Ahoy shipmates.
I'm planning to spend 2019 cruising up the East Coast as far as FNQ and plan to leave Launceston (Tamar River) and cross Bass Strait around late Feb / early March.
I crossed from N to S last year (late December) with my dad, but the next time will be solo.
We went from Lakes Entrance to Deal Island, then on to Low Head ... got pretty ugly towards the end and with a dead autopilot, I spent the last 10 hours on the helm with lots of water in the cockpit and a bit of blue water over the bow.
I have a Swanson 28 with a good motor and good sails, but don't really relish days battling angry seas alone, so next time I will pick my time of year better.
This is my first keelboat, which I bought in Bundaberg and solo sailed down to Bermagui, then met my father for the Bass crossing. Prior to this I have had several small trailer-sailers and learned to sail on Hobie Cats in my teens ... so not hugely experienced in open seas.
So, my question is this ...
1) is there a better route than Tamar / Deal Island / Lakes Entrance?
2) what time of year is the best for wind direction, sea state and predictable weather?
3) any advice for a sailor of moderate keel boat experience?
I intend to dawdle up to Queensland so that I don't meet the monsoons, but I do want to ride the SE trades as far as the tropics.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Seahorse.
Unfortunately you are right now at the end of the best time of year for crossing BS. But that's not to say you can't go now, especially if you want to do it in easy day-hops. There are plenty of places to anchor safely in the Furneaux group, and from there you have Deal and/or Refuge, Corner Inlet, or go straight to Lakes depending on your weather window and confidence. While you wait and plan, buy a copy of the Cruising Yacht Association of Victoria's superb Cruising Victoria book (via their website). It will give you knowledge that will add immeasurably to both your pleasure and your safety.
And since you are soloing across BS and relying on tiller-pilots, take a spare. Ask me how I know.......
Cheers, Graeme
I'm sure many more wise and experienced heads will reply. We crossed Eden to Schouten passage early March and had a dream crossing.
My advice, for what it's worth, is to haunt the forecasts and wait for a good window. A daily chat through with others waiting to cross really helped.
You might consider one hop. If you break the journey you may stray into the unreliable end of the forecast period.
We have a little Compass Northerner 28, so were also keen not to get anything too hairy.
We chose our route in order to avoid going into the shallower water of the strait on our 1st crossing.
Solo is, of course, possible. However, it's all a lot easier with 2. You might have a mate to go along. Alternatively, there are probably a few friendly, experienced Tasmanian sailors who'd help you out for the price of the travel back.
You really don't want to lose the auto pilot soloing. Maybe buy or borrow a spare and/or get comfortable with a sheet to tiller arrangement . If you have 3 on board it's not an issue.
I'm sure you're on top of all the safety stuff, but do wear a pfd & harness & consider a personal plb.
Cheers & good luck.
Bristol
Wongaga is dead right about the Cruising Victoria book. Excellent.
The RYCT Tasmanian Anchorages is also good.
Bristol
Wongaga is dead right about the Cruising Victoria book. Excellent.
The RYCT Tasmanian Anchorages is also good.
Bristol
There are a lot of fair-good anchorages on the west side of flinders island which are great in easterly weather. I stopped at Inner or West sister island at the top of flinders after crossing from Eden and found the bay on the south side to be a good stop over. Its good there in nw round to east and you can move over to Palana on Flinders if the wind goes south. Whitemark and Lady baron are ok for supplies if you get stuck and lady barron wharf or on a mooring is not bad if the weather looks like getting ugly.
you need a good anchor that will hold in weed for the whole area.
ive ridden out a few gales at Lady Baron but its a bit off the track.
What wongaga said.
Also, Feb/March is the traditional time some yacht clubs do their Bass Strait cruises around the islands - usually a few weeks long. This is because the weather at this time is usually mostly stable.
Done a few of these cruises myself and conditions have been unchallenging - as wongaga says, there's plenty of places to hide if necessary.
regards,
allan
Thanks for the great advice everyone. I will keep putting up my concerns as they occur to me, but I 'm reasonably happy with the Feb/March 2019 departure and obviously I will have a few routes planned out and make my dash when the weather is going to be good for a few days.
In ideal conditions I would dash to Deal, arrive early morning and have a quick sleep and then depart again just an hour or two before dark. If it looks a bit dodgy, then maybe hide behind Flinders as much as possible ...
If you have any other suggestions, then please offer me any advice you have.
Thanks again shipmates.
Seahorse
Good on you Seahorse, The only advice I can give is, if you can at all stretch the budget, get a wind vane self steering system. On a small boat like yours everything gets so wet in a blow your electrics are nearly guaranteed to give you problems.
A good wind vane takes so much pressure and stress away from a single handed sailor, you can really relax and enjoy the passage even when an electric self steering system would be struggling. Also normally when you really want the autopilot its cloudy and your not generating much electricity.
Good luck with it and have a great journey.
Seahorse, I agree 100% with Andy about the windvane, given your intention to spend an extended time solo cruising.
For a few weeks cruising a year like I do, it is hard to justify the cost and considerable amount of work to fit a vane. So I rely on a tiller pilot with a spare, which gets me through just fine. But once the wind and waves really get up they do struggle, whereas a windvane would be in its element. These sorts of issues all add up to reduced stress = better rest = you less completely f***ed = better decision making = more fun and greater safety. Ergonomics and fatigue management are huge issues for the lone sea-wolf, and worth a lot of your attention.
For any tiller pilot it is essential to make up some sort of splash cover. Rough-as-guts with a bit of robust clear plastic and duct tape is fine, just so long as the body joints, pushbuttons and cable entry are protected from the impact pressure when water dumps in the cockpit.
Keep us posted, I look forward to following you through your preparation and the cruise!
Cheers, Graeme
