Bass Strait Crossing
Flinders Island Granite and Lichen
Photo journal of a sailing voyage from Lakes Entrance to Flinders Island aboard the Flicka 20 ‘Heart of Gold’. Originally I had planned to do this trip in 2020 but due to Covid restrictions the trip was pushed back to 2021. We departed Lakes Entrance on 17th March, 2021.
The first leg of the voyage. We departed Metung on the Gippsland Lakes with the first stop at Roydon Island on the northern end of Flinders Island. Total distance 137 nautical miles / about 250km.
Prior to departing I decided to replace the anchor chain for both strength and peace of mind. The old chain 8mm chain was quite corroded, down to 7mm in some places. Heart of Gold has 65m of 8mm galvanised chain from Titan marine.
After hearing a few horror stories from friends dragging anchor in the middle of the night on Deal Island I also upgraded the anchor to a 12kg Rocna Vulcan. Definitely oversized and if anything, too big to fully set with the engine alone, but once set it is rock solid.
Heart has 2 x 100 litre fresh water bladders under the front v berth.
Supertramp was the crew for this voyage. He had never sailed before.
Rainbow departing Metung. Mum and Dad seeing us off from Lakes Entrance.
It was a slow start to the trip, with gentle SE headwinds, swinging NE. Even though we timed the departure to get the outgoing tide from Lakes Entrance, water was still flowing in the entrance at 3 knots or so - about the same speed Heart of Gold motors at. It was a slow crawl out the entrance.
Halfway through the passage in the middle of the night.
The more challenging the sail, the less photos I take. I only had a couple shots from the crossing during the calmer periods.
The easy start to the trip didn’t last long as it got quite rough towards sunset and overnight. We had an easterly breeze which strengthened to 20 knots +. At some points during the trip the seas were quite short, steep and confused - really uncomfortable sailing. I think this was due to the wind on tide effects on the edge of the shallow water in Bass strait - not much change in wind strength or direction but a big change in sea state.
Tacking
We sailed through the night, making landfall around sunrise, but didn’t arrive to the Roydon Island anchorage until aout 4:30pm. Heart struggled to tack into the strong Easterly headwind and short chop. We nearly made it through the small gap between Roydon Island and North Pascoe island, but our tack came very close to some rocks and a lee shore. Despite being so close I decided to pull the pin and take the longer route around. This was after 36hrs of little / no sleep and I didn’t want end up on the rocks, but it did mean an extra hour or so of sailing. It’s the final leg of a passage I find the most dangerous and where things are likely to go wrong. Fatigue, unfamiliar waters and a desire to just be done with it and safely anchored can lead to poor decision making and unnecessary risks. It’s often the more uncomfortable and slower option that is safer.
Anchored in calm water off Roydon Island after a 30 hr passage.
The ‘Kerrawyn’ anchoring off Roydon Island. They were doing a circumnavigation of Tasmania
Roydon Island
The following day we sailed further down the East Coast of Flinders island to Trousers Point
Sailing on a close reach towards Trousers Point, with the Strzelecki Peaks off to Port
On the MAST mooring at Trousers Point
We hitched a lift into Lady Barron
Trousers Point, Heat of Gold on the mooring and Mt Strzelecki in the background.
Happy to finally be on solid ground again.