We had decided there was no need to rush as the Bom forecast and Meteye both said conditions in Bass Strait should improve as the day wore on and we had waited until Wednesday morning on purpose for the sea to die down.I have been caught before being impatient before wishing I had waited a little longer before tackling a difficult passage.
Plenty to do though.Cleaned out the frige ,removed all fruit and veggies we were not going to eat on the trip across,also any other stuff not required.This job is often left till last on trips and seems not to be a pleasant one.Quaratine require you to do this when crossing to Tasmania.
Filled the garbage bag and of course the top ripped so put another one around it which also tore,bloody black bags,should ban them .Only green and orange in future,but I usually try to avoid the trip buying if possible.
Marched it along to the rubbish bins at the end of the jetty,and a march it is.seems like half a mile.
The ever presnt fishermen were on the public part of the jetty,twenty in all as the wind was at an all time low this morning.Port Phillip Bay is a restless place nearly always a wind of some sort.Some squid had been caught as evidenced by the fresh ink squirts on the concrete.
Put the marina key in the locked box for Soapy to collect later and returned to the boat for breakfast.We planned to get away by 6 but it was more like 7 as we passed the golden mile off Portsea.Nothing to see two or three helicopters parked on the front lawn of the mansions as you pass by.
Called up the Port Control on channel 12.We could see there were no ships on the AIS screen but decided to anyway.The operator replied you have a clear path,have a good trip.
There was some waves on the rip but not too bad so we just went through them to see what the bottom looked like on the sounder,there were a few small boats fishing around the edges.
Went out to sea a mile and then set a course straight to the Tamar.The plotter said 209 Miles.ETA 1800 hrs.The sea was about 1meter with only a small wind slop on top,wind about 10 knots.
When you get going the first hour seems to take for ever,you look at the route on the screen and think this is going to take a while.
We occupied our time by keeping an eye on a ship on the AIS which had dropper the pilot off about three miles out off to Starboard.We originally thought he wight have been going to Burnie but after about an hour at 13 knots turned to port and headed for the Moncur separation zone.We had by now well crossed his path traveling at 19 knots.
Heard Mary from Smithton Radio doing a sched so called her up but we were too far away for my radio so called her on my mobile to report in.Thought someone should know what we were doing.
We took it in turns driving the boat ,really only had to keep a lookout for any other vessels or floating objects we might encounter.
As the day wore on the wind picked up to about 17 knots from the NNE.For Bass Strait the conditions were quite good but not smooth.
We had a light lunch on the go and about 3 we saw the Yolla gas rig on the horizon.We passed it about three miles away ,there was a supply vessel under the crane as we went by.
Saw a cruise ship on the AIS about 27 miles away we think going from Burnie or the west coast.
As Graeme pointed out it seems to take forever to reach a waypoint but it soon disappears once you pass it,even at 19 knots.
It was interesting to note there was a cloud bank ahead all day but we only saw the land about 6 miles out.It was on the Radar for quite a while before we could see it.
As we travelled on the conditions moderated exactly as the Meteye predicted .Mary came on again and this time we reached her on the VHF .Not bad from where we were.
Arrived a few minutes early at the leads for the Tamar.Checked the tide to find it running out pretty hard.Surprising to find it still really low after dinner and dark.
Pulled up in front of the club at 6.30 to find a couple pointing to a berth with Lesley looking on.They had been chatting on the jetty for a while but had no idea of our connection,we made all the custom silicon bronze fittings for their boat along with other engineering requirements.
Backed in and was surprised to find it was Gerwin and Kristal friends of my brother who built a beautiful cruising yacht,Lucy, at Port Huon after doing the Wooden Boatbuilding school at Franklin.
But more on that tomorrow.
Tied up with their help and later Orpy came down to welcome us,will sort you out tomorrow he said.
Took the crew up to a nice Resteraunt /Motel place along the road a bit for dinner and to catch up with news from home.
Turned in about 10 after a long day.Very peaceful here,flat calm.
No comments:
Post a Comment