A Time of Transition

Friday 22 February 2019
Thursday 21 February 2019
Wednesday 20 February 2019

Prince of Wales Bay Marina

The sailing adventures of “Stage 1” are now at an end. Chimere has successfully transported us all the way from Melbourne to Hobart, she has been the home of many for nearly a month, exploring many of Tasmania’s wonderful bays and waterways.

While doing the laundry at the marina facilities, one of the crew members found this book amongst the pile … always something you can learn…

This fella got a bit of use from the Chimere crew

Plastic step ladder on a plastic pontoon deck makes for a slippery surface …
… good ol’ duct tape !

It was now a time of transition as we addressed a range of tasks, including maintenance, cleaning, food-buying, fare-welling old crew and welcoming the new. There was even some time to do some site-seeing in town, in particular the Maritime Museum and the Art Gallery & Museum, not to mention a brief stop at the Hope & Anchor … a pub dating from 1807 claiming to be the oldest in Australia; which surprisingly also turned out to be a museum in its own right

Murray snapped this shot returning to the boat from airport drop-off duty Wednesday morning … it was a super-moon apparently

Because we are “between adventures”, it seems appropriate to combine the last three days, given it’s probably less interesting to most.

We had been wanting to explore the Maritime Museum for some time, but after viewing many of the exhibits which inevitably involved wrecks, disasters and rescues … plus an awful lot beyond rescue … I’m NOT sure it was such a wise thing. Particularly given so many of the “exhibits” featured the west coast of Tasmania … the very place we would be venturing to next.

Here’s something good about the good ol’ days … no need for silly study and wasting time at school … here’s a story about a young lad in 1838 who gave up his violin studies in Paris to become a Ships Surgeon aboard the Henry … his qualifications no doubt being that he could read and was breathing when he applied for the job. No need for Professional Indemnity either … just settle disputes by means of a duel!

One thing we have, that the early explorers and pioneers didn’t have, is of course better weather forecasting, and as far as we can tell the outlook for early next week appears calm and settled. Perfect for exploring the many remote bays and coves of the South West.

Having parked directly across the road from a pub that claimed to be our oldest hotel, we felt it would be un-Australian NOT to go inside for a quiet ale.

To quote Joni Mitchell … “They put up a parking lot …” but at least in this case the quaint old establishments at the front were retained … the one on the corner claiming to be the oldest pub in Australia – 1807

Not just a pub, but upstairs it was very much a museum with very much a hunting and killing theme

Murray sums up his choice of weapon, upstairs at the oldest pub in Australia …

Organising food was another one of those big tasks – making an inventory of what we already have, assessing the eating requirements of the next 3 weeks and then compiling a suitable list to make an assault on the local supermarket.

The great thing about Isabel and Ray coming in three days early was that Linda could assist with the changeover, with Isabel, like her sister Rosie before her, assuming command of the galley in a highly proficient and experience manner.

Ray Jones and Isabel Whyte enjoy their first morning coffee aboard Chimere at the Price of Wales Bay Marina with Mt Wellington behind

The freezer is always a tricky thing to access, as well as defrost …

Linda and Isabel take charge of the galley … “Does my bum look big in this freezer …?”
… “That’s a trick question isn’t it …?”

Smooth seas, fair breeze and A Time of Transition

Rob Latimer

Seagulls
Coming from Melbourne I’m familiar with seagulls, or Silver Gulls as they are more correctly known. I’ve also seen enough Pacific Gulls in my time making the occasional squawk. So what are these birds that make a sound like an episode of Doc Martin, or Poldark. Or like a “Seagull Clip-audio” sound bite

As I hear them calling from the roof of the big shed nearby I also think back to walking along the seaside at Brighton Beach in southern England … yet here they are alive and flying around here in Tasmania.

A quick web-search revealed them to be Kelp Gulls, which are very much at home here … have a listen here …

https://download.ams.birds.cornell.edu/api/v1/asset/535332