OR
"A day on Great Oyster Bay beats a night at the Blue Oyster Bar"
You know the situation. All excited, forecast looks good, travel over an hour to the spot, it all starts off okay....then quickly degenerates into a grovel-fest where it would be faster to dog-paddle than windsurf.
Last weekend it looked promising for a "coast run" down at Swansea, on Great Oyster Bay, Tasmania. Forecast: 12-14 knots of onshore conditions for most of the day (longboard sailors don't need a lot to be happy).
As I rigged up, the wind looked like it was going to come as forecast, but after the first few tacks I was bobbing around like a cork- on the verge of cursing and swearing- going nowhere fast. For over an hour I persisted, feeling like an idiot as the people walking along the shore were going faster than me.
After 6km of frustrating progress, I decided to turn back (still considering the option of a walk back to the car if the wind dropped totally). Coming back past the Abalone Farm at Webber Point the wind kicked in- giving me 10km of upwind delight in beautiful steady wind as forecast.
Few things beat the simple pleasure of motoring upwind, mast track forward, centreboard down, hardly any swell and the rail down. On starboard tack too, so I wasn't giving way to anyone.
(I started the GPS at Webber Point once it was worth actually turning on).
There is 40 odd km of "semi protected" bay like this on the East Coast, ideal for long uninterrupted runs like this. Ability to gybe well (or at all) is optional. The view over to the Hazards (mountain range) on the Freycinet Peninsula on the opposite side of the bay adds that little bit of wow factor to this location too.
Clarence
Any further Scuffy ,and you would have been able to tow the salmon enclosures in to there designated areas.
Bar hum bug.
