Quick Note: New Feature.

You can now email our posts to your friends or others that might be interested.
Just click on the envelope near the comments at bottom of the post.

A Big Day: Part 2

Port Huon Marina (? once a paddock carpark)

Genuine "locally grown" Tasmanian Huon Apples.

Tasmanians are wonderful generous people.

Looking out from the pub towards the marina.

Earlier today:

An Echidna walking beside us on Bruny Island.

This little fellow wasn't at all in a hurry to hide from us.

Exhausted.

No time for lunch.

Got to get moving.

The weather is perfect.

The Huon River awaits.

After 3 or 4 hours of motor assisted sailing we arrived at the friendly Port Huon Marina, a tiny little village with floating pontoons, water and power and very hot showers.

It seriously looks like a car park in a paddock that someone made into a water hole.

The management handed me a bag of fresh picked Huon Apples.(the real thing!!!)

I'm off to bed, feeling full and contented after a country pub dinner of lamb cutlets, vegies and gravy.

Tomorrow its Franklin.

I finally get to visit the famous Timber Boat Building School...I'd love to be one of the 6 candidates selected each year.....in another life perhaps.

Love

Jen

A Big Day! Part 1. Cape Bruny.

2 Fat Ladies sat looking at this sign

and went no further.

Cape Bruny Lighthouse: 1836

Looking across to the mainland.

Bruny Island: Lighthouse Beach offshore in

NE wind and great beach breaks.

Bruny Island: Looking NE from the Cape.

For 2 nights the loom of the Cape Bruny Lighthouse has been beckoning me, like a moth to a flame(or a mosquito to a Navman screen)

Today we walked the 8 klms from our anchorage to quench our curiosity.

The pics tell the story.

I also answered my question and found another surf beach further south than Cloudy Bay, but I have been told there are other surfing spots further south.

Glenn

Is this the End of the Earth? or the Garden of Eden?

Next stop South Pole. Is this Australia's most southern surf beach?

I guess I should have put that reef in the main!!

25 knots and no where to go.

End of the Earth or Garden of Eden?

Please double click this pic to see what I mean.

Looking out to Cloudy Bay.

Now these Tasmanians are getting a bit aggro with me for letting the secret out about how good it is down here. It seems they like to keep it to themselves, but with my big mouth, blog and new job with the Tasmanian Tourist Dept, word is getting out.

Because we own a South Coast 36 yacht, they think we are NSW millionaires. Crazy Lady is now the most prestigious boat in Tassie. So those with a bigger, newer, brighter boats than ours will be treated like interstate billionaires. Absolute royalty!!!!

Today we left Dover and sailed to Mickey's Bay. it is a quick row and walk to Cloudy Bay on Bruny Island, I love this place. I think Cloudy Bay might be Australia's most southern surf beach? I'm not sure so I will try and do some research. (if you know, please let me know) Bruny Island has the cleanest water in Australia. We will be staying put for a few days.

Glenn

Does it get much better than this? Bruny Island!!!

Jen's stoney faced mascot.

Can you find Crazy Lady in this picture?

Anchored off Bruny Island.

Penguins on Parade!

The Neck Bruny Island.

The end of another perfect day in Tasmania,

Bruny Island.

Gee its cold down here in Tasmania, another 25 degrees Celcius again today. Clear skies and light winds. A relaxing sail down to The Neck on Bruny Island.

Best I let the pictures do the talking. (for once)

Jen & Glenn

Who the "Bloody hell is Lara Bingle" and why should I care.

Crazy Lady in the city Hobart

Sea Sheperd opposite us in Hobart.

My new wetsuit for surfing Tasmanian waters

Funded under the federal governments insulation program

My new theme: "Adventure before Dementia"

Bloody Lara Bingle, really who cares? Another 2 bob flash in the pan, media wanna be. Does anyone really care?

Now why my rant? After escaping the great "Varnishing Boot Camp" and leaving on the next flight to Sydney, I was immediately flung back into the TV, media, instant headline crap, and inconsequential trivia, how can they justify Lara giving the finger as the main headline on the 6 o'clock news. Being on a boat for 3 months without watching TV, made me realize that I've not missed much, in the "real world". Do yourself a favour and throw your TV in the garbage or sell it at your next garage sale.

Back in boat world, now Jen's description of me escaping the varnishing, was not quite true. I had made work commitments last year and had to fulfill them, but I was quite happy to miss all the chaos created on the boat. After 10 days away from both Crazy Ladies, I have decided, that I will give the return to Sydney to work thing a big miss. Now don't get me wrong I love training people, but leaving the trip was a hard thing to do. Having said that, it was great to catch up on family and friends, James (my son) http://jameslovecomposer.blogspot.com/ came down and stayed with me for a few days. Thanks to those who showed their hospitality and had us over for food and drinks. Al and Kaye, Gerti and Dave, yes we can can eat and drink us Love's. I hope you have restocked your larder for our next visit!!!

Jen and I had a great walk around Hobart yesterday, in my humble opinion it is one of the great cities. Try a walk to Sandy Bay thru Battery Point, the houses are unbelievable, I don't mean big or modern. Most of them were built in the 1800's. Of course Jen wanted to buy every second one.

Now once again I must tell you of the friendly Tasmanian spirit. This morning I was looking for a place to buy diesel, I asked the skipper of a abalone boat where? He told me the nearest servo was about 4 klms away, and insisted that I get my fuel cans throw them in the back of his ute, he drove me up and back, then asked me on-board to show me charts of Bathurst Harbour and explained the best route's etc: Speaking of Bathurst Harbour, Al gave me a book when I was home in Tabourie, about Deny King. The skipper of the abalone boat knew all about him Al!! He is a Tasmanian legend.

The Sea Shepard "Steve Irwin"(bloody Steve Irwin" couldn't they come up with a better name? all he used to do was annoy the crap out of wildlife) is moored just across from us, I thought that Jen might have signed up with them and gone off to fight the Japanese whalers.(yes she had for a moment considered it)

We are leaving Hobart tomorrow, after the Salamanca Markets Jen wants to stock up with fresh fruit, vegetables and jams. I want to have a German sausage on a roll. We will be heading further south to explore Bruny Island (cleanest air in the world) and further afield. Bruny Island has some of the best surf in Tasmania, and I won't be leaving it until I've sampled some.

Ok, thats all I can think of at the moment.

Glenn

Jen VARNISHES while Glenn VANISHES

Finished job on drawers

Jen's very clever plumbing

Saloon doors sanded

Guardian of the head (toilet for landlubbers)

Steps re-finished and shiny wall

Yes, there has been a gap in the blogging. Sorry, but it's Glenn's fault.

I only had to mention internal VARNISHING and REFURBISHMENT in one breath and turned around to seek his opinion on this, to find that Glenn had taken the first available flight out of Hobart!!

So finding myself alone, and without blogging abilities I made a plan for a frantic 10 day renovation makeover. Before I could make my first purchase of essential supplies from Hobart's most expensive chandlery, the kitchen (galley) water tap system started spouting a fountain of water out everywhere.

I bet you didn't know that I had plumbing skills.

Of the four pipes to be reconnected three had varying diameters of connections in old style measurements, and two of permanent copper pipes were without threads.

See photo of neat end results.

Overkill could be the expression to use to describe my varnishing activities. Generally a few broad walls (bulkheads) were in good condition but looking a little tired. These responded well to a secret recipe given to me by my sailing mentor: Ken Miller. (refreshments supplied by Lynn). Water ingress had over the years caused dark staining to lovely teak fittings. This troubled absolutely no one but me.

I hate dark interiors and the "log cabin" style, and had struggled not to paint the interior gloss white...dark corners only.

So what's the big deal?

Doing anything to the interior of a boat requires a lot of tiresome shuffling: stock piling cushions and books and carefully stowed gear into all other available empty spaces only to do the same roundabout of moving the next day as some progress is made. Each area had at least two applications of "rejuvenation" and I found that I quickly tired of it all. Unfortunately once I had started to improve one area everything else looked shabby. (the curse of the home renovator).

Anyway the gangway steps made by "Winnie the wonder" of Tabourie now look pretty special, and the aft cabin is a lot fresher and brighter. The saloon now glows golden in the afternoon light and not a trace of stale smells exists.

I didn't complete the entire job but made a dent into the worst areas.

See photos

Bye for now

Love to all

Jen Jen the busy Hen