December 2019
The morning we left Fortescue Bay we manoeuvred our way past the old wreck and headed on our way to Port Arthur. That day we only had to make 18nm so once again we weren’t in any great hurry, which was just as well because we had barely 5kts of wind. With such little wind, flats seas and a forecast which suggested that it would remain like that for the rest of the day we decided to set (nearly) full sail. Throughout our sail so far we had mostly kept the mainsail under a first reef but with such little wind it was finally time to shake the reef. Likewise the jib hadn’t seen a lot of action in recent weeks and so that also got hoisted up that day causing us to really looked like a Tiny TallShip.
The sail to Tasman Island probably offered some of the most amazing and dramatic scenery since leaving Kangaroo Island. The cliffs on the Tasman Peninsula between Fortescue Bay and Port Arthur were stunning, 100-200m of sheer faced dolerite cliff faces. We sailed along those cliffs under nearly full sail with nearly zero wind, wishing I had a drone or was cruising with another boat to capture this moment forever on camera. However things didn’t stay peaceful for long. We were approaching what our cruising guide book call “the hole in the wall”, which referred to the passage between Tasman Island and Cape Pillar, the tip of the Tasman Peninsula. The cruising guide advised us to pass through this gap which was only about 200m wide but it had quite shallow sections right next to the cliff, which made the gap only 100m in most spots.
However the closer we got to the passage the more the wind started to pick up, kinda the opposite of what we wanted when trying to navigate in such narrow confines. We decided due to the unpredictability of the wind we would start the engine and motor sail through to give us more manoeuvrability. With the wind increasing we also decided to put in the first reef, just so we were prepared, not wanting to have to reef mid way through the tight squeeze. Reading the cruising guide it also mentioned that in strong north-westerlies that gale force willy-willies are known to tumble down the cliff faces generally foreshadowed by mist spilling over the cliff face. We took note of this as we did have north-westerlies but they were very mild, not what we would call strong, but things in Tasmania have a habit of changing fast.
Passing between Tasman Island and Cape Pillar was stunning and we really felt like we were passing through a hole in the wall like the cruising guide suggested. But like I mentioned things were due to take a turn for the interesting. About half way through the passage the wind started dramatically increasing, before I knew it Hugo was asking me to bring in the jib. No sooner was the Jib down, and the wind still increasing, Hugo wanted the second reef put in. This followed without pause for the third reef, I hadn’t even finished the second reef yet, I had never reefed or taken in sails on Allagai in such quick succession before. We weren’t really in any danger but that day I can vividly recall hugging the mast while reefing so I didn’t fall or get bucked off. Thankfully I had the sense to put my life jacket and harness on before reefing and things had got really bad making me feel quite safe. Allagai was punching through waves which seemed to have sprung up out of nowhere, drenching the deck, and me, in spray each time she plunged through the next wave so I was soaked in seconds.
Our peaceful sail before reaching Tasman Island was quickly forgotten, making that mornings doldrums type weather feel like it was a dream. Even though the north-westerlies we’d had that morning weren’t strong it was quite obvious that that wasn’t the case on the Port Arthur side of the Cape. This became even more apparent when we noticed the mist tumbling off the cliff face on this side of Cape Pillar, bringing to mind the warning which we had read in the cruising guide. However the drama was relatively short lived, we never went back to the calm of that morning but the 30kts or more we had experienced through the passage died off once we exited the narrow gap. When we had sea room we were able to stand off of the land a little more which took us out of the reach of the wind bullets and willy-wlillies racing down the cliff face.
Port Arthur was now in sight, we only had about 5nm until the entrance of the harbour, followed by about 4nm to get to our desired anchorage. We had decided to anchor in Stewards Bay which was basically the most northern bay accessible for anchoring in. We dropped anchor as planned in the early afternoon, but as usual I couldn’t wait to get ashore to check out our new location. We had anchored off what was essentially the main town beach of Port Arthur (the town not the historic site)and so went for a quick walk into the small town. Port Arthur was a small service town with a couple of general stores doubling as take-out shops. The towns main attraction not far from the town centre was the Port Arthur Historic Site, an old convict prison back from the early settlement years.
Following our brief exploration ashore it was time to get ready to bunker down on the boat, because as per usual we were due for a storm which would keep us on board for the next few days. Following the storm though we were rewarded with some beautiful weather, blue skies, mild temperatures and very little wind. This weather gave us the perfect opportunity to leave the boat anchored for the day and visit the Port Arthur Historic Site. The pass we purchased to get into the site was a two day pass and at the time I didn’t think we’d need the two days. But I quickly changed my mind, by lunch we had done the included introductory tour and boat tour and we had, metaphorically speaking, only seen the tip of the ice berg. The Port Arthur Site was huge and had a vast history.
Port Arthur’s history began in the early 1830s as penal colony, a place to send Britain’s worst convicts and repeat criminals but was closed in 1877 after convict transportation to Tasmania ceased. Port Arthur didn’t even operate for 50 years but that doesn’t stop it from being rich in history. During the two days we wandered around the site we visited every building and read many stories of the the sites past inhabitants. We visited the houses of all the staff and officials running the site, we walked through what was left of the penitentiary or dormitory that the prisoners were confined to. Over those two days we walked through the places the prisoners worked, where they ate, where they slept and where they were punished. The most chilling building for me to walk through was the separate Prison, considered a new age idea at the time, the prisoners were sent here to contemplate their errors in total isolation. Prisoners were kept isolated from each other, they had no contact with people and even sound was stripped away from them, the only voice they heard was that of the church pastor. However not all of Port Arthur was bad, a major centrepiece to the grounds was the traditional style British gardens. Although this wasn’t for the benefit of the prisoners but instead a bit of Britain so government officials didn’t feel like they were so far from home.
After spending two days walking the grounds of the Port Arthur Historic site we were ready for some time on the boat. Following our walk through the grounds of Port Arthur we came to realise just how lucky we are, grateful to be born in a time where we can live the life style we do without the hardship our ancestors faced. It was during the days following our visit to Port Arthur that we came to realise the date, normally something we don’t really pay much attention to. It was December and Christmas was not just around the corner, but a couple of days away, and we didn’t have any Christmas trimmings or anything really to cook a grand meal with. This left us scouring the maps of the surrounding area to find a suitable spot to purchase some ingredients from. But we quickly discovered we wouldn’t find them in Port Arthur. We needed to sail onwards towards Hobart or the D’Entrecasteaux Channel to find a shop with what we wanted. So following some much needed boat time the next window of good weather finally arrived, just in the knick of time to so we sailed onwards to Hobart on Christmas Eve in search of Christmas lunch.