Thursday.Day ashore.

Slipped the mooring and ran over to the Island to pull the pots.Had quite a struggle getting the first one,there was quite a strong current running on the end of the island.The second one in more sheltered water was a bit easier.Two blanks not even a hermit crab.Not much bait left,maybe the small fish the shearwaters are hunting cleaned it up.There has been lots of feed on the echo sounder all over the place while we have been up here but not many large fish as we have tried many ways to catch something but have only a few salmon and mackeral have been caught.

No Kingfish,large Couta ,Snapper or Squid.

Returned to the mooring for breakfast and for Jock to pack.

Angus and Robin had left a car for our use parked amongst the shoemakers at the end of the beach.

He had driven over to his farms to check up on his cattle,Robin into Whitemark to do some shopping.

We decided to go to Whitemarrk for lunch at the Pub,always a really good meal there of Scallops of soweting else if you prefer.Be there before one said Angus,the kitchen closes then.

We arrived at about twelve fifteen and went across the road to the supermarket next to the servo,there is a sign but when you go inside it is a revelation,a tropical old fashioned "got everything store set up in the modern manner".

I had a look for some Bushman for the March flies but could not find any.No matter I still have some but getting down,we will have to try the gell which is on board if the spray runs out.

Over to the pub with Trap wandering off to the doctor to see about his troublesome finger nail hanging by a thread.He damaged it years ago on Masterpiece one really  rough day .It has been a problem for him since ,it grows but then seems to die and then fall off.

It was the doctors day off so the fly in nurse pulled it off and dressed it for him in short order,I offered to with the multi grips but they were not shiny enough for him!

We had the good lunch and left to drive to the farms at Lecrana in the middle of the Island,it is surprisingly large and flat where the Soldier Settlement farms were cleared after the war.

Angus and his son have three between growing Beef for the Cape Grim brand.They have over a thousand head grazing in groups of about three hundred.

He is proud of his water system ,lots of troughs fed by large tanks placed  up on the hills fed by two different bores.There are miles of pipes he has put in to connect it all up.

The next challenge is to work out a monitoring system to remotely monitor it to save the half hour drive from Emita to check on it and the cattle.Roo used his plane in the old days,Harry said what about a drone Perk.I told him most of them do not have the range .I am sure he will work something out,he has an eccentric friend on the east of the island who has rigged up a phone mounted on top of his tank which he calls when he wants to check his levels.

We had a conducted tour around the farms and came to a fellow who lives in one of the old houses on his second property.He has a fetish for old machinery,ho picks up old cast offs to play with,an old fire engine with a large monitor hose mounted above the cab like the airport ones,the straight twelve Rolls Royce was nackered so he has put an old engine out of a dodge in it to get it going,be a bit down on power I recon..It also has another engine in the back for the pumps,heaps of connections and valves.

He also has an old loader with tracks someone gave him,goes ok he said.

I offered to take the broken cover off the hydraulic motor on one of the tracks from a small Kato excavator another person gave him,the cab has rusted completely off but the thing works quite well otherwise he said,a bit of a problem maneuvering on only one active track though.Dicky Calvert might know where there is one.

He has cleaned up around the house with it though,old pine trees etc.Got a big heap,will need the fire engine when he lights up that lot!

Might have to knock off for a while and put a coat of paint on the old weather boards before long.

Plenty of things to do to keep him busy,could even clean out the big shed full of old worn out machinery even an old station wagon.

Had a quick look at Tim's place on the way back.He works on a supply vessel on the NW shelf and has his time off on his farm,I noticed quite a lot of improvements since my last visit two years ago.Angus keeps a check on where he is on Marine Traffic,delivering equipment from Singapore at the moment.The cyclones in North Queensland should not worry them.

Back to the boat for a cuppa and to get the meat for a BBQ up at Harry's and to watch the first episode of GFA.

We were not disappointed ,Josh has done a good job with the editing,twelve months of work for him doing six episodes.I thought Gillies photography beautiful,some of the Port Arthur shots captured the place to a tee.Mathew told the story well.

Josh called me and said he likes the last two episodes on the west coast and the dinner at Goverment House the best.It will be interesting to hear other peoples opinions after a few episodes.We are a bit biased.

Spotted Masterpiece in the back ground a few times,it is a game to get most people involved a small cameo even when you spend the whole time keeping out of the way of the camera,I hope they get Rod on Garth's boat as he was having to go to his bunk or over to us every time they filmed Solquest outside or inside.He was especially concerned when the went alongside a jetty early on as they did not have much idea,he was sent below to only listen.Do not know why I am here he used to say.

Returned to the boat before ten,the path over the bank is steep with steps over roots and old concrete blocks dug into the bank here and there.Had a few torches,we got the dinghy position just right ,floating as we arrived,two meter tides up here so a lot of beach if you get it wrong.

Angus had forgotten the broken digger part so went back up to the house to get it while I took Trap and Bruce out to the boat,still blowing about fourteen knots so not easy to get on board but we managed.

I went back in to get Ralph ,waited a bit until I could see two lights on the beach as the waves were marginal and I did not want to get washed up,Ralph pushed off and jumped in,the out board is just right when tilted,a lot of froth and bubble but just drives out to deeper water.There has been no moon since we left so black as your hat,new moon soon so should be better.

Arrived back at the boat and had a tea ,heard a scraping noise on the flybridge,I had a bit of a look through the hatch but saw nothing,later Bruce went up and found a mutton bird up there,got the towel and sent him on his way,probably attracted by the anchor light.There was also a bird in the cockpit when Trap got on board.

Turned in about eleven,considering leaving for the Tamar in the morning.

Beautiful Port Davies,Robin and Angus's house far right up on the hill.Blue roof.