Year One
Date: 24/1/2008 Midday
Weather: 22 degrees but sunny
Location: Hobart, Tasmania - The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania
Author: Peter

We woke up Sunday morning to discover it was race day so moved over to the otherside of the river to Lindisfarne Sailing Club to say g'day to some old friends and to relax and watch the race. This did not quite go to plan however as as soon as the boats left the shore they started turning around and coming back as the forecast front was coming through and the wind strength was gradually building over 25knots.

The hospitality of Tasmanians is amazing, as we were soon offered the lend of three different cars and invited to dinner over the next two nights.

That night we went to the Royal Yacht Club Tasmania for our cruise briefing and a chance to meet some of our cruising partners. 14 boats in all are expected to make their way to Flinders Island. Ranging from 34ft to around 50ft motor cruisers.

We set Monday aside to chase up parts to complete the installation of the watermaker, and pick up/or order missing parts for the boat. We also dropped in our mainsail for some minor repairs and chafe protection. During the morning we also moved Jura around to the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania. Jura's first ever stay at a marina!


We spent Monday evening having a lovely meal with the Eggins family. Their new house is beautiful and the only flat block we have visited in Tasmania. Once again local Tasmanian produce has exceeded anything we can purchase back at home. Of special note was the free range bbq chicken and the fresh berries. mmmmmm berries with icecream. Darren and Helen also a lent us a car for Monday and Tuesday for which we are extremely grateful.

Tuesday, the weather finally starts to clear and we have taken off the beanies and gloves. We decided to make the most of the weather and head up to Mount Wellington. We couldn't have picked a better day, as the skies were clear and we could see to the horizon in each direction. We ate a picnic lunch on the deck of one of the lookouts. I also bumped into my ex-deputy principal at the top of Mount Wellington showing what a small place Australia is!




That evening we went to Peter and Karen Davis for dinner. Karen is an architect and we were both jealous of their beautiful modern house overlooking Hobart city from above. Once again the food was fabulous. We would be twice the size if we ate like this all the time! we would like to thank Peter and Karen as they lent us their car for the rest of the week.

We woke up early Wednesday morning and headed south through the Huon Valley to Hastings Caves. This was Kylie's first time in a cave.



On the way home we stopped off at roadside stalls for some local cherries. 1/2kg for $4. We should have got 1kg cause we have eaten them all already. They are the best tasty cherries we have ever had.