i am planning on heading from tasie to deal island for easter any one else heading away on their boats for a easter adventure 
I'm not exactly 'heading away' but I will be on my way up the coast to Townsville from Broken Bay.
I guess that means we will have to be aware that were sharing the coastal waterways with a few more recreational boaters than usual.
Have a good trip Aus005.
thanks mate i am hoping for a good weather window dont want to get caught in the middle of bass strait 
Select to expand quoteaus005 said..
thanks mate i am hoping for a good weather window dont want to get caught in the middle of bass strait
I am planning Bass Strait cruise from Queenscliff. Either Refuge/ Deal Island or Apollo Bay/Grassy. Just looking at 10 day out gribs on Predictwind at present. At present Deal Island 20-22 hours for me Thursday night lightish Easterlies tending to back later to NNE. Bit of motor sailing there. Return in again lightish SE to SSE.
My feeling at this stage is we might just go to Refuge and potter around Wilsons prom Islands.I have done a circumnavigation of Skull Rock and understand that there is a stake that you can tie off onto and my rock climbing crew might be happy to ascend Skull Rock. They have previously climbed the sea cliffs on Deal and the Totem on Cape Roull.
If you give me your ETA and kick off point and your boat polars or size and type I can get equivalent polars and run a few voyage plans for your trip to give you an idea of what conditions might be expected.
Frant,
I don't know whether you have been into Grassy in the past or not.
If not, it's a great little harbour. Just be aware of the rocks that are just outside of the entrance.
The bottom is sand but you may also be able to pick up a mooring.
The shops (or should I say Shop) is a long steep walk up the hill from the old open cut mine site.
Hope the winds are good for you and you have a great trip.
Select to expand quoteFranrick said..
Frant,
I don't know whether you have been into Grassy in the past or not.
If not, it's a great little harbour. Just be aware of the rocks that are just outside of the entrance.
The bottom is sand but you may also be able to pick up a mooring.
The shops (or should I say Shop) is a long steep walk up the hill from the old open cut mine site.
Hope the winds are good for you and you have a great trip.
Had a steak sanger in Grassy on the long weekend. (M2KI race)
OK. I have never sailed into the place although I did a lot a SCUBA diving there a few lifetimes ago.
I used to work in the mine at Grassy and lived at Naracoopa just to the north.
The place is littered with well over 100 shipwrecks and was a great place to live and dive.
We used a Hutchinson rubber ducky with a 35 hp Johnson outboard as our dive boat and got to know the island pretty well in the three years I live there.
I am fortunate enough to be listed in the archives as discovering a few wrecks in the area and have a few very nice souvenirs as a result.
King Island has a very fascinating history. While working in the mines and living in the community I came into contact with other local workers who were direct descendants of shipwrecked sailors and sealers. If you have heard of the old fable of Tasmanians having two heads you have only to meet some of these people to understand how the fable came about.
Life is very interesting,
Rick.
thanks frant that would be awesome
cry havoc is a jarkan 10.5 metre cc sloop
beam 3.34m
waterline length 8.8metres
draft 1.7m
displacement 6000 kg empty
we are leaving from devonport tasmania at 10pm thursday and plan to arrive on deal at 2pm friday giving me a 16 hour trip at approx 6 knots
Select to expand quoteaus005 said..
thanks frant that would be awesome
cry havoc is a jarkan 10.5 metre cc sloop
beam 3.34m
waterline length 8.8metres
draft 1.7m
displacement 6000 kg empty
we are leaving from devonport tasmania at 10pm thursday and plan to arrive on deal at 2pm friday giving me a 16 hour trip at approx 6 knots
No worries. Think my mate Gary sheard has a jarken 10.5 Chip ex geelong. Quick boat. Can have a look at some routing. Did weather routing for my son on his trip to Hobart via East Coast in H 28 earlier this year. fond memories of devenport as will all those who did the 77 laser nationals there. Those who finished "the race" will know what I am talking about. Will post further.
I have used polars for young 88. Have you motor sailing at 6 knots in under 10 knots TWS. Shows a 15 to 16 hour trip with under 10 knots till about 10 am Friday where get 10-12 knot SW. Can run some return options but the S to SE at 10 to 15 should be ok for you. BOM 7 day forecast on met eye worth looking at from Tuesday. Will track predict wind and bom for myself over weekend but at this stage looks like less than 15 out of east to South for Easter.
thanks frant i have been checking meteye and looks good at the moment will be motor sailing for sure
BTW, "The Forgotten Islands" by Michael Veitch is a great read if you're interested in learning more about Deal Island the the other islands of Bass Strait.
its looking like a 20 knot easterly for me on thursday night could be a fast trip
well back home now didnt make deal we set of at 5.30 on thurs arvo to a light southerly 2 hours in the sea conditions became a lot rougher confused swell and freezing cold as the sun set on bass strait.
only the 2 of us on board by about 9.30 we are about 20 nm out, the sea is a washing machine and the auto helm motor has died with the prospect of steering the boat by hand for another 12 hours sail we turned for home.
did i mention the freezing spray man it was cold we were now punching into a 25 knot southerly with a building sea and no auto helm got back into port sorell wet as frozen to the bone thinking not quite the forecast we were expecting but we were happy with our decision to turn back and will have a crack again when the weather and boat are all in our favour.
Select to expand quoteaus005 said..
well back home now didnt make deal we set of at 5.30 on thurs arvo to a light southerly 2 hours in the sea conditions became a lot rougher confused swell and freezing cold as the sun set on bass strait.
only the 2 of us on board by about 9.30 we are about 20 nm out, the sea is a washing machine and the auto helm motor has died with the prospect of steering the boat by hand for another 12 hours sail we turned for home.
did i mention the freezing spray man it was cold we were now punching into a 25 knot southerly with a building sea and no auto helm got back into port sorell wet as frozen to the bone thinking not quite the forecast we were expecting but we were happy with our decision to turn back and will have a crack again when the weather and boat are all in our favour.
We are presently 30 nm SE of the heads with an eta 19.00 hrs. Trucking along at 8 knots in 16 knots from the SW. Trip down to Oberon bay Wilson's Prom turned into a 24 hour slog into a brisk SSE ( dead on the nose with a few gusts in mid 30's). Going to spend the night in Queenscliff with a leasurly trip home to Geelong Monday. It certainly was on the chilly side Thursday and Friday evening punching into that spray. Sounds like you made a good call aus500 and glad you are safe and well. Only saw 3 other boats out all Easter.
yes thanks mate
i will be giving those southerlies a wide berth in the future in bass strait, they certainly are not pleasant to be on the water in.
Select to expand quoteFranrick said..
I'm not exactly 'heading away' but I will be on my way up the coast to Townsville from Broken Bay.
I guess that means we will have to be aware that were sharing the coastal waterways with a few more recreational boaters than usual.
Have a good trip Aus005.
Make sure you say hi if you are stopping in at Coffs Harbour on your way north Frant
