Back to Bass Strait! Exploring the Furneaux Group 2022

Once more we’d planned to paddle from Port Welshpool to Little Musselroe Bay and do the Bass Strait crossing.   It was good to have an adventure to work towards during yet another Covid related lockdown in Melbourne.   The team was set, the training had been done and the logistics were in place.   However, as the planned date of the trip approached strong easterly winds kept blowing.   The first week of our three week window was a right off as the unseasonal easterlies continued.   It was apparent that paddling from Port Welshpool to Tassie in the time we had available wasn’t going to be possible.   If we wanted to paddle at all we’d need to go for a plan B.   So, we went for plan B.

Plan B involved Bob, Grant and me, catching the ferry to Tassie, driving to Little Musselroe Bay and paddling from there to Roydon Island, off Flinders Island and then returning.   In effect we would be paddling the second half of the Bass Strait Crossing.   Only we would have more time to explore the islands of the Furneaux Group.

The team was Grant and me in the Mirage 750 and Bob in his Mirage 582.   On Tuesday 8^th February we caught the overnight ferry to Devonport and then drove straight to Little Musselroe Bay.   We loaded the kayaks and headed off to Swan Island.  

The first challenge was launching.   Waves were breaking on the beach.   Our plan (or hope) was no surf landings or launchings.   We launched into the estuary but the bar at the entrance wasn’t covered enough for us to paddle across it.   Bob, graciously came to our rescue and dragged us over the bar and we powered through the waves.   We were only paddling to Swan Island, 5 kilometres away.   It gave us a chance to get started on the trip and to have a taste of the currents in Banks Strait.   The wind was a 12-15 knots headwind (north east) and the current was flooding (3 knots).   The seas were messy and the current swept us further left than we anticipated.   The 5 k took us 1.5 hours!

We found a nice sheltered sandy beach on the north west end of the island and set up our camp in the dunes.  That was when Bob pulled out his ‘treat’, a silver plated tea pot!   Together with the jet boil, loose leaf tea and powdered milk he had all the ingredients for a great cup of tea.   We made excellent use of the tea pot throughout the trip.

We then took the opportunity to do a bit of exploring.   We headed to the north east end of the island and the lighthouse.   There were also historical buildings and ruins to check out.   I was in my element taking lots of photos.

Wednesday 9^th February and the Banks Strait crossing.   Banks Strait certainly has a reputation and we weren’t sure what to expect.   The conditions were perfect, light winds from the east.   There were various rocks and reefs around Little Swan Island (to our west) and to the north of Swan Island.   Then there were the standing waves and finally the main tidal flow.   The swells slowly built up and we could see the boiling of the current.   The swells became large and messy and at times were 3 metres in size.   

We ended up being swept further east than anticipated and ended up off Moriarty Point.   We had to paddle to get back on course and once we passed South Head the swells abated.   We were then able to sail across the bottom of Clarke Island, before paddling up to Spike Cove (Clarke Island) for a well-earned rest.   It was here that the march flies first found us.   The concentration varied at each location but they certainly accompanied us throughout the trip.  

From Spike Cove we paddled north across Armstrong Channel to Preservation Island.   Preservation Island was the site of the wreck of the Sydney Cove in 1797.   The ship was carrying rum, Asian and European goods to sell at the new colony when a storm drove it on to the island.   The rum was transferred to a small island off the coast (Rum Island) and the ship’s boat with 17 people sailed for Sydney to get help.   Unfortunately the boat was wrecked on the 90 mile beach and the 17 then started walking to Sydney.   They had some of the first encounters with Aboriginals in Victoria and New South Wales.   Only three of them made it to Sydney.   Two ships were sent to rescue the others left on Preservation Island and recover the cargo.   Unfortunately one of the rescue ships was lost on the return journey to Sydney.

We found a small sheltered beach on the east side of the island and set up our camp above the beach.

Thursday 10^th February.   We rose to a strong westerly wind.   We paddled along the coast in the lee of the island up to the northern end.   The plan was to get to Trousers Point (Flinders Island).   First we needed to cross the channel between Preservation Island and Cape Barren Island.   This meant paddling into the wind and against the current.   Once we got across we worked our way along the coast and into Thunder and Lightning Bay (Cape Barren) for a rest on a beach in the north east corner.   Then it was back into the head wind and around Cape Sir John, in between the rocky coast and the standing waves, passed Whale Rock and Big Black Reef.   As we neared Long Island Passage we were able to put our sails up.   The sails made a great difference and the following waves made it interesting.  

We pulled up at Cape Barren, a small settlement opposite Long Island.   This is an Aboriginal settlement.   There was a lovely bbq area, together with a large water tank.   There was also a primary school, a high school, a post office and most importantly a community store.   You’d think that we’d never seen food.   We bought ice creams, chips, dip and biscuits.   With the wind still blowing and Trousers Point a couple of hours away we decided to camp on Long Island.

We found a nice sheltered beach on the south east end of the island and camped amongst the tea trees.   We walked up to the rocky eastern end.   There were spectacular views across Franklin Sounds to Mount Strezlecki.   Strezlecki is like a multi-headed monster with several rocky heads.   The next morning we explored the old sheep farm near our camp.   There was an old hut with shingle walls, another old house with layers of peeling wallpaper and an old shearing shed with rusting equipment.   It was fascinating.

Friday 11^th February.   The wind had changed to south easterly, which was great as we wanted to keep heading north.   However, the winds were fairly strong.  We paddled into the wind to the lee side of Doughboy Island.   Then we set out across Franklin Sounds with sails.   There were some large waves and Grant did an excellent job keeping the double from broaching.   Bob did a great job surfing several waves.   We took a break behind Oyster Rocks before continuing along the south west coast of Flinders Island.   The wind was so strong we had to let the sails flap so that they didn’t overpower us.   Eventually we made it to the shelter of the bay south of Trousers Point (Flinders Island).   There were several yachts anchored.   No one else was out sailing!   Finally we paddled around Trousers Point and into the beach on the northern side of the point.   Definitely time for a rest.

We wanted to make the most of the south easterly wind and get as far north as we could.   From Trousers Point we sailed across Fotheringate Bay and then across a large ‘green’ area at Lagoons Point and inshore of ‘Big Green Island’ (what a great name).   There is definitely a great advantage in not having a keel and centreboard.   The large green area on the chart was just that ‘seaweed’ and it got very very shallow at low water.   We flew over the shallow water keeping a very close eye on the depth.   Bob was further inshore than us and ran aground.  

We kept sailing across Parrys Bay, bypassing Whitemark and on to Long Point (Flinders Island).   Long Point isn’t recognised as a camping area but there is a long sandy beach which faces west, providing protection from the strong south easterly.   We pulled up at the beach and found a fairly average camping spot amongst the dunes.   The dunes obviously get battered by westerlies and there was dried seaweed everywhere.   While the seaweed was lovely and soft it did manage to get into everything.  

 

Saturday 12^th February.   A relatively short paddle today to Roydon Island so a leisurely start of 9 a.m.   The wind was still from the south east so we had a lovely sail to Settlement Point (Flinders Island) and a paddle around the point to Port Davies.   Port Davies is a pretty bay and there were several yachts moored there.   We then walked a few kilometres up the road to Wybalenna Chapel.   Wybalenna is a very sad and tragic place.   It was establishes as an ‘Aboriginal Settlement’ in 1833 for Aboriginal people removed from mainland Tasmania.   They were banned from practicing cultural ceremonies and were given English names.   By the time the settlement closed in 1847 130 people had died there.   The remaining 14 men, 23 women and 10 children were taken to Oyster Cove.   The land title for Wybalenna was handed to the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania in 1999. 

 

From Port Davies we once again had a lovely sail with an easterly wind, passed the Pasco group of islands to Roydon Island.   We pulled in at a small beach at the south eastern end of the island.   Already on the beach were three kayaks.   The kayaks belonged to Sandy, Doug and Harry.   They were doing the Bass Strait Crossing and it turned out that we had seen them at Station Pier before they caught the same ferry and they had waved to us at Spike Cove.    

We camped in the dunes behind the beach and checked out the hut and filled up with water from the rainwater tank.   It was great to make it to Roydon Island and I felt like we had now experienced all the islands on the Bass Strait crossing route.   Roydon Island is really a mountain poking out of the sea.   The peak is quite dramatic.  We had a walk right around the rocky island.  

Sunday 13^th February and time to start heading back south.   Another fresh breeze but this time from the north east.   Perfect timing for us.   We got away at 8 a.m. as we wanted to get down to Trousers Point (45 k).   We had a tough paddle into the breeze to set us up for a great sail across Marshall Bay.   There were even some reasonable waves for Grant to keep us straight on.

At Settlement Point we found a small beach to take a break on.   Then it was another hard paddle around the point and into the wind, to set us up for another sail.   This time across Sawyers Bay and Arthur Bay.   Sailing is certainly the best way to sea kayak!

We pulled in at Long Point for another break, and to retrieve a sling we’d left behind.   Again we had to paddle into the wind to get around Long Point.   But it set us up for our final sail across Parry’s Bay and Fotheringate Bay and finally around Trousers Point (Flinders Island).   We pulled into the small beach below the camping ground.   It was quite a change to have flushing toilets.   However, the smell of bbq and the sight of champagne and nibbles being consumed by campers and sailors, was a bit hard to take.

Monday 14^th February.   Another 8 a.m. start and another long paddle (43 k).   We set off in perfectly calm conditions.   It was quite a different paddle over to Cape Barren than the previous crossing of Frankland Sound.   At Cape Barren we couldn’t resist the lure of ice cream, chips, biscuits, dip and cheese.   We paddled on to Preservation Island.   This time we paddled down the west coast.    We found a small beach to take a break and have lunch.   By this time a southerly wind had sprung up.   We paddled into the increasingly strengthening wind to Spike Cove (Clarke Island).   Along the way we’d seen a flying fish and it flew for quite a way.    There was also a huge pod of dolphins.   A few launched themselves out of the water but they didn’t show any interest in us.   There was also the ‘hopping’ birds.   These small birds flew just above the waves and every now and then would jump off the water.   We didn’t see them catch anything so it was all a bit odd.

We paddled into the small beach at Spike Cove.   The main campsite under the only real tree was already taken so we found a few spots in the dunes above the beach.   After setting up our camp we took ourselves down to the beach and treated ourselves to dip, biscuits and cheese.   Not a bad life.

Our neighbours wandered up the beach with their beers.   They were recreational fishermen from north east Tassie.   What’s more they’d had a good day and offered us a fresh crayfish!   Not only did they supply the crayfish but they cooked it for us as well.   It was one of the sweetest, succulent crayfish I’ve

ever tasted.

Tuesday 15^th February and a lay day.   It was too windy to cross Bank Strait so we made the most of our one and only non-paddling day.   We slept in, explored the area, napped, drank cups of tea and most importantly planned our Banks Strait crossing for the next day!   After our previous crossing and ending up a long way east of where we wanted to be, we would be more precise with our calculations this time.

Wednesday 16^th February.   Up early to make sure we were packed and ready to go as per our plan.   We set off at 7.30 a.m. with a light south easterly breeze.   The plan took into consideration the easterly breeze and the flooding tide.   We were anticipating to be swept west but then the tide would change and we’d be brought back perfectly to arrive at Little Musselroe Bay.

Of course it didn’t work quite like that.   The easterly breeze swept us further west and the change in tide didn’t bring us back.   We weren’t too far off but we did have to do some paddling into the breeze to get to Little Musselroe.   At Little Musselroe the tide was rushing out of the estuary mouth which made it challenging to paddle into the estuary and to the boat ramp.   The 24 k crossing had taken us 4.75 hours.  

Grant’s car was still there, which was a relief.   There had been a visit from the police to Grant’s wife about possible lost kayakers.   So, next time it would be good to let the local authorities know what we were doing.   We loaded the gear into the car and the kayaks on the roof.   It was back on the road.   We arrived at Devonport and drove straight on to the ferry for the overnight crossing back to Melbourne.   We were certainly maximising our time.

On the ferry we finally managed to get a shower and to eat some non-dehydrated food, as well as a drop of alcohol.   We texted friends and family to let them know that we were safe and sound and heading back home, and also that Miriam Margolyes was on the ferry.   It is amazing how much the presences of a celebrity overshadowed our achievement of paddling to Roydon Island and back!

The Furneaux Group is a great place for sea kayaking and exploring.   We were incredibly lucky with the weather.   After losing the first week to wind from the wrong direction, we’d had wind that either helped or didn’t hinder us for the whole trip.   Also we’d had no rain, which is pretty incredible.   We ended up doing at least 260 kilometres.   There were many places we didn’t get to so lots of reasons to go back!

Check out some footage of the trip:

Part 1 - Little Musselroe to Long Island

Part 2 - Long Island to Little Musselroe!