Day 11 Back in Tassie waters.

The weather forecast was spot on ,quite a bit of sea until midnight after which it moderated a bit.Saw a couple of ships and just before our shift ended the gas rig and its tender which was on our course,Mick and Bruv gave them the required clearance.

Cape Wickham came up on Rod and Cheroz's watch.

Bruv got the egg and bacon sandwiches going washed down with coffee and tea.

Rod elected to run down the East side of King Island which gave us a break from the long low Westerly swell.

There were three cray boats working a patch off the NE corner.

First sight of Tassie.

Amazing restraint,crew debating wether to have a celebratory,consensus it's too early!

Day 10. Depart Robe.

Had a bit of a lie in ,trust till a bit after 7.some members up and wandering around the Marina looking at boats.

Had breakfast ,cereal and fruit finishing off with a couple pieces of toast.

Rod and Mick fixing the rear engine room and toilet light.Mick walked over to where a fellow was working on his boat and asked where he might get a 24 volt globe.Nowhere around here he volunteered ,hang on I might have a couple here ,gave him two.

The neon tube was a bit harder, the hardware shop was about a mile away,he got the wrong one so had to swap it over,we were up near there by then getting a few last minute supplies and stopped off for a coffee on the way back,Mick joined us there.

Back to the boat and put the stuff away.

Rod hard at it working out what has to be done .We all went back up to the pub for a light lunch.On the way there are a couple of memorials.one with very good bronze busts to commemorate the meeting between  Boudin  and Mathew Flinders out in Encounter Bay just here ,I am amazed to think they met as  we have steamed all this way and only met about four or five boats along the way !

The other one horours 30,000 Chinese who arrived here to walk to the goldfields,surely a daunting journey.

We had a team meeting earlier on and decided to leave at about four pm.

The plan is to follow the coast along to Portland and then take the East coast of King Island and then  a Cooks Tour of the Tasmanian North coast as a predicted S to SW wind is expected.How close we go in will be determined by the sea conditions,through Banks Straitand down the East coast to home.

There was some rain while we were in the pub and as the view is over the sea we could see a moderation in the weather. Just giving a bit more time to quiten down and we will be off.

Some are having a short snooze before departing ,both Biggs and Rod have a touch of Cheroz's cold picked up on the plane.

The boat at Robe Marina ,the Memorials and old Customs house on the lookout.

Copy of the voyage plan at the moment.

Should be home Friday at lunch time if all goes to plan.

Robe

Arrived at Robe about 5 PM.

The afternoon was not all that good,N to Nw probably up to 25 knots at times,on our quarter but making it a rough ride.Seemed there was some current making the waves seem higher than just a wind slop .

Pulled up outside the entrance at about 5.Quite easy to get in behind a substantial breakwater.

Surprised at the large Marina once inside.

Went over to the fuel dock to fuel up,the local Marina man turned up,seemed quite casual about it all.

Fueling finished we worked out the consumption a pleasant surprise 6.72 liters per mile at over 15 knots average,our plan had worked well by not carrying extra fuel and knocking the revs back a bit .We have enough in the tanks to get home now and a nice extra amount.Biggs will still dip with the broom handle now and then I recon.  

We took the boat to the sailing club side and Mick and Bruv took the key around to the club for a shower.Biggs Cheroz and I next.There was only two showers and no light,we battled on while Biggs went back to get a better torch.Rod brought the rear after we had finished.

Went back to the boat and berthed in the main part on the town side.

Tidied up and walked the quarter mile up to the pub.It was quite modern and surprisingly big.I imagine it would hold nearly twice the people at our yacht club at least,it had the main bar with all the old entertainments,two or three serious dart areas and eight ball tables etc.multiple TVs for betting in another area,a pokies room with a serious admin bar with large scales I suppose to weigh out the coins.

The main bar had many photos of the fishing fleet on the wall.We ajoined to the Bistro as it was getting on for 8.Had a good meal.

There seemed quite a few locals in the bar and a few in the pokie room.Seemed to be a generous staff running around.I had a natter to the barman when it was my shout,he said there were 1500 locals which swelled to 15000 in the summer.

The local council man who runs the marina said don't even think of coming in here in the summer unless you have booked a berth,seemed surprising as there are heaps of empty berths now.

A fisherman showed up for a talk,they always do in these places.We learned the local cray fleet start in October  ,they are all on the hard now,some fish for shark,one young bloke came by and pointed out his West Coaster boat,not much dough in sharks he said I only run her around at eight knots to save fuel.The old one told Rod the cray men are all day boaters,would not be game to leave your misses around here at night he said! Sounds like Port Arthur in the old days.

Got back to the boat after nine ,some had a night cap and some a coffee and into bed early a bit tired but all contented ,things going well and the hardest bit done we think.The forecast for Bass Strait favorable ,but you can't always trust that place.

Rod would like to leave about mid morning,no rush to get away.Will post a voyage plan a bit later.

They must have made hundreds of these boats ,everywhere you go there are heaps of them,not really suitable for our West Coast cray fishery but ideal for lots of short trips.Lunch box fishermen..

Marina at least twice this size,you get the impression the local government or state sets them up.

Day 9 Ceduna to Robe.

 Very pleasant travelling this morning ,light westerly breeze with no swell.Sun out so shorts required.

Some crew tried the shower ,some shaved ,some did not. I can vouch for thr shower ,nice and hot and part of the toilet. It faces aft at the back of the wheelhouse and so has the least movement of the accomodation.the door is never shut so it also has a really good view.

The cooks decided a BBQ for lunch with a superior salad.The reasoning being it does not get any better than this at sea so we should have our main meal at lunch time.At the speed we travel the conditions could be worse by evening.

Rod worked out the fuel at Ceduna and found we have dropped back to just over 7 liters a mile after pulling back for the weather on the last leg again. A couple of knots seems to make quite a difference to the consumption .We are going to try fo about 15 knots on this leg.

Uneventful afternoon,watches suspend during the day ,people step up when they feel like it to have a steer.

Cheroz brewed up a nice sweet and sour chicken as we were back to bowls for dinner ,the weather having deteriorated a bit,overcast with showers.

Later on we rounded a cape and the rest of the night was quite good.

Rod and Cheroz had to avoid a ship on their watch ur otherwise an uneventful night.

Biggs and I were were on watch when we rounded Kangaroo Island at dawn, Mick and Bruv took over so. We went down for an hour.

 Gradually came out of the shelter of the island and as there was a fresh Norherly blowing we are jumping about a bit.Breakfast is a bit of a challenge when it is like this,today Cheroz s cooking the toast,Mick. Is spreading and Biggs is making sure Mick can keep up to thr counter,a difficult job as he needs both hands.

Not far to go now to Robe,ETA 4pm.

Getting the miles down now,can see King Island when you scale the plotter out.

We use a combination of the plotter which came with boat in the form of a computer which we are learning to use ,if you press the wrong icon yo can end up with a mess.

Mick and Rod use their phones and I use my iPad to back up the plotter,handy for checking and planning,

Refueling at Ceduna

Day 8 Ceduna.

Feel we have been blest with the weather,not perfect but it is a long way and to only have to slow down a couple of times could be considered unusual.

Kept trucking all day and night ,Cheroz produced a very good roast lamb dinner last night..

There was a spectacular sunset which went on for a couple of hours .

If you think there is a lot of "out the back photos" that is the main view for us,the land is low and at a few miles off is really only a line.Thought I would share it with you.

Biggs and I were on at ten again so had a couple hours of kip.

Nothing to report during our first watch ,on again at four and had the job of navigating to the channel about 35 miles away,reached the outer markers just as first light appeared ,good timing.Biggs steered up through channel to where we thought the fuel berth would be.Cased it out and thought it can't be here so motored around to the shipping wharf .hung around there for a while when the pilot boat came over and asked us to move away a bit for the ship which was following us up.

Found out our original place was right.

Rods fuel truck turned up and Biggs supervised the refilling,I checked over the engine room.

Just like a F1 pit stop.the cooks got a few things up the road,hosed the boat off and we were away.

Arrived at 7.30 and departed at 10 .30.

So good bye Ceduna aiming for Robe.

Day 7 Great Australian Bight.

Took a Cooks Tour inside all the islands from Esperance.(if you look at google maps and set it on satellite photo you can see very well the route we took close to the shore to Ceduna to avoid the wind slop from the offshore wind)

Had advice from a local fisherman,even gave us some marks for some rocks which had caught out unwary Mariners.

Keep out side the 8 fathom line all the way to Port Lincoln and you will be ok.

We cleared all the difficult parts before dark averaging 16.5 knots.

I had a bit of a snooze and when I came up Mick was hand steering,the auto pilot had packed up.

Rod went down to the steering flat to check out the feedback sensor but only found a loose nut which was not the source of our problem.

Cheroz cooked up a chicken dish we could eat from a bowl essential when going to windward.Finished off with ice cream after he had to put it in the microwave to be able to spoon it out,freezer is working too well.

After dinner I had a look at the manual (always look at the manual after all else fails)

I thought it was a feedback problem associated with the gain control and after we found the relevant page Rod reset it and it was fine.

We think someone whom shall remain annomous had fiddled with the knob.Not hard to do when the boat is jumping about the only thing is you have to pull the knob out to alter it,the mystery remains.

Biggs and I came on at 10 until midnight,a quite uneventful watch.We kept about 3 miles off the beach at night.Saw a few rain showers passing.

Bruv got up early for his watch and made us a welcome cup of tea.

Back to the bunk until 4am when we came on again.

Dawn broke near the end of our watch,a light west wind n the water.Went down for an hour or so,heard some ratting around about 8 so got up.

Rod showed and immediately spotted a boat on our Starboard bow.As we got closer we saw it was a fishing vessel lying on rope 4 miles off shore.

Just passed him when the engine slowed,suggested we shut it down before it used all the left fuel in the front tanks,we did not wish to have to bleed the air out of the system.

I went down and switched over to the rear tanks while Biggs and co put the deck fuel into the empty ones.Happy to have something to do I suspect.

Well better have a think,we were expecting a bit more mileage from that lot.Did the numbers and got 9.7 liters per mile.We think we under estimated the slower running effect on the last leg and the extra one ton of deck fuel.

Rod wants to go to Ceduna to fill up and hope to miss Port Lincoln altogether and go to Robe.

Not all bad then.

Had a few quite pleasant hours when the wind was light and from behind ,the shorts came out.

Morning tea while I was writing so better get in for my cut,food does not last long around here !

A couple of crew having a celebratory after leaving Esperance.

Morning tea.

Off watch. Probably a bit mean but part of shipboard life.Our Polish crew member .

Biggs insisted I advise you I evidently did not save the first version of today's 

blog properly ,a bit of a pain but do have plenty of time out here.No service so could not post it.

Day 6 Depart Esperance

Up at 7 crew showered and fed.

Had a good session on the weather we feel it should be ok,could even be great.

The wind has come around more west in the last hour time to go.

Out through the channel at 10 am.

Pleasantly surprised at how flat it was but the real test will be when we turn the corner at Israeilite bay in a few hours

 Was chastised by the skipper about posting false info on thr fuel figures,correct numbers were 7 liters a mile at 15.2 knots not 13.2.!

Should be ok now I have retracted the offending figure.

We have taken a few snapshots of the weather as we are not sure how much Telstra we will get for a while.

Don't panic if you miss out on the daily blog for a while.

Day 5 Esperance.

Was up first for a change at 7.30.played dead when we arrived last night so had not seen our new location.

I was quite surprised to see quite pleasant harbour with a modest Marina and a five or so wharf for unloading with a couple of fishing agents establishments.

Greg a local shark fisherman was unloading his catch with his mate on the other side of us ,a very friendly bloke came along and had a tour of the boat Rod went along to have a look at his.Take my truck if you want,Biggs and Mick went off to get some fittings for putting the extra fuel into the tanks and some washers for the taps.

We pottered around doing a few small jobs I checked out the engine rooms.Had breakfast and a shower ashore with new clothes.

Better wander down to the fuel berth and fuel the boat up.Quite interested to see the result and work out the consumption.

Filled up and worked out the numbers,we got a pleasant surprise,7 liters a mile at an average of 13.5 knots.Should make Port Lincoln on the tanks alone,we have 1400 extra as insurance.

All jobs done so called a couple of taxis and went into town to the Pier Hotel for a light lunch,a good meal not large but just right.I had Bronzie fish and chips ,it was nice but have no idea what it was.

Went up to the supermarket for the cooks to buy more stuff and of course the bottle shop.

Called a couple of taxis and back to the boat.

Cooks fired up the new BBQ and got dinner under way,salad and steak finished off with ice cream and chocolate sauce.Some had coffee and sweet biscuits.

During the morning Rod sat down and formulated a voyage plan based on the info we had on the weather and fuel consumption Clouds recommended we take the scenic route again which adds 100 od miles but should be a lot smoother. It also gives us the option of going into Ceduna if required.

The best departure time is mid morning Saturday but the later the better even Sunday would be good but imagine this crew with a whole day with nothing to do !.

Rod and I had a go at fixing the Radar,almost seemed too easy,followed instructions and it seems to reflect what is in the bay ,we will see tomorrow.

The locals told us how to get out of the bay whi ch seems to have a hundred islands.If you Google Earth and look at Esperance you will see.Again almost too easy,told a couple of things to avoid but basically follow the shore and keep at least 8 fathoms all the way to PL.You will be right.

8.45 and all the crew are in bed,some light snoring so better finish up.

Boys on the job. 

Red night at night shepherds  delight,(we hope so) Bugger snoring quite a bit louder !

Day 5

Arrived alongside Esperance fisherman's dock ,engine off at 4.25 am.

The wind seemed to follow us wherever we turned!

The forecast promised a shift to more North East but we must have been too fast for it.

Perfect in here but I would bet it is still blowing out there.

Crew all down for a quick uninterrupted kip without all of the banging and crashing.

  

Think this will only be a pit stop for fuel and a couple of things.

We will have a look at the weather but it seems we need to get away.Unfortunately need to take the scenic route again.We have to time the last bit to Port Lincoln to fit the weather pattern,suspect a fair bit more bashing yet.

These boats were not designed for long haul passages,just day boats really,dash out and do your business and dash home again,The accomodation is as far forward as possible to allow as much room aft for working and tanks.

The more we see of Basic Instinct the more we like the workmanship in her,she has done plenty of work but is basically. In good nick.The previous owners were dashers and I believe they did not live near where she was kept as evidenced by all the little non essential things left when they needed a bit of attention.Would not suit us but as long as she went they were happy by the looks of it.

Rod and Biggs have some work to do on this project.I think they are looking forward to it,No retirement for Biggsy for a while.What would he do anyway,can't imagine him lying on a beach at Port Douglas.

Pulled up for a couple of minutes to check the engine over and dip the fuel tanks under a cape just before dark. Indications were we will revise the fuel consumption down from our first estimates.

We I'll have it pretty right after filling this time. I did the engine room all good there then back into it again.

Mick up and on the tea ,Sally just called and Biggs wandered out ,looks like game on before long.

Be nice to have a shower and put some clean clothes on.

When I came up one deck there was a swallow perched on the rail.I wonder if he needs a lift to Tassie,none at home yet.

Alongside at Esperance.

Day 4

Not much here as we took the scenic inshore route to try and get out of the wind slop .Only partially successful ,managed 16 knots for the first part of the day but have been on reduced speed from about 3 pm.

Been too rough to write until now but can just manage by lying in my bunk on th floor.

We slowed down for Cheroz to produce dinner after rounding the last big cape. Before Esperance which unfortunately gave us a 45 mile to sea bash to get back up to the relative shelter of the shore but still rough!

Shot taken about 11 pm Mick and Bruv on.

Biggs and I at midnight.

ETA Esperance 4 am.

Boat going well all things fixed have stayed fixed.Radar still at right angles to track but have found a manual in the net bet too rough to have a go at it out here.

F

Day4. Morning report

2meter SW swell .6 NE wind slop

Too bumpy for more.

Day 3 Fremantle.

Up at seven,heaps to do.A cuppa first and then of to breakfast.Back to the boat and Rod ,Bruv and Cheroz of on a buying spree,food suplies and stuff for the boat.

Radar does not work,generator also,a filter leak.I really like working on diesel fuel systems.Diesel is like sikaflex there is no way you cannot get it all over you.

Mick is up on the fly bridge replacing a switch on the radar,I sourced the diesel leak and Rod went off to get some bits.

After we had done a few jobs and Rod returned with a fuel card,Biggs,Mick and I went over to the fuel berth.

Topped up the tanks and worked out the consumption from Jurien Bay.10 liters per mile at 1800 rpm gives us about 16 knots.Pretty easy to work out! We will have a better idea by Esperance.

Down in my department 1000 hp caterpillar engine,a bit bigger than mine!

Rod arrived back with the cooks with enough stuff to get to Hobart we recon!

Fixed the generator I thought but still it would not run.Said to mick it must be your wires or something..

We undid the control panel to find a wire broken,The key switch has seen better days and spins around if you do not hold it when turning the key! Fixed that up and it seems good now.

Not such good news with the Radar ,we have a picture now but it seems at right angles to where you are going,could be bit of a challenge at night!

Finally Rod got all his jobs done and after a confab we decided to go back to the fuel berth on the way out and get another 1000 in the deck tanks to be on the safe side.It was a good move as a fisherman wandered along and gave us advice on how to go on the inside channel and save a couple of hours

Getting a bit extra fuel.

Steamed out through the breakwater at 4pm all jobs done and all the things fixed for now.

Biggs suggested a celebratory.

Rod like a kid with a new toy as this is the first time he has been on board. 

Watched the sun go down into the sea ,watches have been set,2 on and 4 off.

Mick and Bruv first,Rod and Cheroz next and Biggs and I 10 to 12 and 4 to 6.

Cheroz made a light chicken dinner,Biggs has turned in,I will not be long.Expect to be around the Cape  when we come on.

Position at 7 pm.about 10 knots of wind and no sea just a small leftover slop from the day breeze.

Day two Basic Instinct. Jurien Bay to Freemantle.

Heard movement downstairs about 7 am.Tea and coffee on the go.

Left about 8,for a cafe in town for breakfast.Arrived at the yard at 9 to see the hoist parked over the boat and the old owner ready to supervise and give us a run over the things which would not work,even more than he expected,mainly electrical.

We mucked around for a while fixing things while filling the fuel tanks.We wanted to fill them as full as possible to get an accurate fuel consumption figure on the 100 od mile run to Fremantle.

Rod and Cheroz jumped ashore to drive the van back to Perth and buy up more supplies and pick up the spare oil we needed.

We pulled away from the pier at exactly 12 under the command of Biggs.Mick had instructions of how to get out past the reef from the old owner,only thing was he had never been there himself as he fishes further north up the coast.

We managed to negotiate the passage ok and avoid a famous rock which has caught quite a few unsuspecting skippers we were told.

 Motored about three miles off shore into the deeper water and headed South.

There was about a twelve to fifteen knot SW wind with a 2 meter swell with a wind chop on top.

The boat handled it well at 1800 rpm travelling at about 16 knots.

  

We were surprised of how much bottom there is on the way down, there was about 2 to 3 miles off shore the whole way down.We dodged quite a few pots

Out of the harbour.

 out where we were ,interesting to note how even the bottom was at 15 to 18 fathoms deep with only very short weed,no more than 400 mm most of the time.The bottom we saw near the pots had no distinctive features like where we set them at home.

Bruv put on a nice salad roll lunch out of things bought by Cheroz earlier in the morning.

I believe Rod and Cheroz pulled up at a servo to get some petrol and fill the windscreen washer bottle only to leave the key inside when the auto locking took over,Bugger,had to pay the servo staff to break into the van to get them back.

Mean while we were makin good time and tied up to the wharf at fisherman's harbour at 7.30 after navigating through all the lights leading into Freo.

Met by the owner and loaded all the stuff they had bought during the day.

Went out to the Esplanade Hotel for a excellent meal.

Back to the boat about 9 to sort out the sleepin arrangements.I have a den of my own with extra foam which seems to be excellent.

Most have gone to sleep as I am writing this ,one light snoring audible coming from the front cabin I think..

We are happy with today's effort but have a bit to do before getting under way again,may be tomorrow or Thursday,Clouds forecast seems pretty good for the run to Esperance so we will leave asap.

Under way

Mick and Rod at Fisherman's Harbour Freemantle.

Delivery Basic Instinct

First impression .

Up well before sparrow fart to arrive at the Ryct for a lift to the airport by Mick picking up Bruv on the way to catch the Quantas 6.05 flight to Melbourne at the start of the delivery voyage of Rod Chamlerlains new Ab vessel.

I have been seconded along with Biggs,Bruv ,Mick Hocking and Cheroz and of course Captain Rod to fly to Perth and drive to Jurian Bay to take delivery of Basic Instinct.

After an uneventful flight we piled into a people mover and headed to a tool shop to stock up with the required gear for his new vessel,across the road to pick up a large esky and a BBQ amongst other things.The Good Guys for an electric Kettle.

She has been used on WA west coast for cray fishing and as such was only been fitted out as a day boat,we needed a bit extra gear for the delivery trip.

We arrived after the yard was closed but could get a fine view of her through the fence.

Rod called up the people he had arranged a holiday house for the night and we tootled around to settle in.As you can imagine the troops were getting a bit thirsty by then so we departed for the pub.

Had a really good meal and a round there.

Back to the digs about 9 their time.All happy to turn in after a quite productive day.

Much discussion on what do people do living in the settlements on the way up,an unsolved problem at this juncture.

They of course fish,service the oil and gas,deliver services and have holiday homes,a few Sheep farmers but II think we are missing something,one small town has two Hadware stores.

Well enough for today,we will try to arrange to get the boat into the water tomorrow,fuelled up and away if all goes to plan.