December 2019
Pulling up anchor and heading for Hobart felt a lot like we were reaching a milestone as we were heading into our first proper city. Although before leaving Quarantine Bay we thought we would check out a few of the other bays in the area. So using the motor we did a lap of the rest of Barnes Bay scoping the place for the next time we came through the area. There was really only one bay which piqued our interest, which went by the name The Duckpond. Aptly named it was barely 300m long and 100m wide, so small that best case scenario it could only really accommodate a maximum of 10 boats. But only if they anchored quite close together and were organised in where they dropped their anchors. However there was no time for anchoring that day so once the reconnaissance mission was complete it was time to move on.
That day we were once again blessed with beautiful weather and a lovely 10-15kt sailing breeze. But out in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel it was absolute chaos, it was the week between Christmas and New Years and it seemed like everyone with time off work was enjoying a little time on the water. There were dozens of yachts sailing up and down the channel, power boats, fishing boats and mini super yachts for as far as the eye could see. That day we were sailing towards Hobart with a full main, stay-sail and occasionally the jib, when the gusts weren’t too strong. Apparently the sight of a gaff cutter wasn’t very common, even in Hobart’s boaty community, because we had several boats come up to us that day for a closer look and to shout their compliments at us.
The closer we got to Hobart the more we realised that once again we didn’t know where we were stopping that night. It wasn’t poor planning as such but more that we were realising how busy the place was and how exposed the anchorages were to Hobart’s afternoon sea breezes. We had such a good sail that we were flying up the Derwent River sooner then expected, so to give ourselves some breathing room for planning we decided to anchor for lunch. At the time we made this decision we were passing South Arm, a long hooked shaped peninsula on the eastern side of the Derwent River. Right on the tip of the peninsula was a lovely looking white sandy beach tucked behind a rock, naturally the name of the spot was White Rock Point.
We didn’t spend much time at our impromptu lunch stop but it did give us a second to breathe and work out our next step. We had decided that we would try our luck with one of the many marinas. Not only did this mean we would be able to easily go ashore and explore Hobart but we also wouldn’t get thrown around with the daily afternoon sea breezes and accompanying swell. So without further adieu we made some phone calls and the Hobart Royal Yacht Club was happy for us to stay with them. We were actually quite lucky as it was the last berth available, a cancellation had been made that day when another yacht was too big to manoeuvre into the small berth, however we weren’t told this until after. When we reached the break water of the Royal Yacht Club the afternoon sea breeze was in full swing, a strong southerly was blowing straight up the Derwent. We decided before entering to ring the marina office one last time to re-check the berth details, hoving to in the middle of the Derwent. It was lucky that we had made this call because we had actually gotten the details wrong the first time, so with the correct berth in hand we made the move and entered through the Clubs breakwater. It was definitely a tight squeeze with sharp corners and narrow paths between the fingers of the marina and we prayed no one would leave as we were entering. However it seemed that within moments we were pulling into the berth completing a tricky three-point turn, trying to not take any of the surrounding boats out with our bowsprit. Once finally docked and safely tied up we both breathed a small sigh of relief, I’m pretty sure that that was our trickiest marina manoeuvre to date. It was shortly after tying up that we were told that the boat meant to have come in, which was the same size as us but lacking a bowsprit, said that it was impossible for them to manoeuvre into the berth without bow thrusters and so cancelled. We were shocked as the turn was difficult but definitely not impossible, especially considering that we had managed to get in with Allagai’s less then great turning circle and reversing capabilities.
The following day we were up bright and early, we’d been watching the Sydney to Hobart race tracker and could see that the first yacht was due in early that morning. Just on sunrise the first boat was sneaking in past a sleeping Hobart only a few of us early risers witnessing them sail in. We were quite lucky as we were able to see the incoming yacht by standing on the back seat of Allagai. However we choose to get a closer look by walking up to the marinas breakwater, giving us an unimpeded view of the winning boat. I haven’t really followed the yacht races in previous years and so was blown away by the shear size of the yacht and its huge sails. Wanting to get a closer look we had a speedy breakfast and then decided to make our way down to Hobart’s main wharf area where the incoming racers were pulling in. We made it there just in time to see the second and third super racers passing the finish line, witnessing them drop the biggest sails I’ve ever seen.
Hobart’s wharf area was open to the public so we took the opportunity while in the area to check out the boats up and close. It was amazing, the boat just kept getting bigger the closer we got, it was no wonder that they could sail such a massive distance in little over 48 hours. After checking out the boats and not wanting to waste a minute of the time we had in Hobart we decided to say good bye to the boats, intending to come back when more pulled in. We decided to head back to Allagai where we pulled out the bikes to assist in our exploring of Hobart. With access to a proper city for the first time in months there was a few items on the shopping list that we could finally buy to assist with maintenance. So without much pause we spend most of that day zooming around Hobart exploring the city and buying some much needed items. We were also quite keen to do it all that day because the forecast for the next was set to deteriorate with temperatures set to soar into the high 30s.
For once the forecast was right, the temperature soared and by lunch it was well into the mid 30s, made much worse by the lack of wind. This left the inside of Allagai sweltering, we had one fan and had thankfully done what we needed outside that day before it had got hot. It was about early afternoon when we noticed the first smells of smoke, the land was dry from the little rain we’d had recently. Meaning the conditions that day were perfect for bushfires and even though it was a total fire ban day one fire had still managed to start. It was a good 50-70km away from us but we could still see the huge plume of smoke it was putting out creating a very ominous cloud in the sky. Thankfully by the next morning though the fire was down graded to a less serious level and the big black cloud from the day before could no longer be seen hanging in the sky.
On a more positive note it was New Years Eve and when we’d booked the marina berth we’d agreed to get out that day. Another boat was due to come in and we’d been told it wanted come in early, so we were up and out of there at seven in the morning. Only to discover that the boat was hovering by the breakwater waiting for us to leave so it could come in. Even though we didn’t have a breath of wind that day manoeuvring was still tight, the marina still feeling just as small as the day we’d come in. But this didn’t stop the awaiting yacht, it was obviously impatient entering in through the breakwater before we’d even left, which made it very difficult for us to get out having to squeeze past them with barely meters between us. However we made it out without doing any damage, just wishing the incoming boat had showed a little more patience and courtesy to us.
Once out o f the yacht club it was time to make our next move. Being New Years Eve Hobart was putting on a customary fireworks show at midnight. With a weather forecast that didn’t show for a bad sea breeze we decided to give anchoring a go, motoring across the Derwent River to Kangaroo Bay. Kangaroo Bay also hosted it own marina, the Bellerive Yacht Club and had a small mooring field. But we kept well clear of both anchoring near the entrance to the bay, well out of the way of incoming and outgoing boat traffic. Being in a new spot we went for a quick trip ashore to visit the town, checking out the large supermarket for future resupplies, it was actually quite a large mall.
That night we stayed up to midnight watching multiply sets of fireworks. First were the family and kid friendly ones just on sunset followed by the much bigger later performance at midnight. We had the perfect spot to witness both as they exploded over Hobart’s harbour. That night we were amazed by the amount of boat traffic coming and going from our small bay, as boat after boat shot past us before dark, many returning after the fireworks display. We welcomed in 2020 anchored in Hobart hoping for another year of adventure, wondering where we would be in 12 months time, hopefully somewhere further north.
After welcoming in the new year we were ready to continue the adventure the next day, having spent enough time in the surrounds of Hobart. We decided to leave Hobart and the channel heading for Little Norfolk Bay locate inside Norfolk Bay on the Tasman Peninsula, basically the opposite side of Eaglehawk Neck.
