A Little Slice of Paradise in Bass Strait – Deal Island

Lying in northern Bass Strait, Deal Island is beloved by yachties for its safe anchorages and spectacular scenery. It also allows the trip across the potentially hazardous strait to be turned into day sails, and was our next destination. We’d spent several days here at the beginning of our trip in 2020 and were looking forward to showing the unique island to our crew.

Up and off by 7 am, it was a bumpy start out through the entrance to the bay, but the waters soon calmed and with fifteen to twenty knots of winds, we had a pretty comfortable sail. It was another long day but I felt much better. Dylan managed to nap for a fair bit of the journey, but was luckily wide awake when we were visited by several pods of dolphins.

There is something so magical about these gorgeous creatures, and we waved hello to them as they frolicked gracefully around the boat.

Arriving into the sheltered waters of East Cove on Deal island, we found two other yachts floating in the tranquil bay. Dropping anchor gratefully, we reveled in the flat conditions and congratulated our crew on a good day. After the ten hour sail, the three adults were all pretty tired, but the calm conditions revived Dylan and he was full of energy. With Matt and Harj settling down to a few beers, I rowed Dylan to shore so he could run some of his energy off. Just like our friends with a dog on board, we were finding that a seven year old child required similar, regular excursions to land!

That night the sky was lit with an incredible golden sunset, lighting up the surrounding hills. Dylan had a go with his camera (an old iPhone) and took this pretty awesome shot.

After a good nights sleep and hearty brekky on the boat, we headed to shore with our hiking boots, ready to explore. It was a beautiful day and as we climbed to the top of the ridge, the view back down to East Cove was just breathtaking.

First stop was out along the track to the old school desk where we knew we’d be able to get reception. Main priorities; to check the weather and for Dylan to chat to his Mum. We checked emails and sent texts to family letting them know we were safe.

And then we were off for our hike to the lighthouse. The seven kilometre walk would take us right to the tip of the island and back. We’d visited the lighthouse on our previous stopover here, and it had been closed due to restoration works. Although the works appeared to be finished, the lighthouse was unfortunately still not open to visitors.

Still, it was a lovely walk and the super steep track near the top got our hearts pumping. We spotted heaps of wallabies along the way and both Dylan and Matt enjoyed photographing them.

Dylan enjoyed the chance to photograph some wildlife close up:

Matt and Dylan wandered down to the jetty in the corner of the cove and took some great pics:

Back on the boat, the boys all went snorkelling. Wetsuits on, they took the tender over to the fringing reef. Once again, way too cold for me. I stayed behind to be the warming committee. After a while, Matt brought Dylan back, he’d enjoyed the snorkel but was shivering uncontrollably. I hosed him down with warm water, bundled him into his fleecy onesie and fed him a hot chocolate.

That night Harj cooked a delicious dahl for dinner, while I watched and took notes. I love learning new recipes. I was also loving having another cook onboard. Harj cooked us heaps of yummy meals, enjoying the unique challenges of working in the tiny galley. Best of all, he and Dylan did the dishes too. It was a real treat for me.

After sharing a couple of bottles of red over dinner, we were early to bed as our adventure was to continue the next day. The winds and seas look good for our sail to Flinders Island. Bass Strait, here we come again!!

This is your planet. You really should come see it sometime.

G. Adventures