We left Eden at around 3pm on Tuesday, as the southerlies died down. Unfortunately, the seas took longer to settle and I felt decidedly off for the first half of the trip.
The winds remained friendly, on the port quarter at 10-15kts, so we mainly motor-sailed across Bass Strait and down the coast of Tasmania.
Bass Strait Dawn
We decided to stop at Shoal Bay on Maria Island, arriving just after midnight on Friday. After a shower and the celebratory dram we hit our bunks.
The next morning we looked at the weather for transiting the Denison Canal. The tides looked good for mid to late afternoon, the winds were light northerlies, but there was a worrying forecast for the seas to grow to 2-3m from the ENE by afternoon, making the bar on the Marion Bay side potentially treacherous. We kept an eye on the Tas Maritime webcam covering the bar and could see some motorboats coming and going despite breaking waves just outside the entrance, so we set off at noon, hoping to get in before the swell got worse.
As we approached the bar we could see waves breaking to either side and occasionally across the entrance. Alex was just about to abort and head back to Maria Island when he saw a break and decided to go for it. It was a bit exciting as we rode in with a small breaking wave just behind us, but the current was not too strong and we got through without mishap.
Pictures from Tas Maritime webcam (thanks Mark & Russell for the screenshots!)
View from on board:
We passed through the canal around 3pm and decided to push on to the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. We picked up the CYCT mooring in Barnes Bay at 8:30pm and celebrated (once again) the end of the passage. The next morning we were up early and motored across the channel to our berth in Kettering, where we were greeted by our new berth neighbours, Jonno and Sandy on Ochre.
After more than 15 months, Rusalka is back home and her crew are ready for some rest before our next adventures. I think Alex will be posting a wrap up about the trip, so check back in again soon.
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