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Matty's Tasmanian
Adventures Bass Strait Sea Kayak Crossing - March 1999
Paddlers: Steve Dineen & Lester Nation
26 March 1999
After a long drive, we arrived at Tidal River in Wilson's Promontory
National Park around mid afternoon. After paying a twenty-dollar fee for
beach access (recommended that at low tide you pay the fee as it is quite
a long walk and carry from the camping ground to the water's edge) we drove
onto the beach and hastily loaded our gear into the kayak. With only a
few hours daylight remaining we undertook a short paddle around to Waterloo
Bay on the eastern side of Wilson's Promontory, to allow us to check the
setup of the kayak. Waterloo Bay has a beautiful long white beach. Found
great camp spot at southern end of beach, pitched our tent and settled
in for the night listening to the AFL on Steve's radio and dining on the
first of many peanut butter and cheese sandwiches.
27 March 1999
Up before sunrise. Packed gear into kayak in half the time it took on
our first go. We set off with a light north westerly breeze at our backs,
which made for easy paddling and steered by compass for the first two hours
until Hogan Island appeared on the south eastern horizon. Hogan Island
is a rugged windswept little island inhabited by hundreds of noisy penguins
and some rather large cattle. We landed on the eastern side of the island
near a small corrugated iron shack, which despite its dirt floor and quirky
neighbours was to be home for the next two days. Shortly after our arrival
on Hogan Island, the wind swung round to the south west and began to strengthen.
Just before dusk, a large trawler dropped anchor in the small bay in front
of the shack, which indicated that things were getting pretty rough out
in Bass Strait. That night several strong gusts of wind threatened to lift
the roof off the shack and when next morning the wind showed no sign of
easing Steve suggested that we wait until the trawler departed before we
continued. After two nights of rowdy penguins giving it to each other outside
the shack we were more than ready to head off when we woke on day three
to find a blue sky and no trawler.
28 March 1999 No paddling, too rough
29 March 1999
Quickly broke camp and headed towards Erith Island, which was visible
from Hogan Island. Several types of sea birds were encountered on this
leg. In particular, a number of Albatross see quite happy circling around
us just above the waves on their 2m wings. Erith Island, home to the second
highest lighthouse in the world, which together with Dover and Deal Islands
makes up the Kent Group. It was when trying to enter Murray Passage, the
small passage between the islands that we made our first acquaintance with
Bass Strait's infamous currents which according to Steve were running at
between 5 to 6 knots in mid channel. The majestic beauty of the Kent Group
with its magnificent albatross and rich history of whalers, lighthouse
keepers and nudists (apparently a group of nudists from Victoria spend
their summer holidays on Erith Island) made it a great place to overnight.
We noted with interest that one of the entries in the Erith Island Hut
Log Book concerned a party of sea kayakers which included Australia's foremost
multi-discipline endurance athlete John Jacoby who in 1997 were forced
to seek shelter on Erith Island for four days while waiting for the seas
to moderate.
30 March 1999
From Erith Island it was a tough days paddling into a short steep sea
driven by a 25 knot s/w wind to the small fishing village of Killiecrankie,
on the west coast of Flinders Island. Killiecrankie is the largest of the
eastern Bass Strait islands. It was on this leg that we really came to
appreciate the seaworthiness of our Mirage kayak that never slewed on a
run or even looked like capsizing when hit by a breaking wave. Killiecrankie
with its very nice white quartz beach is set in the lee of a large granite
hill that protects it from the prevailing westerly winds. Judging by the
addition of three new houses, Killiecrankie seemed to have recently doubled
its population. Stayed in a comfortable guesthouse run by a local fisherman's
wife. Curiously, the locals seemed somewhat under whelmed when we told
them where we had come from. In hindsight this attitude is understandable
as it would have been their boats and lives on the line if we had required
rescuing during the previous couple of days.
31 March 1999
Shortly after leaving Killiecrankie the next morning we encountered
some very tricky seas whilst rounding Cape Frankland where due to the action
of tide against wind, two metre standing waves were forming. These waves
created a narrow zone of rough water that seemed to stretch from the tip
of Cape Frankland out to the western horizon. It took quite a few minutes
of deliberation and a couple tentative forays before this watery obstacle
was negotiated. The remaining days paddling was uneventful as we headed
down the west coast of Flinders Island stopping at the haunting Wybalena,
the resting place of some of the last Tasmanian aboriginals and Whitemark,
the 'capital of Flinders Island' to restock on food before reaching Trousers
Point, on the southern end of Flinders Island.
1 April 1999
Another tough paddle. Had waves constantly breaking over the deck. From
Trousers Point it was across Franklin Sound and around the western tip
of Cape Barren Island to Preservation Island where in 1803 the survivors
of the wreck of the Sydney Cove spent six months waiting for some of their
shipmates to reach Sydney and return with a rescue ship. We had intended
to only stop on Preservation Island for lunch but a strong westerly wind
and incoming tide together with the reputation of Banks Strait to produce
very rough seas under such conditions persuaded us to stay the night.
2 April 1999
The final leg of our trip was from Preservation Island across Banks
Strait to Little Musselroe Bay and although the wind had abated from the
previous afternoon a good westerly swell was still running against an incoming
tide. We were amazed by the currents in Banks Strait that flowed like rivers
through the surrounding relatively still water. Crossing one of these currents
required care because every now and then a breaking wave would come through. Overall Trip Summary - Distance - 309km, Paddling Time - 30 hrs, Average speed for trip - 10.3 km/h
THE NAVIGATION For navigation we used a deck mounted compass and laminated photocopied sections of the hydrographic chart for Eastern Bass Strait, which were attached to the deck in front of us. Having a compass was very useful during times of poor visibility and for reducing unnecessary paddling by enabling the correct landfall to be made particularly when we were being carried by the tide on our approaches to Flinders Island and Little Musselroe Bay. We did not take a GPS because each leg could be covered during daylight and as there was always land visible, though not always in front of us, we were able to take compass bearings for plotting our position. With regard to that critical paddling consideration, the weather, we found that the weather forecasts we received on Steve's small (Sangean) radio were quite accurate concerning expected changes and wind directions but that the actual wind strengths and the timing of changes were often at variance to the forecast. We were very aware that rapid changes in the weather and sea conditions are common in Bass Strait and we made allowance for the possibility that we may have been forced to seek refuge for a number of days until the weather was calm enough for paddling. We were also careful not to let our pride get in the way when deciding whether or not to run for shelter or to abandon a day's paddling. It was Steve's hard won experience gained when he paddled around Tasmania in 1998 that made it easy for him to suggest sitting it out on Hogan Island while the westerly gale blew itself out.
THE FOOD AND DRINK With respect to food and water, we started the trip with enough for five days and two days respectively. Water in the form of tank water was available at all the places we stayed at. We also noticed small freshwater springs on Hogan, Erith and Preservation Islands. We chose foods that contained something from the four main food groups and did not require refrigeration or cooking. In other words, we ate lots of muesli bars, peanut butter and cheese sandwiches and drank a lot of made up powered (powdered ???) cordial. Whilst paddling we had a short stop (2-3 minutes) each hour for a muesli bar and a drink. We noticed that with this regime that our energy levels stayed high during paddling and that we did not feel very hungry at the end of each day and consequently only consumed relatively small dinners.
THE SAFETY Our attitude to safety was one of not relying on the possibility of receiving outside assistance. We both had extensive knowledge of Bass Strait and did quite a bit of research into the trip. We considered ourselves to be fit and experienced ocean paddlers, we had the right equipment for the journey and from our view, the only wild card would be poor judgement. We carried life jackets, flares, a first aid kit, a fibreglass repair kit, a spare paddle, and a mobile phone, which worked on Hogan and Preservation Islands. We did not contact any authorities before we departed because that would have meant giving estimated times of arrival, which may not have been achievable during bad weather. However, we did inform a number of friends about our plans and contacted them during the trip. We minimised our risks by doing our homework and using good judgement with respect to sea conditions and the weather in relation to our capabilities.
THE CRAFT We used a Mirage Double Sea Kayak and found it to be very stable and fast in all conditions. It had great run either following the breeze or hammering into it and was surprisingly easy to catch swells. When actually riding swells it did not bog down and allowed us to achieve constant momentum, a very important aspect whether for paddling enjoyment or trying to achieve good mileage. The storage capacity of the Mirage was quite adequate for our journey and the hatches were large enough to allow the storage of bulky items such as our tent and sleeping bags. The pump, which Mirage designer and builder Paul Hewitson fitted for us was a Rule and although we hardly ever used it, pumping a thousand gallons an hour is not a problem for it. Highly recommended. The seats in the Mirage are comfortable without padding but for long day trips and overnight expeditions, it is recommended that some form of foam padding be used.
MIRAGE
Fibreglass double kayak THE SUMMARY Crossing Bass Strait was something that had stirred our imaginations for a long time and we were not disappointed by its physical challenge or by its incredible unspoilt beauty. It was an awesome adventure and believe me when I say that the intensity of critical decision making in the middle of Bass Strait is more exciting that the day-to-day routine of an air-conditioned job.
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