Oli Madness Over
Where Next?
Bob Williams
Sat 6 Jan 2024 06:47
|
Position: 43 08.18
S 147 21.35 E At anchor Simmonds Bay, 'the Duck Pond' Wind: E, F2 Sea: calm Swell: nil Weather: overcast, mild Day's Run: 25 nm The last few days have been mostly about Oli, with well-wishers visiting Sylph and wanting to see the now world famous feline. He even got a cartoon drawn of him in the local paper, the Mercury. Alongside the 'Oli-mania', we have enjoyed the usual friendly Tasmanian hospitality and I want to particularly mention Lorraine and Chris who bought Oli a new cat tray and also had Ada and I around to dinner one evening in their beautiful house. But now the days are starting to return to their more usual calmer pace and it feels good to be able to relax and not have some detail of Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race preparations to worry about. Last night I enjoyed a final crew gathering at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania with Chris, his partner, Marrie, and my friend Ada. Both Marrie and Ada have provided the Sylph team with fantastic support and helped make it possible for us to successfully complete the race. It seemed fitting to conclude the race at the other yacht club that makes this huge complex event possible. Now Ada and I are planning on enjoying a quiet week cruising around the D'Entrecasteaux Channels before she returns to Sydney and I continue back to Adelaide. To that end we departed the Kings Street Marina at 0915 this morning and sailed down the River Derwent, tacking up wind as went, then entering the Channel at 1245, where, a short while later, we handed sail and came to anchor off Nebraska Beach near a friend's yacht, the Ambler (Wayne and Cathy). We paddled across in a little Zodiac inflatable that another friend had given us on 'permanent loan' (thank you Andrew) and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon catching up on each other's news. At 1400 we weighed anchor and motored a couple of miles into Simmonds Bay, dropping anchor in a very secluded spot known as the "Duck Pond". Here we found another acquaintance and fellow S2H competitor at anchor in their beautiful timber cutter, the Allegresse (Mike and Tracy), but for now we will leave them in peace as we enjoy a quiet night ourselves. All is well. |