As the weather looked a bit more settled in the East and looked perfect for crossing Banks Straight we turned right at Conara and headed NE.
I had not seen these GPS markers before, very handy just to check the settings and accuracy of your GPS unit. Thanks MAST.
I had never been out to Eddystone Lighthouse so we decided to start the trip nearby at Deep Creek, launching the kayak on the high tide just metres from the tent, very handy.
Looking from Deep Creek towards George Rocks 5km away. The huge pall of smoke is from the bushfire on Clarke Island which started near the airstrip on the NW shore of the island a day or so before.
Approaching George Rocks.
Looking back towards Deep Creek and Eddystone Point.
We had a fantastic southerly sailing wind from George Rocks so the 27km to Swan Island went very quickly. Swan Is is privately owned and years ago we had heard access was discouraged as there was an exclusive retreat based at the old light keepers houses. The island though was not only deserted but looked as if it had been that way for a long time, though according to the signs we were under surveillance.
After a night on Swan Island we crossed Banks Straight the next morning to arrive on the now totally blackened Clarke Island. There was no sign of ongoing fire apart from two small wisps of smoke in the distance. The fire had burnt everything right to the edge of the beach and from what we saw seems to have burnt virtually the whole island.
We've never had much luck trolling lures behind the kayak but between Clarke Is and Forsyth Is Lynne caught this lovely couta.
We continued on around Moriarty Point and along the east coast of Clarke Is then across to Forsyth and Passage Islands. There are a couple of grazers' huts and an airstrip on Passage Island and most importantly, as it is hard to find in this part of the world, tanks full of fresh rainwater collected from the hut roofs.
I have heard that Sea Lion Narrows between Passage Is and Cape Barren Is has the strongest tidal flows of anywhere in Tasmania. The channel is only about 1km long and 500m wide but has currents of 6 knots or more at peak flow. We had the flooding tidal current against us but worked our way along close to the shore of Passage Is then did a ferry glide across to the opposite shore.
Camp that night was at Petticoat Bay on a flat level grassy ledge looking out over the Tasman Sea.
Fresh water can be very hard to find in the Furneaux Islands so it is important to always carry at least a couple of days' worth. The next day, with this in mind we stopped off at Thirsty Point on the east coast of Cape Barren Is. The point has large areas of granite slabs with depressions that collect rainwater. Most of them were brackish but two had mozzie wrigglers in them, ensuring that although full of wildlife, the water was fresh. There was also a well dessicated dead seal that enabled us to practice our Leatherman dentistry skills when removing the large canine teeth.
There was not a breath of wind that day and it was stiflingly hot so it was a bit of a plod up the east coast of Cape Barren Is to the wreck of the barque Farsund. As we had not paddled the east coast of Vansittart Is we continued north knowing by this time the flooding tide would be pouring around Ross Point, the northern tip of Vansittart Is, into Franklin Sound.
We were still a few kms from Ross Point and the tide started drawing us towards the entrance to Franklin Sound at an ever increasing rate. We shot past Briggs Islet and headed for Great Dog Island, encountering a very strong rip off the SE point which can be seen in the picture.
We camped in the little bay on the SE coast of Great Dog Is 13 years ago on a family trip with our daughters Louisa and Megan as well as Craig, Desley and their children Amy and Rowan. We couldn't find our tent sites from that trip but soon found a cosy alternative in amongst the boobyala. In 2001 we had watched the most spectacular sunset from the rock headland while at exactly the same time the full moon rose from the eastern horizon. We didn't get the full moon this time but did get a great sunset.
The next morning we set off west through Franklin Sound in dead calm conditions with the flooding tide pushing us along. As we had plenty of time and the weather was still very settled we headed out to Mt Chappell Island then on to Badger Is and hopefully Goose Island.
We stopped for a quick break on Sarah Blanche Point on the SW tip of Flinders Is. A SE breeze had picked up, just enough to get the sails up for the 13km crossing to the unmistakeable shape of Mt Chappell Is, but by this time the tide had started to ebb so it was a slow crossing despite the wind.
Just off the beach on the eastern shore of Mt Chappel Is and well and truly ready for some lunch. When we were here in 2010 the abandoned huts near this beach were still, just, collecting rainwater, but now the guttering had fallen off and what water was in the tank was definitely not drinkable.
Our campsite at Lucy Point on Badger Island looking back towards Mt Chappell Is. It was so hot we looked for quite a while for a spot with some shade.
Nearby was an unused hut with good guttering and a full water tank outside and just about all that was inside were some pornographic magazines, a nutty religious book decrying the decadence of modern life and about 50kg of fencing staples. I suppose the magazines were there just so those reading the book could check first hand on the decadence referred to in the book.
Love the bar code!
For a couple of days the forecast for Tuesday had been NW 10-15kts, just perfect for a fast sail assisted crossing of Banks Strait. With this in mind we had a short day on the Monday from Preservation Is to Spike Bay on Clarke Is, our jumping off point for the crossing.
Spike Bay is just spectacular, one of our top spots of anywhere around the coast of Tasmania. Some small areas seemed to have escaped the fire, too.
The morning forecast for Tuesday and our crossing dashed any hopes of an easy sail assisted trip. Variable 10knots, meant little wind if any so a few hours plodding along to get from Lookout Head to Swan Is.
We had never been into the adjacent Rebecca Bay so we had a quick look before turning around and heading pretty much due south across Banks St.
We left Lookout Head about an hour or so before high water slack so in theory we should have slack water in the middle of the Strait but the current flowed NW most of the way across slowing us considerably but gradually Swan Is lighthouse grew in size as we got closer. You can see Swan Is lighthouse in the picture and just see some of 54 wind turbines that now stretch along the Musselroe coast line. We thought it was very inconsiderate of them though not to put one of turbines in line with Lookout Head and Swan Is lighthouse making perfect leading marks for crossing Banks Strait.
At last Swan Is and lunch.
The last landing was at one of the Stumpys Bay campsites through horrible 1.5m dumping waves. We got in all right but we just couldn't work out a way of leaving the beach in the morning, as there was no respite from a big and powerful explosion of surf every 10/15 seconds. We could have tried but it would have been messy and we would have only got off with a lot of luck - without that luck the thought of being in such explosively powerful surf in company with a fully laden double was not attractive. There was nothing else for it but to walk the 15km south to Deep Creek to pick up the van.
And drive home.
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