the start of the pier. It wasn't erected with boat arrivals in mind and was intended to keep people out of the wood chipping facility. The signage faced the land. Once up on the jetty apron, there were more rules to be observed but from another jurisdiction.

During our walk we found the entrance to Edrom Lodge, a very handsome and substantial home built between 1910-13 and visible from the shore and overlooking the bay. We thought it might be private hotel and it reminded us a lot of Caves House in Yallingup, WA in it's style.  It offers dormitory style accommodation to large special interest groups of up to 68 persons; a point of difference with a niche market. It must be nearly 40 years since I'd ever stayed in dormitory style accommodation - a hospital! As a commercial formula they can't be onto a flat-out winner; the padlocked gate at the roadway betraying under use.

 

 

 Our target was somewhat further on.

   

The Bloke thought he'd been dragged into a boot camp and balked at the prospect of walking 12km on top of the 2 already covered. Mental arithmetic made for a long, long around trip. It was OK though, there was a handy decimal point to save any risk of a turn around and inevitable disappointment.

   

Constructed from Sydney sandstone in 1847, Boyd's Tower is 20m tall.

 As seen from the ocean.

The story is that one Scots born Benjamin Boyd, spent the 1840's intent on making his fortune in Australia  having started from Britain as a Stockbroker. His interests flourished for a time, becoming the largest grazier not just in the district but the whole of NSW. He then became involved in the even more lucrative whaling business. Twofold Bay was a whaling centre. To assist with spotting any approaching pods of whales, Boyd built this tower so his men would have an advantage over other whalers. Boyd's rapid acquisition of apparent wealth was matched by a rapid decline when he was bankrupted. He reputedly met a sad end in the Solomon Islands after an unsuccessful stint in the Californian Goldfields.

From the headland where the Tower is located we were treated to these incredible vistas and it's not hard to see why this is area is branded as 'The Sapphire Coast'.

So glad we came!