The day after arriving in Cygnet we left again, hopefully waving good-bye for the last time. Our aim was to sail up the east coast of Tasmania stopping at a few of the places we had missed or ran out of time at on the way down over a year ago. The first stop on our way was set to be Maria Island but this time instead of sailing around the Tasman and Forestier Peninsulas we were going to take the shortcut through the middle of them. The Forestier Peninsula sits between mainland Tasmania and the Tasman Peninsula and has its own isthmus. It was at this isthmus that a canal was cut
to allow for a shortcut to be made, this canal is known as the Denison canal and can be used by all shallow drafted vessels.
However to sail from Cygnet to Denison Canal is about 50nm so we decided to make the journey in a couple of legs as the weather just wasn’t favourable to sail the trip all in one go. The day we left Cygnet we didn’t set sail until after lunch as we had spent the morning running errands and saying good-bye to the friends we had made. Since we had left so late and had had such a busy morning we decided to only go about 5nm to Eggs and Bacon Bay where we anchored for the night. The following day we decided we wanted to get a little further then five miles aiming to get to the end of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel which also happened to be as far as the winds were favourable that day. However knowing that Kettering was the last place where we could easily obtain fuel we wanted to stop at their fuel wharf first. That day southern Tasmania really showed us its true colours as we left the area for the last time. We started the day out with a heavy overcast sky and no winds. Which caused us to spend the better part of the morning drifting down the channel, however by about mid morning that suddenly changed. It had started to drizzle which naturally increased to pouring rain. This rain was then followed by moderate winds and the old saying “rain before wind, bring topsails in” came to mind, as when the rain eased off the winds picked up considerably.
With the wind behind us we were suddenly flying downwind to Kettering and so the full mainsail was quickly reefed to the second point. But when we didn’t lose any speed it was soon apparent that that day even the second reef was too much sail when going downwind. So as an experiment we decided to hand the main and see how we sailed under the stay sail alone. This worked surprisingly well, with 20-25knts, flat seas and the stay sail downwind we were able to maintain 5-6knts a speed we usually struggle to keep with considerably more sail. It was about midday that we sailed into Kettering after our invigorating sail. However our stay in Kettering was short, only lasting about an hour while we refueled on diesel and filled up the water tank before we departed to find an anchorage for the night. The winds outside Kettering were still moderately strong so once again we only set the stay sail sailing towards Nabraska Beach on Bruny Island. That afternoon we dropped anchor after sailing a total of 25nm, spending the rest of the afternoon on Allagai ensuring everything was properly stowed. As the following day we would be exiting the sheltered waters of the channel when we crossed to Norfolk Bay.
This meant that the following morning we were up bright an early eager to get moving as we had another 25nm to sail that day. Also if we reached Denison Canal early enough there was the possibility of going through the canal that day instead of anchoring and going through the following morning. This was because the canal had a swing bridge half way along for the car traffic but was only operated between the hours 8am-5pm. As usual that morning we were once again cursed with no winds, drifting out of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel at whooping 1kt. However just as we were passing the Iron Pot that changed when we were blessed with some wind. The only problem though it was a blessing in disguise as the breeze was coming from almost the same direction that we were trying to go causing us to keep the sails sheeted on hard. But at least we didn’t have to tack, the wind was just right to be able to sail through the gap between Betsy Island and mainland Tasmania and thankfully on the other side of the island the winds were much more favourable. We were able to ease the sheets as the wind was now behind us which gave us a lovely down wind run into Frederick Henry Bay. Once again we were flying along at 6kts, catching up to the boat in front of us and leaving others behind. Although as usual this good wind didn’t last long and soon the boat behind us was setting a spinnaker and overtaking us. They also happened to be a friend from Cygnet so we exchanged pictures as they sailed past.
It was soon after this that we started the motor as it was early enough in the afternoon that if we hurried we would make it through the canal. So it was full steam ahead, calling the canal master confirming the tides were good and that we would be able to go through that afternoon. It was about 4pm when we reached the canal and had to hove-to while we waited for two other boats to go through before it was our turn. Going through Denison Canal was a surprisingly easy event with no current and the shallowest spot was only about 1.9m at low tide so we had no issues and thankfully the bridge was open well before we reached it. Once through the canal all we had to do was find a spot on the other side to anchor, not feeling like completing the Marion Narrows that evening. However it was just as we reached the end of the canal when a large fishing boat decided to enter the canal with us. The canal is only about 10m wide, plenty of room for one boat but not really enough for two, especially such a large fishing boat. We were basically touching the edge of the canal and the fishing boat but managed to somehow squeeze past. However the fun didn’t stop there, as they left us a monster wake which tossed us around like a cork leaving Hugo to wrestle the tiller to keep us on course. Once passed the wake though it was time to anchor which didn’t take us long as we decided to drop the anchor just outside the Dunally mooring field with the town of the distance.
The next morning a procession of yachts starting streaming past us just after breakfast and not wanting to miss the opportunity of following other boats through the narrows we weighed anchor and got moving. As we were leaving the tide was starting to go out and at first we didn’t notice the flow but as we passed each set of beacons we could see the water flowing faster and faster the further we got. It was in no time that we were exiting the Marion Narrows racing out at 7knts with the current and the final obstacle between us and the sea a small bar crossing. Thankfully the wind and swell were non-existent so we motored across the bar with no problems, the only challenge was the motor boats and tinnys which decided to race past us and throw huge wakes causing us to bounce around.
Once outside it was time to set sail and turn the engine off to conserve fuel. The only problem was we didn’t have any wind. But with no hurry to get anywhere and only the need to travel 12nm to get to Maria Island we were in no rush. So not to be deterred we set all sail including the gaff topsail and flying jib, looking like a real Tiny Tallship. Even with all this sail up we drifted towards Maria Islands at 1kt, but at least we looked awesome doing it. At times the wind would pick up and our speed would increase to 3knts and sometimes even 4knts but this never lasted long before dropping out again. However we had a very enjoyable sail with beautiful weather, clear skies, blue water, seals playing around us and great scenery.
After spending hours drifting we decided when we were 5nm away from our anchorage in Shoal Bay on Maria Island to start the engine. It was nearly lunch and we thought that maybe if we got in early enough we could go for a walk on the beach. So we handed the gaff topsail and flying jib and started steaming for the anchorage. However this didn’t go quite as planned. The engine had been on for less then five minutes when we drove over some drifting kelp. Neither of us had seen it as we were handling the sails but suddenly the revs on the engine dropped, which was the first indication that something was wrong. We quickly realised that we had kelp wrapped around the prop and could see it trailing past the rudder. This left us with two choices, Hugo could go for a swim to remove it or we could go back to sailing. We decided that since there was no real rush that we might as well save the fuel and sail. With this decision made we turned the engine off and went back to our 1-2kts drift. However it wasn’t long before our luck changed as a wind line was approaching and we could see white caps behind it. The only issue was the it was blowing straight out of the bay we wanted to anchor in. This meant that we spent the next hour tacking our way into the bay. Eventually though our hard work paid off, it took about six tacks but we finally dropped the anchor with only a little assistance from our labouring engine. With such a strong wind blowing we decided to give our beach walk a miss, instead enjoying a peaceful afternoon on Allagai.
The following day we were forecast for some nice weather and so decided to do some exploring ashore. The previous time we had been here we had explored the northern end of Maria Island. So the goal this time was the check out the southern end and I had found two walks. One led to an old farm house and the other went to a bay on the southern edge of the island called Haunted Bay. We decided to select the latter option as it went up about 200m above sea level which made us think we would get a nice view. However maybe we should have done a bit more research because we spent the whole walk under the canopy and never saw anything but trees. We walked 5.5km to the top of the 200m hill but never exited the trees and at this point we were feeling tired and a little disappointed so decided to turn around. Although if we had continued the next part of the trail went into the bay all the way down to sea level, losing the whole 200m elevation and giving us an intense return climb on the way back out. So not wanting to exhaust ourselves more then necessary as we still had over 5km to go to get back to Allagia we turned around. Although we didn’t get to see anything in particular the walk was still enjoyable and a good bit of exercise.
Once back on Allagai we were feeling the heat of the day and ready to cool off from our long walk so the first thing we did when we got back on board was go for a swim and also we still needed to clear the weed off prop . This was our second swim in two weeks and the water was slightly warmer this time. However it was still quite cool and it wasn’t long before we were both out and warming back up in the sunshine. With our busy morning over it was time to spend the afternoon relaxing, both of us feeling tired from that mornings exercise. As usual the weather was forecast to turn bad and where we were anchored wasn’t going to be protected. This left us with little option but to continue on the following day, sailing to Orford where we would be able to wait out the incoming weather.