Rebecca Bay, Clarke Island to Little Musselroe Bay, Tasmania via Banks Strait.

Banks Strait is notorious for ferocious tidal currents.  We had planned our whole trip to arrive at Banks Strait at Neaps Tide (i.e. halfway between full moon and new moon when tides are at their weakest).  We estimated that the Banks Strait crossing would take around 4 hours, and so we planned to depart 2 hours before high tide so that the tidal currents would be at their weakest mid-passage.  Our plan was to maintain a magnetic compass bearing of 190 degrees for the whole trip which would mean that we would be dragged west of our planned track for the first 2 hours of the leg (i.e. the last 2 hours of the flooding tide), and then dragged back east (to our planned track) during the first 2 hours of the ebbing tide, allowing us to arrive at Little Musselroe Bay...our final destination.

We rose at 5 AM to pack camp and load our boats for the last time, leaving plenty of time for our planned 7AM departure.  Having camped on the beach, everything was full of sand, and was wet from the heavy coastal dew.  We all felt excited about the final leg of our journey, and a little anxious about the reputation of Banks Strait.  We'd read many accounts of sea kayakers really having to battle this passage.

We were on the water by 6:50 AM, and paddling in the dark. 

We made excellent speed, and all felt in good form.  Troy managed to get more sailing in (just 'cause he could!).

Wind and seas were as predicted, and provided for an 'assisted passage'.  We made the crossing faster than expected, which meant we had to correct our heading once our arrival point was visual.  This meant paddling east with the outgoing tide at up to 15 kph.  Whoo hooo!

We could make out tiny dots on the point beyond Little Musselroe Bay that proved to be Troy's family.  Great to have a friendly welcoming party.  Cathy (Troy's wife), Viv (Greg's wife) and Michelle with Paul's kids showed up later which was fantastic.  Lyndon and Leanne Voigt arrived with the vehicles from Melbourne having come across Bass Strait on the Spirit of Tasmania the night before (the easy way to cross Bass Strait!).

It was fantastic to touch Tasmanian soil, and to carry the boats up the beach for the last time.  We were relieved that the whole trip, and Banks Strait in particular, had gone so well.  We were pleased that we had managed to compensate for our inexperience with careful planning, and prudent decision-making.  We felt fitter and stronger than when we started.

Several phone interviews with radio stations.

Learned that our fundraising had exceeded $11,000.

We felt a tiny bit of let-down that the awesome adventure was over.  We were immediately busy with unpacking boats and loading cars, and so kind of missed 'the moment'.  Customary sore bums and lower backs.

Now back to our day jobs!

 

 The beach at Spike cove on Clark Island is beautiful. We had to camp on sand because it’s a very barren island but beautiful and dramatic with  grey granite rocks covered in contrasting bright orange lichen, green shrubs and blue water. The boys had a very refreshing swim in the cold sea to try and wash some of the grime off. Its nearly all over.

 

Last but not least, the rest of the guys found a little fluffy ball of grass with a tuft on it that looked rather "Wilson" like (aka Tom Hank's friend in the movie Castaway) – with a few little improvements to make it more life like it was given to Robin for company. Everyone thinks he's secretly very fond of it. 

 

 

Whitemark to Trouser Point: Left Whitemark approx. 3.45pm and  arrived Trouser Point 6.0pm. (approx 2hrs). About 13km

Nice straight forward paddle in pleasant conditions and very clear water. It was cool to see our shadows moving across the bottom of the sea floor in the more shallow sections. The scenery was fantastic with the magnificent Strzelecki ranges on our left. They rise 750m out of the water. Very spectacular.  We arrived at the camping spot in Trouser point in late afternoon light with massive granite and marble boulders around us. Can see Cape Barren Island across the way. Back in Whitemark we booked a room at the local hotel in Whitemark so we could all have showers - Robin did well when in order of seniority (read age), Greg decided he was going to continue to rough it on the beach so it fell next to Robin. If any of the 40 year old whipper snappers had ideas about getting the room, Robin soon put a stop to that by exercising his rights.

 

The tide was out when we left Whitemark so we had to carry the kayaks a long way out to launch. Big Dog all loaded up must come something close to 250kg so it was pretty tough.    

Roydon Island to Whitemark:  Departed Roydon late morning and arrived Whitemark 3.07pm. Approx. 35km

Considering how hard work the paddle was, it was good that it wasn't too long. Fantastic to get to Whitemark and a shower, enough tucker to actually fill us up and a chance to wash some of our pretty smelly clothes.

Deal Island to Roydon Island: Left Deal Island approx. 6.45am  and  arrived Roydon Island 4.53pm. (approx 10hrs). A little over 60km

The trip was most significant in that it was a challenge to cover that distance in a single paddle. All Greg's planning on the navigation and weather analysis front has really stood us in good stead in terms of making all the right decisions and changing plans appropriately.

All feeling great. It's about 4 kms to the caretakers cottage/museum/lighthouse on the western side fo the island so we've been getting exercise by making the trek regularly. Had fantastic hospitality from the caretakers - Wes and Ethel - yes we're talking a lovely feed of hot stew. Looking forward to the next leg. Its a big one - a little over 60km so its good we're all rested up and raring to go early on Thursday morning. We don't mean morning in a civilised way, we mean it as in 4.00am. We're doing as much packing as we can today (Wednesday 18th) to make it easier.