Tuesday 12 February 2019
Prince of Wales Bay Marina (Hobart)
It WAS to be the start of a four-day jaunt down the Derwent and east towards the Tasman Peninsular and Norfolk Bay. A chance to visit some secluded anchorages and explore more of this beautiful part of the world. Mark Stephenson would be joining us and we were looking forward to spending some time away from the marina.
We also planned to fuel-up with diesel. Partly to prepare for the return leg starting on the 24 February and partly to know exactly how much fuel we had actually used on the way down from Westernport. We’d filled the five diesel tanks prior to departing on the 28th of January and so all we had to do now was re-fill them to know where we stood.
As it turned out, the weather had other ideas. In the end I suppose we COULD have gone, but this IS a “Freedom Sail”, NOT a torture-test, and so I declared a “Lay Day”.
Since our marina didn’t sell fuel, we planned to pick it up across the river, just 10 minutes away, at the Motor Yacht Club of Tasmania.
Our friend, Peter Wright is a member there, and on a good day we could have just pulled into their fuel dock, top up the tanks and then be on our way. But this was NOT a good day. Even in the sheltered confines of their marina, the wind gusts could be an “issue”, making it difficult to manoeuvre which could potentially lead to damage; to be avoided at all costs.
Our appointment with the fuel dock would have to wait and so we tentatively put it off till the next day. We also notified Mark Stephenson, who was able to take a more leisurely time with his wife Denise, as they drove down from Devonport.
Aboard Chimere, it was like we had all retreated back into our “burrows”. Some slept, some read, some cooked and there were always things to fix and maintain. Outside the wind and the rain were persistent companions, and I think it was Murray in the afternoon who announced after looking up a Weather website, “… it’s currently 9 degrees, but feels like 4 degrees … snow above 800 metres” … and we could believe it, all the while reminding ourselves that this was actually summer !
Mark joined us later in the day, with Linda, Liz and Murray driving to the shops for vittles and provisions … actually it was just some groceries, but this IS a boat and so we buy vittles and provisions, not groceries.
The day was broken up nicely with a drive across the Tasman Bridge for afternoon tea at Peter and Gigi Wright’s home in Lindisfarne, just a short walk from the Motor Yacht club. This was a welcome break and also gave me the chance to check out the lay of the land, so to speak, at the fuel dock, where we hoped to visit the next day.
As for the next day … the weather looked like it was starting to lift, with a much kinder forecast on the way.
In the end, the collective view on the Tuesday lay day … it was a “good call” and everyone made good use of their time !
Smooth seas, fair breeze and a day of rest
Rob Latimer
Freedom Sail 