February/ March 2021
Having spent two and a half weeks on Flinders Island it was finally time to say good-bye and head to the Tamar River. With this in mind we spent the morning of the day we left running around getting the boat ready for sea as we were about to cross Bass Strait, which has a reputation for short unpredictable seas. We left Flinders Island after an early lunch and had a perfect easterly breeze that made for pleasant sailing. The distance from Settlement Point on Flinders Island to the entrance of the Tamar River was about 80nm so we expected the sail to last about 20hours.
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Sailing across Bass Strait was an interesting experience, there was no apparent swell only short wind chop. This made the motion on Allagai not too uncomfortable but also not the most pleasant. We would go from seemingly flat water to plunging down waves without much rhythm which was then accompanied by the occasional monster set of two waves causing us to roll gunnels deep. However the wind was perfect at a steady, consistent 15-20kts all throughout the day and even night causing our speed to never really drop below 5kts. This meant that when I handed the watch over to Hugo at 4am we were a lot closer to the entrance of the river then we had predicted. The Tamar river is known for its 3-4m tides which causes strong tidal currents of up to 4kts in and out of the river mouth. Knowing this we had to time all our movements with the tide which meant we needed to enter on an incoming tide, as our engine couldn’t really fight 4kts of opposing current. That day the incoming tide during daylight wasn’t due until midday, however when we arrived the tide was in the process of changing and approaching slack water the only problem was that it was still dark. Normally entering in the dark wouldn’t be an issue as the channel is well lit with flashing channel markers. However that morning we wanted to tie up to a pontoon at the old pilot station just beyond the entrance but we wanted to do it in daylight in case there were other boats we’d need to raft up to. So Hugo decided to hove-to outside the entrance until first light. We only had to wait about an hour before entering the river and by that point the tide was slack with absolutely no motion. When we arrived at the pilot station we were the only boat and so had no issues tying up to the pontoon.
After catching up on a couple of hours of sleep we decided that while in the area we might as well have a look a the old pilot station which had a museum. We spent just over an hour exploring the museum which had many artifacts and stories of life in the area in the early days of settlement and shipping. After our trip to the museum it was time to move on as the tide was changing allowing us to continue up the river. The Tamar River has 40nm of navigable water with the town of Launceston located at the end. Our goal was to eventually get to Launceston however with 40nm and only 5-6 hours of usable tide we were going to take our time getting there. So casting off from the pilot station we decided to head only about two miles to George Town where we tied up at another pontoon so we could visit the shop and get a few fresh supplies. We only stayed here for about an hour not wanting to dawdle too long and miss the tide, as that night we wanted to anchor in a little side channel of the river called West Arm. This was a nice little spot to anchor off from the main channel and thankfully out of the current of the ripping tide.
The following day feeling well rested from a full nights sleep we decided to go ashore. The was another public pontoon there which made getting ashore easy and a short track to an old wood BBQ on the foreshore however there wasn’t much else as it seemed the area was mostly farmland and houses. So following our short trip ashore we decided to weigh anchor and see how far we could get down this little tributary. Turns out it wasn’t that far only about another mile before it became too shallow at low tide. But we were still waiting for the tide to change so we could continue up the main river so rather then go back to where we were that morning this seemed like the perfect spot to anchor and have lunch.
Following our lunch stop we weighed anchor once more and made for the main channel, checking out the Beauty Point Yacht Club before finding an anchorage for the night. We had decided to take the river in 10nm increments as it was the weekend and we wanted to reach Launceston on a weekday so we could reach the town when everything was open. That afternoon we anchored just beyond the Batman Bridge in Spring Bay. Going under the bridge was a surreal experience as we broke speed records on Allagai, the GSP clocked us at going 9.2kts as the full force of the current was squeezed through the narrow passage.
We stayed in Spring Bay until the following afternoon when the tide changed. This was a nice anchorage however with no where to land a dingy ashore we had no choice but to stay on board Allagai until it was time to weigh anchor. That day we had decided to motor another 10nm up the Tamar River to a spot called Gravelly Beach. Gravelly Beach had a small town and so the anchorage was quite crowded with moorings although thankfully we found a clear spot on the edge to drop our anchor.
Once again we only stayed here until the tide changed the next afternoon. But before leaving we made sure that we went ashore for a short walk along the foreshore. However once back on board it was time to weigh anchor and continue up the river. That day we only moved about 2-3nm to a spot called Windemere, again only staying until the following days change of tide. This was to be the last stop before Launceston. The following morning we would be catching the morning tide for a change so we could make the most of our time in Launceston.
This meant that the following morning we were up on sunrise motoring up the last windy ten miles of the river reaching Launceston about 9am and tying up at the local marina. This was perfect because it meant we had the entire day to roam the town, sightseeing and buying anything we needed. We decided to spend three nights in Launceston, the first day was dedicated to shopping, mostly hardware and boat maintenance items. But the second and third days were for exploring, riding our bikes all over the town, its back streets and its bike paths. While in Launceston we visited the museum, hiked the Cataract Gorge and visited the town city park which also happened to host a Macaque Monkey exhibit. While in Launceston we had Allagai tied up one of the local marinas which made coming and going from the boat very easy, especially because the town suffers from a muddy silt problem. While in town we found out that at low tide (the Tamar River has 3-4m tides) there is no water in the basin around the town only mud. However the mud was made up of very fine silt and so although Allagai was sitting in the mud she sank down into the mud raising the waterline only a few inches. This was the most bizarre thing I think either of us had ever seen, Allagai was floating in mud and the centerboard case would bubble and gurgle air out at each tide change.
On the fourth morning it was finally time to say good-bye to Launceston, we had done a small reprovision and bought everything needed for a little maintenance. We left the marina around late morning just as the tide changed to outgoing and of course it was our luck that it started to rain. It was also a little windy that morning but nothing we couldn’t motor into and with the tide in our favour we made good speed. That day we were only going as far as Windemere and it was just as we were reaching that stretch of river that things got interesting. It was the last bend and we were entering into a straight and had 1.8nm to go to the anchorage when the wind picked up straight on the bow to 20-30kts with a heavy downpour of rain. Under normal circumstances this wouldn’t have been too bad but the tide was in full force in the opposite direction to the wind causing the waves to dramatically stand up with each gust. As we bounced over the waves the dingy on the davits would practically float as we hit the bottom of the waves. It was about half way along this last stretch that the jib tied in the bow net came loose and was washed over board, held to the boat only by its sheets. What made matters worse was that since we weren’t using it it was still in its sail bag and with Hugo on the helm it was my job to go to the bow to wrestle it back on board. In the drenching rain and water coming over the bow I was quickly soaked through. All this was much harder then needed to be because the sail bag which was still on the jib had completely filled with water making it very hard to pull on board because it was so heavy. However eventually I managed it, but mainly because the bow had dipped so low in a wave it had partially floated itself onboard. It took us about an hour but we finally made it to the anchorage having passed through one of the most intense squalls to get there. Once the anchor was dropped though the landscape and weather completely changed. No sooner was the anchor in the water the rain, which had accompanied us the entire three hour sail, stopped and the wind eased off to a gentle 5-10kts, we both couldn’t believe our luck.
The following day we weighed anchor as the tide changed around midday and headed off downstream. That day we only traveled about 6nm and anchored behind egg island as we intended to go ashore the following day for a walk. We had decided to use the bikes to ride 6km to the Mt Direction trail head. This seemed like a relatively straight forward idea however the morning we decided to leave we had wind against tide which created little standing waves. However we weren’t to be deterred and loaded the bikes, our gear and ourselves into our little dingy and headed ashore. By some miracle we made it ashore without any mishaps and stayed completely dry and so before we knew it we were on our way. The ride to Mt Direction was uphill the entire way (120m elevation) this meant that by the time we reached the trail head we were well and truly warmed up for our walk. The walk up the mountain only took us about 45 minutes and only because our muscles were feeling exhausted from our bike ride there. However once at the top, about 350m above sea level, we were reward with a well earned rest. Due to the tree cover there wasn’t much of a view from the top of this mountain however it did have some interesting history sites. At the top there was ruins of an old house, an old semaphore system and a dried up well. So after a quick morning tea and walk through all the ruins we began the walk back to the bikes, which was much easier then the walk up had been. The bike ride back to the boat was also quite a bit easier, the whole ride was down hill. This meant flying down hill in the highest gear, only touching the pedals a hand-full of times on a few flat sections.
The following day it was once again time to weigh anchor and move on, this time we were aiming for West Arm, the side channel we had anchored in on the way up. This was about 13nm away and with the tide behind us we made it there in about 3 hours, with only a quick stop at the Beauty Point yacht club pontoon to fill up the water tank. This was set to be our new home for the next few weeks as we waited for some mail to arrive. However during this time we didn’t sit idle, the fordeck and aftdeck were once again starting to feel slippery as the non-skid surface of the paint had worn away. This year though we were changing paint systems opting to use a textured paint instead of an abrasive paint. Last year we had done a test patch with Kiwi-Grip deck paint in the cockpit and we were pleased with how it had worn over the year. In total we spent just over four weeks anchored in various spots in West Arm leaving every so often to refill the water tanks and get food from Georgetown.
However eventually our waiting paid off and we had the perfect weather window to sail north leaving Tasmania behind and heading for Eden the first stop on mainland Australia on our way to Queensland for the dry season.