Author Archives: lj431

After leaving the Gordon River, we ducked into the very pretty Birch’s Inlet and anchored just on sunset. A check of the weather forecast confirmed that we were still good for our overnight passage to the Three Hummocks the next day and so we readied the boat and went to bed. Super still and flatContinue reading “The Final Stretch – Across the Top of Tassie”

The alarm woke us at seven am to a morning sky bathed in soft pink and super still, glassy water. We set off straight away, heading out of the basin and back into the harbour. A low band of thick cloud blanketed the horizon, and with the pretty light and millpond water it was anContinue reading “The Gordon River”

After safely negotiating Hells Gates, we were in the blessed calm of Macquarie Harbour. Although very narrow and not unchallenging to enter, the actual entrance was fairly unimpressive and unimposing and it turns out that the name Hells Gates has nothing to do with geography, rather it was the name given by the convicts sentContinue reading “Exploring Macquarie Harbour”

‘I think we should sell the boat and buy a caravan,’ I said to Matt as I lay in our bunk, the boat bouncing and bucking underneath me, my stomach churning and head throbbing. I had had enough. We were sailing up the lower part of the west coast of Tassie, on a 90 mileContinue reading “A Wild Ride Up to Hells Gates”

Casilda Cove, about halfway along the seven mile Bathurst Channel ended up being our anchorage for three nights. After hiking back down Mt Rugby, we moved Cool Change from Iola Bay into Casilda Cove. Although all was still at the moment, our weather forecast indicated some strong winds for the following day, and Casilda CoveContinue reading “Port Davey: Part Two”

Port Davey lies in the southwest corner of Tasmania. Long heralded as one of Tasmania’s most spectacular and remote wild places, it is exposed to the strong westerly winds of the Roaring Forties and is a place of raw, untamed beauty. Together with the adjoining waters of Bathurst Channel and Bathurst Harbour, Port Davey isContinue reading “Port Davey: Part One”

On the second of March we motored into Oyster Cove marina in Kettering. Matt was returning to Melbourne for his Aunty Liz’s funeral and I was to stay on the boat, using the time to do laundry and jobs. Public transport that far out of Hobart was pretty much non-existent, but fortunately the marina hadContinue reading “The D’Entrecasteaux Channel and Around to the Wild West”

Sailing down the Derwent River and under the Tasman Bridge, we passed into Storm Bay and turned north into Frederick Henry Bay. With the variable winds, it was in and out with the headsail. Although it was pretty grey and overcast, we were happy to be back out on the water, and the sun madeContinue reading “Norfolk Bay, Bruny Island and the Huon River”

With Cool Change tied up safely on Chris and Anne’s mooring, we spent a week staying in their house, enjoying the luxuries of life on land and exploring Hobart and its surrounds. First up was the Wooden Boat Festival, which we had arrived just in time for. The Hobart waterfront had been turned into allContinue reading “A Week in Hobart Town”

We awoke to a glass out in our very sheltered anchorage on the Tamar River. The water was incredibly still, stretching out like a sheet of satin. It was cloudy and drizzly though, and as we didn’t have far to go that day, we had a lazy morning on the boat. As we set off,Continue reading “East Coast Tasmania”