Emita to Badger Island.Badger to Tamar river.

Had an uncomfortable night the North wind freshened to about 25 knots ,thank goodness for the mooring though.Unfortunately the tail line was a bit short so every now and then the substantial buoy would bang up under the bow of Masterpiece ,I wentup to extend the line about three but the weight on the line detered me from doing anything about it,MAST's line was stout and I really did not have a line man enough on board coupled with the fact we were on a Lee shore.

I remembered one of my fisherman's friends remarks "I just sit up all night until dawn and drink coffee"in situations like this.Will get into trouble if I move.

So I got my doona and spent the night on the pilot berth in the cabin,my lookout spot when a bit worried about the conditions at night.I can better feel the motions and am nearer the controls if action is needed,I only need to lift my head to see what is going on.

Fortunately the wind eased a little later and switched direction,the leftover slop persisted for an hour or so .

I had been watching the BOM site and trying to formulate a plan of how to get to the Tamar ,the crew were keen to go back and have another shot at the big crays at Trousers,because of the switch in wind to Westerly and being light I was tempted to bolt and have a try at a passage.We had a reasonable angle from Emita so slipped the mooring and left.Once Masterpiece came out from the shelter of Prime Seal Island it was obvious I had left my run too late.We eased off the power and changed course towards Goose Island ,might as well have a look at it on the way to Badger,my backup plan.A very nice anchorage in a Westerly.

Once in the shelter of the Island passage between the two,we had a spell to marvel about the fellow,I think, who spent 34 years here manning the light .There is some researched info on the Friends of light house people's site about life here in the old days.The light was established because of the problem  of calculating longitude coming from the west.My brother Andrew made a small plaque for association to place on his gravestone in St David's park when they found it.I can imagine he must have been quite unhappy living in Hobart at the end of his days after so many years living in this wild place.There is a description about the uncertain frequency of their resupply here by the mail ship,no engines them.

Goose Island ,three times longer than the photo but no higher .No house now.
 

Also an account about a drowning during an attempt to land food in a storm.

It was quite calm under the Island and Jerry has it as a shelter spot.

We elected to go round the bottom of Badger to anchor,Ross put in the Tuna lure an I slowed down to trolling speed,no hurry now as we were going to have at least a day and a night here sheltering.

No result ,not even a Salmon .

Chewed over our options,could try in the next morning and if still too rough pull away to the bottom of Clarke Island or go on to Waterhouse and wait for the predicted SE change.

Whiled away the day,had plenty of fish in the freezer so no need to do that,there was another good looking old style cruising boat anchored in the alternate anchorage further north.Looke like a timber vessel from where we were.

Ross had some good steaks in the freezer so he got busy doing dinner.

Turned in early as we decided to get under way a first light,some times the wind is a bit lighter then.

Dinner is served!
 

The wind eased during the night so we had a cup of tea waiting for the dawn,I wanted to see the wave conditions when we left,quite a couple of miles of shallow water before the Strait proper.

No respite as after we cleared the shelter of Badger the wind was up to 21 knots on our bow quarter,Hmm,quite challenging for a while,eased the power off to get over the rough bit and set a course on the plotter for Low Head.Had to drop away from the preferred course because of the sea conditions.Once into the deeper water the seas eased a bit but still well below our preferred course.

The BOM site said the wind would be a lot lighter for the second half of the trip,and so it was,we marvel at the accuracy of the modern forecasting.Unfortunately we were in the upto 40 percent stronger range now.

Persevered cruising at 18 knots ,hit a big one every now and then,the crew reasonably comfortable in the aft part of the boat,the skipper cops it further forward in the steering spot,have a good sprung seat which helps but had a good workout bracing for the big ones.

Eased up halfway to eat an apple and looking forward to better conditions,now about a mile to leeward of our course.Over the next hour the sea and wind eased considerably and I could get back to the rumbline .

Spoke to Tamar Sea Rescue on their sched and Jerry at 9 for his.Arrived off the Tamar leads at 10 am,four hours exactly from Badger.

Tied up at York Cove pontoon to tidy up.Logged of from TSR and called Ron at the Tamar Yacht Club.I have a berth for you,come over was the friendly answer.

Tied up on the Northern floating Marina,happy to arrive,sheltered and a very sunny day to clean up the boat ready for the next crew on Saturday.

Was given a conducted tour over Mercury by John and Barb Davies,luxury there,every need down to a dishwasher.A lot more modern gear than the 15 year old Masterpiece.

Spent the afternoon washing the boat down,the salt eats away at my polish ,filled the water tanks and checked over the engine rooms.Did my washing and rigged a clothesline on the flybridge,good job we are on the end of the marina,looks like a Chinese Laundry.

Simo booked a table at the pub for dinner,John and Barb joined us there for a pleasant evening,got back to the boat after dark,stopped at Rumba to hear the engine running again,he had to fit new injectors in his engine today.

Had a coffee and went to write my blog but the eyes got heavy after a few lines.