Should not have worried as the weather brightened up a bit and was ok by mid morning.
We cleaned up a bit and had morning tea on board Masterpiece with Rod and Garth.
Rod brought his chart of the next section over.The Hunter group and down to Strahan
Always a leg to be well prepared for.
We had the added complication of having to be at Cape Grim on time to meet a helicopter to film Solquest passing.Preferably in the morning at Eleven am Friday.
The forecast for wind looks ok but there is a big sea on ,we scanned many web sites for their opinion and it looks like we will get away with it.
We have a little extra time and so can call into Green Cape if required or even go back to the Hunter Group for a night.Might even get in behind Cape Grim,have been told there is an anchorage there.
Typical the passage to Strahan would be a snap on Monday but people in Sydney do the call sheets .The crew are required to start filming again on that day at Granville Harbour,reached by road from Strahan.
Wandered along to the main Stanley wharf to put some rubbish in the bin and have a look in the shed where they restore small wooden boats.They have a couta boat in there they have been working on for a few years now,I had a look during the last RYCT circumnavigation.It is nearly finished now,looks like a real working boat not like the perfect ones with no perceptible scratches or dings at the wooden boat festival.They also have a small history museum there,quite interesting.They also have plenty of Huon Pine ,some quite nice tables with the bark on still at a reasonable price.There seems to be a fair bit of it around here,the carpenters shop up in the town has large tables ,some look sixty mm thick and a Bath made from 40 mm by 200mm wide planks.A bit of a waste if you ask me but good for the trendies.Saw him driving through town with heaps more on.
Also there is a brand new cattle ramp looking like it has only been used once on the main wharf.Made in Smithton it is well made and painted .I did hear they were going to run a ship to and from King Island when the abattoir closed.Must have just happened.Seems things are going the full circle here,the old Ro Ro ramp is rusting away and unusable.
Interesting to note a paddock of cattle all close together up near the Telegraph Station.
Angus on Flinders is having to group his cattle and feed them on hay as the season is too good up here.Recent rain has caused them to get Rye Grass Stagger,caused by the fresh grass pushing up through the dried off grass.The paddocks are all green when they should be brown.
The crews of Solquest and Masterpiece wandered back to the boats and decided to go the next hundred maters or so along the wharf to the little Cafe where you can go out to see the seals on a cruise boat painted Red ,Blue and Yellow.
We had a pleasant light lunch and a drink for an hour.No grog until the mob come back,today early about five thirty.
Ben and I pulled up the hatches and checked over the engines,just as well for I found some small amount of hydraulic oil on the floor plates near the steering pump.The outer case of the pressure hose had been damaged or perished.Hmm better get that fixed .
I walked back to the boat shed as I thought the fellow in there would be able to advise me as to who could fix it,bad luck he had gone home.Walked back to the little shop and museum on the wharf and the lady in there said ring this number of the Enzed man in Smithton.
I called him up and he tried to convince me to meet him at the servo in Smithton at Seven am tomorrow to save me some money .I said how much was the mileage and he answered about fourty bucks!I said see you at the wharf near Rachel Maree in the morning.
There was plenty of action on the wharf one of the Hursey's boats had come in the night before and unloaded.They are all bright red.
The other one in the Marina came over and tied up beside her,a large trailer tanker was on the wharf as well.Must be refueling we thought.
After a while we noticed they were taking everything movable off the larger boat,pumped all the fuel out,the well,all the pots,lines and bait.Going on the slip they said.About six or seven blokes,mainly Hurseys by the look of their build.
The smaller boat taking some fuel and bait.
Eventually they started her up and at the top of the tide took off flat out .Rod saw them around at the slip with the boat on and the engine pushing the whole lot up.He enquired as to what was going on and was informed the prop shaft came out when they were at sea and they had to get her on the slip to fix it.They were lucky as the tides at the moment seem to be quite high at full .
I suspect the boat too big for the slip.I suppose they have a different scheme to get it back in the water!
The Mob arrived back early and the Farmers moved up to their digs for the night going to the pub for dinner,Josh joined them.
Gary ,Gilly ,Ben and I had dinner on the boat ,surf and turf the leather jacket we caught earlier in the trip and an ab entree .Proved the fresh water and leaving the abs in the fridge method works well.The leatherjacket surprisingly good.Should keep more of them,I worked out a way to fillet and skin them.
.Last night of this block.They take off in the morning early from Smithton.
Gary home to Sydney,Gilly to Hobart to do Mona etc with his wife.Mathew and Nick to Corinna to meet their families for a few days.Ross is going to Strahan with Garth and Josh with us.
For those new bloggers the address of the tracker is
Another tip if you click on the satellite image you can zoom in a lot closer. And for those interested Rob Gough is three quarters of the way to NZ as of last night in Grace.
Restored Couta boat .Stanley Wharf.
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