We are making progress with our circumnavigation of Tasmania! After a few days in Stanley, we are now on the wild West Coast having sailed to Macquarie Harbour where we will be for a while.

Here is our updated lap of Tasmania map:

Hidden in Stanley

Stanley is located at the end of a peninsula jotting out into Bass Strait. It is a picturesque cray and shark fishing village that seems to belong in a previous era. The historic settlement is nestled at the base of The Nut, a sheer-sided bluff. It is all that remains of an ancient volcanic plug and is one of Tasmania’s most distinctive landmarks.

We took residence in the fishing harbour, making good use of the newly constructed public floating jetty. We were the only yacht in port, all other vessels being fishing boats. We had intended to stay one night, drop our friend Trevor off, then leave and anchor at the Hunter Islands to wait for the right conditions to head south. However with some strong northeast winds, we were in Stanley longer than anticipated.

For the yachties among our readers, the floating jetty has four spots designed for monohulls. But one of those spots, the closest to the rock wall has enough space for a catamaran. There is not a lot of room to maneuver. It was quite stressful reversing our oversize vessel into the spot and tying it with the wind pushing us off dangerously close to some pylons. But eventually we were in and comfortable… initially!

We say ‘initially’ because while the wind was light and from the north we were sheltered. Stanley offers good protection except in easterly conditions. And guess what, the wind picked up during the night between 20 and 30 knots and shifted more to the ENE! The swell started coming in and the surge was terrible: ropes squeaking, Anui swaying back and forth, us worrying we were going to pull a cleat off the deck. We did not sleep much during our first night! Instead, we were busy lengthening the ropes, doubling up every line tying us to the floating jetty to minimize the yanking and ensure if chaffing happened and a rope broke, we would not end up on the rocks! Once that was done, the boat was safe, but it was impossible to sleep at night. We ended up spending the next two nights in a cabin at the local Caravan Park to escape the horrible creaking and screeching noises!

During the day things were not bad at all. We entertained Trevor’s family who came to pick him up on the weekend, got the boat tidied up after he left, and we went for walks. Despite the surge, we enjoyed our stay. Stanley’s beautifully preserved colonial architecture, quaint streets and lovely views make it a gorgeous place to visit, and the seafood is particularly tasty: scallop pies, oysters, tasty fish had us eating out a few times! We even checked out the little penguins at night. The photos of them aren’t the best given we could not use a flash on the camera, and they clambered up from the rocky beach to their burrows at low tide, a long way to go. It was 10pm, total darkness, when they emerged but it was fun seeing them. We are told over 50 came ashore.

Overnighter to Macquarie Harbour

Once the wind abated, we had hoped to take our time on the way down to Macquarie Harbour, and stop at Sandy Cape for a night. However our longer weather window evaporated. We had a choice to make; we could move to the Hunter Islands and wait there another week to ten days for the right conditions to go south, or head around the corner, covering the 150nm down to Macquarie Harbour in one long 21-hour passage non-stop in very light conditions. We chose the overnighter.

We left Stanley at 1.00pm, had a spirited sail to get through the maze of islands and rocks at the far NW end of Tasmania then it was time to turn south, with the wind slightly forward of beam, averaging 10 knots speed. What a hoot! It felt good to finally leave Bass Strait and be in the Southern Ocean with its defined swell lines and a multitude of seabirds. We were surrounded by lots of shearwaters and albatrosses – just magic. 

The shy albatross has long been a favourite seabird to photograph in flight. It was quite a treat to see them soaring next to us, particularly since they are a threatened species and the only endemic albatrosses in Australia. By the way, have you ever noticed the watermark on our photos? It is a stylised albatross!

By 7pm we were sailing past Cape Grim and its many wind turbines at the very far end of the Tasmanian northwest coast. Being so far south, we had another two and a half hours of daylight, one of the advantages of cruising in these waters.

It is hard to explain the feeling of finally sailing this wild coast on Anui. Exhilaration, excitement, a tinge of apprehension. The exhilaration was short lived though as the wind slowly came on our nose as expected, and we had to motor-sail from sundown till dawn. Just as well we are not purists!

By early morning, we had light easterlies and were sailing again. It was serene, misty and otherworldly. We could hardly distinguish the coastline and the mountains in the distance. We had stayed a fair way offshore to avoid crayfish pots at night! It certainly did not look like the scary wild west coast, and we had a sense of gratitude to finally be able to return to this remote part of Tasmania – seven years since our last circumnavigation!

We reached Hells Gates, the entrance to the magnificent natural waterways of Macquarie Harbour by 10.00am on Tuesday, and our anchorage at Betsy’s Bay a couple of hours later, on the western shores of the harbour.

The name of the entrance to this natural harbour was not given because it is hellish for vessels to enter, although it is notoriously dangerous in strong winds and very shallow. It relates to the original convicts who were transported to the Macquarie Harbour Penal Colony on Sarah Island. For them it was the entrance to hell: a life of ultra banishment and confinement. But for us, it heralds a remarkable and long awaited part of our voyage.

There is a lot to see in this shallow fjord six times the size of Sydney harbour! We will be spending some time exploring and hiking. So join us next Friday for a breathtaking wander around Macquarie Harbour.