Tuesday (AM), 29 January 2019

Bass Strait Crossing

After the confused and lumpy seas at the entrance to Westernport we were able to maintain our course with the aid of the ever-reliable Perkins motor and a mixture of light breezes; which turned out to be mostly on the nose… why is that?!

We were joined from time to time by  pods of dolphin which played at the bow occasionally looking up as if to say … “look at me, look at me, I’m a flipping dolphin” … to borrow a line from Finding Nemo.

We all played a part in keeping watch through the day, as some slept in an effort to find their sea legs

As the wind picked up briefly, sufficient to turn the motor off, Rosie made a remarkable recovery, sufficient to rival Lazarus.  This was demonstrated by an hour in the gallery chopping vegetables to be then baked in the oven… something of a first aboard Chimere – baked vegetables I mean.  The tasty veggies were accompanied by even more delectable rissoles which even though they fell apart somewhat still earned the time honoured response… “what do ya call these darl?”  … “but it’s what you do to it …”

Alistair was less interested in eating than he was in sleeping and as the sun made its way to the horizon, Bill and Rosie took first “official” watch till around 11:30pm with me catching some sleep 

The wind remained light, (just off the bow) and the sea flattened off completely, enabling us to still make around 6-7 knots, thanks to our trusty motor and a very clean hull and propeller 

The blackness of the night revealed an awesome sky of stars above and a light-show of phosphorescence below.  The bow wake rippling out either side of us with a clearly defined leading edge and following trail that glowed a radioactive green. Added to this were the continuing dolphin visit… when do those guys sleep… which resembled glowing torpedoes with their phosphorescent trails defining their every movement.

I took over the watch from around midnight as Bill retired for a well earned sleep; Rosie having gone to bed some time earlier 

The moon crept above the horizon off the port bow around 1:00am, first as an orange crescent, then whitish yellow with a reflective trail rippling on the sea all the way to the horizon

Around 3:30am the wind returned, this time from the south, enabling me to set the jib once more. After cutting the engine revs back we were easily making 7 knots and more over a flat sea.  Just 50 miles and this first hop to Flinders Island will be complete 

It’s amazing how phone and internet communications have been maintained most of the way, just by means of the iPhone.  It’s a far cry from just a few years back when you were lucky to have VHF radio coverage to a coastal operator and certainly no phone coverage.

It’s funny the cravings that come over you. At lunch it was a can of spaghetti, at 2:00am it was ice cream and frozen mud cake with chocolate sauce.  It came to mind because I saw it being packed into the freezer on Sunday.  In a way it was for the benefit of all because there was a lingering concern that the freezer wasn’t turned down cold enough. And there’s nothing worse than soft ice cream?!  I’m sure there is, but you know what I mean. 

Anyway, I can now safely report that the freezer is working satisfactorily   I can also report that coffee helps keep you awake while on watch 

Our destination at the southern end of the Furneaux Group is Presentation Island. As the name suggests, it’s a place with an amazing and intriguing history, certainly of “preservation” but also of courage and endurance involving a ship wreck and a rescue saga that involved a 600km walk from the Ninety Mile Beach in Gippsland, where the ship’s longboat ran aground, all the way to Sydney, in 1797!  It’s well worth Googling to discover more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preservation_Island

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Cove_(1796_ship)

Smooth seas, fair breeze and the voyage begins in earnest 

Rob Latimer

Monday (AM), 28 January 2019

Leaving Western Port, Course 118 degrees

Sleep came easily if the sound of snoring aboard was any guide.  Not mine of course, I couldn’t hear that.

We were up at 5:00am as agreed and after breakfast and some leisurely preparation, the lines were finally untied around 6:00am and Chimere backed out of her berth and finally set sail.

When I say “sail” … there were no sails involved, just the engine, because there was no wind.  The morning light was starting to reveal our surroundings, with the dew and chill disguising the fact that the forecast was for a temperature of around 30 degrees; on land.

It’s now approaching 8:00am, we are nearing the Nobbies on Phillip Island (home of the penguins, and motor racing) and the warmth of the sun is starting to penetrate. 

Alistair is on watch, making sure we don’t do damage to one of the many (many, many) fishing boats that are taking advantage of today being a holiday (Australia Day long week-end)  It is definitely a bad day for the fish today.  There must be 30 or 40 small craft in sight as we make our way down the bay.

Rosie was kind enough to take charge of making tea and toast for us all, and Bill is generally keeping watch too as we soak up the beautiful surroundings and the fact that we are FINALLY underway.

As for me, I’m currently jotting down a few words on the computer and will soon be organising work gangs to stain the toe rail, scrub the decks and generally attend to a range of tasks aboard … when I said “South Pacific Cruise”, you didn’t think it was a “pleasure” cruise did you?! (Insert emoji of a joking, laughing face here)

The combination of the outgoing tide and the engine has us doing around 7.5 knots (multiply by 1.8 to get km/h) and I suppose we’ll have to put up some sails once we find the wind … or it finds us.  The wind is expected from the W-NW region, so it will mean a smooth ride as we head roughly SE.

Smooth seas, fair breeze and out into the BIG Blue

Rob Latimer

Sunday (PM), 27 January 2019

Western Port, Hastings VIC

Everything aboard Chimere is packed away or lashed down.  Water and fuel tanks are full and there’s a definite sense of anticipation as we indulge in a tot or two of Aldi, “Keeper’s Glove”, $4.99 Tawny Port (for medicinal purposes only of course) …

The plan for tomorrow then is to be up at 5:00am so that we can get away at first light, ideally around 5:30, or maybe 6:00.  The trick being to catch the outgoing tide, which will definitely add a couple of knots to our speed.

The weather forecast remains encouraging and we are looking forward to a relatively smooth start to the cruise, Starting with a 30 hour trek diagonally across Bass Strait in a south easterly direction.

Thank you so much to our ground-crew Linda, who assisted with all the last minute transport, packing and food purchasing !!  Linda will be travelling over to Tassie with friends Liz and Murray (by plane and ferry) in a couple of days.  So, unlike many of the past sailing ventures, this time we’ll get to see each other along the way.

It’s now nearly 11:00pm (23:00 hours) sleep is overtaking us and so cheerio until tomorrow.

Smooth seas, fair breeze and away by 5:30am

Rob Latimer

Sunday (AM), 27 January 2019

Western Port Marina, Hastings VIC

After months of planning and preparation the “Freedom Sail” is about to commence.

This afternoon, our trusty crew of four … that’s me, Alistair, Bill and Rosie … will go aboard Chimere at the Westernport Marina. After completing a range of last minute tasks (there’s quite a few still on the list) we aim to head away in the morning on the outgoing tide (the Ebb).

If all goes to plan, you should be able to track our path – our location, track, speed, heading etc … at the following site …
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:4999839/mmsi:503054450/imo:0/vessel:CHIMERE

The Freedom Sail celebrates my retirement last year and is planned to take in a circumnavigation of Tasmania … that country to the south of Australia. Although I believe they are quite sensitive to “jokes” like that down there …

Our course will take us diagonally across Bass Strait to the NE tip of Tassie, (a slight modification to the course shown on the map below, which has us first stopping at Devonport) and from there down the east coast and then up the west coast over a period of 48 days.

The great thing about this particular sail is that Linda and friends, Liz and Murray, will be taking a car across in the next few days so as to join us at different stages, enabling them to enjoy some of the more sheltered sailing regions – eg Coles Bay, Maria Island, Port Arthur and south of Hobart

There will also be the Wooden Boat Festival to enjoy … https://www.australianwoodenboatfestival.com.au/ … with our return course taking in the remote west coast … Port Davey, Bathurst Harbour, Strahan, Macquarie Habour (through Hell’s Gate) and the Gordon River.

Along the way, we hope to have inter-web connections so we can upload photos and a record of the Ship’s Log … or at least my version of it.

A big thank you to those who have assisted in getting Chimere ready for sea, and all the volunteer crew who have signed up for different stages. If all goes to plan we are in for an adventure of a lifetime !!

As we prepare for our departure, the good news is that the current weather forecast looks favourable; in terms of wind direction, strength and sea conditions. (All subject to change of course, see store for details, and get a second opinion…)

Smooth seas, fair breeze and the journey begins (nearly)

Rob Latimer