Back in Hobart
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Position: 43 04.49 S 148 09.26
E Yesterday we enjoyed a short sail from Quarantine Bay to Kettering, initially heading south, tacking against a gentle breeze for a couple of hours before reversing course and running before the wind to Kettering. The highlight of our little sail was sighting perhaps the most famous of Alan Payne's yachts, the 1970 America's Cup challenger, Gretel II, sailing south down the D'Entrecasteaux Channel and sporting her original sail number, KA3. Naturally Gretel very quickly disappeared from view. At 1600 we pulled alongside a friend's boat, Southern Hope, in Kettering where we spent the night. I have crossed paths with my friend Roger Wallis previously in some remote locations, including Nuuk in Greenland, Anchorage in Alaska, and Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, though we only met up in the last named port. Roger is an intrepid Australian who has spent a large part of his life running charter boats, power and sail, in the high latitudes, particularly Antartica, the sub-Antartic islands, Greenland and the North West Passage. Southern Hope will be his next adventure charter boat and while there is still some six months of work to be done to have the vessel ready, he already has a charter lined up for a party of HAM radio operators who want to set up a station on the world's most remote island, Bouvet Island. Looking at the island on Google Earth, the voyage looks like its going to be a very challenging indeed. Needless to say we enjoyed an interesting conversation over a pub meal, catching up on each other's adventures. Today we got under way from Kettering at 1000, sailing mostly downwind up the D'Entrecasteaux Channel then the River Derwent, arriving back at Hobart and tying up alongside the Kings Pier Marina at 1342. This afternoon we have done the laundry and restored ship. Tomorrow Ada will be flying back to Sydney ending her short cruise aboard Sylph, while Sylph, Oli and I will be heading back to Adelaide. All is well. |