Tassie Circumnavigation Maquarie Harbour[Strahan] to Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour

Monday 14/3 at anchor in Pilot Bay.
Cool morning; overcast.
Woke at 4.30 am; underway at 5.00am. Rock & rolled a little last night at anchor but not nearly as bad at the same anchorage on the way in. Wind from the SE/SW during the morning with 3-5 metre swell. Some 100 nm to travel.
Had to tack all the way - sometimes it seemed we were going backwards with sideways here, sideways there, crisscrossing our rhumb line. We made slow progress and used the motor to add to our efforts. We were sailing to the wind trying to keep the sails in the 30^o power zone. My stomach felt a little precious maybe because of the days we’ve had stationary in Strahan or just due to the irregular action of the waves and swell.
Shifts Barry & Chris 8.30-10.30pm; Tony & Ian 10.30pm-12.30 am etc.
We arrived at 6am on Tuesday morning anchored just inside Port Davey in Bond Bay. All tired and cold. Had very little to eat but well.The sleeping bags were great to climb into, asleep before our heads touched the pillow.

Tuesday 15/3 at anchor in Port Davey.
Overcast day; 16C
Woke at about 10.30 am quite refreshed but low on energy. Inflated the Zodiac put the outboard on with the view that we would explore the Davey River. We travelled under yacht power to the Davey River where there is a rock & sandbar near the entrance. Because it was cold &wet with rain showers we decided to stay on board and cook a roast dinner.
Cooking on board isn’t really a chore when you are anchored or the seas are calm, however there is always the "brains trust " sitting around who will give you advice on what you are doing wrong! But no it’s a pleasure when no matter what the food tastes like, they are always grateful for any burnt offering.
The three burner gastop and oven swings on a gimble as the waves necessitate the boat to heel one way or the other. The pots on the top can be further stabilised by arms that fit around the hot pot. Our roast for today was lamb, potatoes, pumpkin, carrots and onion. We were in bed by 8.30 and slept well.

Wednesday 16/3 at anchor mouth of Davey River.
Overcast morning with sunny spells developing 19C  

Travelled back over the entrance into Port Davey towards Bathurst Channel and Bathurst Harbour. Wind from the West creating rollers like going on the Sydney to Manly ferry when ocean rollers are coming in through the heads. The journey down the Bathurst channel ended up being one of the highlights of the trip so far. We had the sails up doing about 3-4 knots with steep mountains/hills on either side. The sun was on our faces and all was well with the world.
Magnificent mountain wilderness; no houses, no people, just Mother Nature at her best. We had to rely on the GPS and depth sounder to guide us through the channel with us wiggling one side to the other as we sailed. Our destination was just inside Bathurst Harbour at a landing of an old homestead that had been built by a cray fisherman "Barnes" in the early 1900. The house is now maintained by National Parks and provides freshwater from tanks attached to the homestead. The homestead was uninhabited but open, so we signed the visitors book and walked up the hill behind the house to get a view of the surroundings. We took a self portrait of the four of us with the yacht in the bay below. On descent we filled up the water tanks and filled our fuel tanks with extra fuel we were carrying.
Travelled back along the channel under motor and anchored in Casilda Cove just outside Horseshoe Inlet. Good quiet anchorage with three other yachts within view. Slept well.

17/3 Thursday At anchor in Casilda Cove.
Showers in morning sunny periods in pm.16C
Woke at 7.30am; our idea was to go for a walk this morning up one of the adjacent hills but decided not to as we didn't know how we would get warm or dry our clothing as we were aiming to sail out of Port Davey tomorrow. BBQ planned for all that were in the fleet if they wanted to at Horseshoe Bay at 12.30pm today.

About 18 yachts turned up I counted about 65 people. Rubber dinghies galore. Jeremy our radio "scheds" liason guy arrived and duly tripped out of his dinghy, so he turned around, went back to his yacht "Rosinante" and changed.
We took onions, potatoes, saddle straps of lamb. I cooked with two beers and some red wine. Great lunch with lots of chat and “how are you mate” going backwards and forwards amongst the throng. Discussion was had by many on what’s the latest forecast for  tomorrow because it looks like if we don't go tomorrow we could be here for a few more days.
The journey we want to undertake is to Recherche Bay pronounced "research" about 65nm; the forecast is for 5-6 metre swells with winds W/SW at 20-25 knots.
The opinions were mixed about 50/50 whether to go or stay. Our skipper decided we were going. Tomorrow was going to be a challenge but we were up for it!
Scrambled eggs & bacon for tea in bed by 9pm.