Feb/March 2007 - solo paddle - Matthew Watton
This trip is the fastest kayak circumnavigation of Tasmania - not sail assisted (also faster than any sail assisted laps). It included going around Tasman Peninsula not cutting through Dunalley canal. 26 days.
Wednesday 7 Feb 2007 - Packing day at
Cockle Creek
I had been steadily packing my gear for the last 2 days and by 11pm
on 6/2/07 I was pretty satisfied that I had the main bits. I printed off a
the maps from computer versions so I wouldn't ruin my originals.
I needed to get a good nights sleep but my mind was racing as I tried to
think of anything I hadn't packed.
I watched a bit of tv & went to bed at 2am 7/2. I told dad I would be
at his house at 7.30 -8am ish. Mum was in Victoria on a bus tour holiday.
She called to wish me a safe trip at 7.30am. Dad had the dog-minding duties
so Topsy came with us to Cockle Creek. We reached Cockle Creek at 11am and
I started the unpleasant packing process. I was ready at 1.20pm but by
that time there was a strong s/w wind blowing straight across the valley & out of
Recherche Bay. It was just like the Maatsuyker Canoe Club trip where we
tried for 3 days to get around to the south coast but were blown backwards each
time.
I was blown out of Recherche Bay quickly with the
s/w wind a my back but I had to
turn south soon & I found the wind was getting stronger when I turned to s/w as
I got my first view of Whale Head the wind was right in my face & unpleasant.
I had put my warm paddle top on but it was over my wet top.
The 7km section to Whale Head took forever. There were big swells
rolling around Whale Head. Realistically I thought that the wind was too
strong to continue but I was hoping it would weaken as I continued to s/e cape.
IT DIDN'T.
I struggled to the eastern side of s/e cape and it was horrendous with waves
breaking in all directions and bouncing back off the cliffs.
The wind now seemed to be strong westerly. There was no way I could
continue to south cape rivulet. The wind was only allowing me to move at
3-4 km/h and it would take me another 2-3 hrs to get there so I made the annoying
decision to turn around and have another go at it tomorrow.
I turned the kayak around in 4 metre swells off south east cape. The
distance back to Cockle Creek was twice the distance of continuing to South Cape
Rivulet but heading back with the wind would be a lot faster. The trip
back was very fast as I surfed down lots of swells. The Mirage 580 can
feel a bit unsettled if you keep letting the waves wash past you but it feels
great when you put in a bit of effort to catch waves and it surfs easily down
the face of the wave.
When I turned to the south back into Recherche Bay I had the strong headwind
again. I reached the camp at 4.45pm and unpacked. Within 2 hrs the
wind had dropped a lot but was forecast to be strong again tomorrow.
As I lay back in the tent (Macpac Minaret - 2 person tent) I could still feel
the rocking of the water - the after effects of being out in the rough stuff.
Thursday 8 Feb 2007 - Day 1 - Cockle
Creek
I had a restless night and woke up regularly, probably because I was
anxious about the struggle into the wind again and the big swells of the south
coast and possible surf landings. At 4am I was woken by the sound of
something knocking over metal objects. I got up to check my gear and
discovered that there was no wind outside. I quickly packed up my gear
inside the tent and moved it outside. As I stood up outside the tent ready
to pull it down there was another strong gust of wind as it returned and then
started to rain. I got back into the tent and dozed off again. I
woke up again at 8.30am and packed quickly as the wind was light again. I
was angry that I had fallen asleep again and wasted 2-3 hours.
I finally left at 9.25am. The wind was a bit less than the previous
day. I reached Whale Head at 11.15am and the swell was still big. At
South-East Cape the swell was big and messy, rebounding in all directions.
I then aimed for South Cape which is a 10km stretch across the bay. The
wind was gradually easing and by the time I was off Rocky Boat Inlet the wind
was quite settled but the swells were still big. I had a look into Rocky
Boat Inlet but every time I snuck in towards the mouth of the bay some huge
swells rolled through and broke across the whole width of the bay. I
watched for 15 minutes and then gave up.
I continued around the next point where I had a view into the eastern end of
Prion Beach. For the next 30 minutes I paddled in and then got very scared
as swells peaked up behind me and I had to quickly paddle backwards - just
breaking through the top of 3-5m breaking waves. The reason I was doing
this was that in between the big swells I was sure that I could get into the
beach in the eastern corner where New River Lagoon came out. I had done
this before to climb Precipitous Bluff but sadly it was too risky this time.
The wind turned to a light southerly sea breeze and I continued along to the
western end of Prion Beach and then Deadmans Bay and Little Deadmans Bay (aka
Deadmans Cove). I landed in on the northern side of the bay where there
was a small patch of sandy gravel (at low tide). I set up my tent just
above this area. This isn't the main Deadmans Cove camp but there was
no-one else here as they were all at the fire at the main camp. A group
from Tas Expeditions were there. They were on their rest day. I had
met both of their guides - Nick & Leon - on different occasions as I walked the
South Coast Track.
I chatted to their group for and hour and then went to ring my dad to let him
know where I was. My Globalstar satellite phone wouldn't get a signal.
Even when I was standing out in an open place with the aerial up it wouldn't get
a signal. After standing there for about 45 mins it briefly connected and
I called but was cut off after 30 seconds. I waited for another 30
minutes, holding the Globalstar phone up in the air but I had no luck. I
was very annoyed. What is the point of a satellite phone when it won't do
what it is supposed to do?
As I walked back from the open button grass plain into the bush I suddenly
saw a Quoll on the track in front of me. At the time it looked like the
bigger of the 2 Quolls that are found in Tasmania. Since finishing the
trip and checking my Dave Watts 'Tasmanian Mammals' guide book I found that it
was the Spotted-Tailed Quoll. This is bigger than the other Quoll which is
the Eastern Quoll. The Spotted-Tailed Quoll is 400-600mm long whereas the
Eastern Quoll is up to 350mm long.
The Spotted-Tailed Quoll in front of me just stood there and so did I.
My head torch was on but I avoided shining it right at the Quoll. I could
see that it was sniffing at me to 'work me out'. It then walked up to me
and started sniffing my leg. I was excited at seeing the beautiful native
animal but hoped that it didn't decide that I was edible. My smelly king
gee trousers mustn't have been good enough for it so it wandered off slowly down
the track in front of me. It didn't seem at all concerned that I was
there. I walked along slowly a few metres behind and it eventually left
the track up a narrow 'animal path' away from the track. It then appeared
back on the track in front of me and walked along the main walking track and
disappeared into the bush near my tent.
Cockle Creek to Deadmans Cove: 48km
Friday 9 Feb 2007 - Day 2 - Deadmans
Cove
I had a good sleep and woke at 5.50am to listen to
the forecast but I fell asleep straight away and missed the forecast. I
woke up again at 7.45am and left at 8.50am. As I left Deadmans Cove it was
sunny and there was virtually no wind as I headed along the rocky coastline
towards Louisa Bay.
I wanted to paddle into the Louisa River but I hadn't done
this before so I approached the river mouth with caution. There were a few
sand bars but there was hardly any swell and only 1-2 foot waves in the river
mouth. I paddled up into the river about 200m. There were some rocky
areas in the river but I avoided them and landed for a stretch and some food.
There was a huge amount of fishing rubbish on the banks of the
Louisa River. There were buoys, ropes and lots of rubbish which consisted
of plastic
containers and aerosol cans. After a good drink and a few snacks to try
and get some energy back I headed out of the river mouth again into the small
waves.
I aimed to go between Louisa Island and the coast. In
this area there is a shallow neck of sand that can be dry at very low tides and
have up to a couple of feet of water over it. In the most shallow point
the waves meet from both sides and crash together. On this occasion the
tide was low and I became stuck briefly.
After leaving the river, I plodded across Louisa Bay and then
even slower across Cox Bight. In Cox Bight I saw a plane doing landing &
take-off circuits on the western beach of the bight. Around the next point
was New Harbour. The conditions were still calm and sunny and very
pleasant. I then headed for Ketchem Island and paddled between the island
and the shore.
There is a beautiful little beach on the northern side of
Ketchem Island that is sheltered from the swells. I chose to continue the
short distance to the western end of Ketchem Bay. Here there is a nice
creek and good campsite. As I approached the beach, with a 2-3 foot wave,
I could see a few campers on the beach. I paddled in on a wave and dragged
the kayak up. I spent the afternoon relaxing. I had a short swim in
the cold south-coast water and charged some of my batteries with my solar panel.
I found that my satellite phone was still having trouble getting a signal.
Deadmans Cove to Ketchem Bay: 38km
Saturday 10 Feb 2007 - Day 3 - Ketchem
Bay
I got up at 5.30am for the big day.
I was always a bit nervous prior to rounding south-west cape. I left at
6.45am and was woken right up by a 3 foot wave in my face. It made me
alert as I approached the cape. The conditions were really calm and
overcast as I approached s/w cape. Just east of the cape I spotted about
50 dolphins to my right and thousands of mutton birds resting on the water
ahead. The mutton birds (shearwater) took off when I got closer and I
found myself in a cloud of birds as they darted all around. Just off the
end of the cape there were also a few shy albatross - probably from Mewstone
Rock nearby.
As I rounded the cape and started paddling north it started to
drizzle and was misty with no wind. There were seals on the rocks between
the cape and McKays Gulch. I was still fresh so I didn't bother going into
McKays Gulch. This faces to the north-west and would be quite sheltered
from southerly or s/w wind but exposed to n/w wind.
I cruised up the coast in the calm conditions and spotted an
aluminium dinghy in Window Pane Bay. There was a diver (commercial) in the
water diving for abalone. I said 'hello' as I passed but didn't stop to
chat. Window Pane Bay has a beautiful sandy beach. The is sheltered
from northerly winds but would have huge surf with southerly wind.
Around the next point is Island Bay. This is very rocky
with lots of small islands. There are a couple of small pebbly 'beaches'
in Island Bay. It would be a beautiful place for diving and there were
more commercial divers here.
After leaving Island Bay I aimed for the southern end of
Mutton Bird Island and then changed course to the south head of Port Davey and
then aimed for the north head of Port Davey. I was making good time in the
light conditions. When I was near Wreck Bay a light southerly wind built
up. This was very handy because I was feeling tired and I started to pick
up some small waves. I kept riding the waves past Mulcahy Bay and decided
to aim for Nye Bay - where the Giblin River meets the coast.
I passed another abalone diver at a reef just off Nye Bay.
As I turned into the southern end of Nye Bay I had to paddle a bit wide of the
mouth to avoid a reef. Once I was behind the reef I was in calm water and
I cruised up the river. After a short distance the river turns left.
I stopped here on the southern side - on a small grassy patch right next to the
river.
As I lay in my tent that night I heard a very disturbing news
story. There was a report that a faint radio distress call had been heard
in New Zealand. A search was conducted and a plane spotted an upturned
kayak off Milford Sound and a helicopter was being sent for a closer inspection.
I suddenly felt sick in the stomach because that is just where Andrew McAuley
would have been after crossing the Tasman Sea from Tasmania. I couldn't
sleep because I kept listening for the news each hour for updates.
A thousand thoughts were going through my head. Had
Andrew become separated from the kayak or was he inside the upturned kayak.
I hoped that he was inside with the hatch cover protecting him. In
Andrew's testing, if the kayak turned over he would have to brace himself to
hold his bottom into the seat so that he didn't fall down into the canopy
because that would prevent it 'self-righting'.
I stayed awake most of the night,
listening to ABC news each hour for updates and hoping they would find him
alive.
Ketchem Bay to Nye Bay/Giblin River: 82km
Sunday 11 Feb 2007 - Day 4 - Nye Bay
At 9am I phoned Jeff Jennings to ask if
he had any more information about Andrew. Jeff said that he had heard that
Andrew's kayak was found to have the hatch open between the cockpit to the rear
of the kayak and it was full of water but still floating.
I left Nye Bay feeling very emotional
about this situation. I couldn't help imagining what it was like for
Andrew and how along he must have felt. That was making me more upset as I
was also felling quite alone where I was.
From Nye Bay I aimed directly for Low
Rocky Point, 18km away. As I reached Low Rocky Point 2 and a bit hours
later I took the short cut through a gap between the rocks off the point.
This area can be very treacherous and it would generally be wise to go around it
but the temptation of the short cut was too much for me. On this occasion
I didn't come unstuck but it is shallow through this gap and the waves become
steep and often break and you are surrounded by green and white foamy water and
the strong smell of kelp. The danger of these passages really get your
adrenalin pumping.
There are a few places that give me a
similar feeling:
The passage between Courts Rock and
Courts Island at s/w Bruny Island;
The passage immediately at the end of South West Cape;
Paddling between Acacia Rocks & Mainwaring Inlet;
The entry to the Wanderer River/Hartwell Cove;
Paddling around the n/w corner of Hibbs Point in a big swell - due to the reefs:
The entry to Granville Harbour;
Conical Rock Harbour;
The entry to Pieman River - DON'T DO THIS UNLESS THE CONDITIONS ARE DEAD FLAT AND THE FORECAST IS CALM FOR THE NEXT DAY AND THERE IS NO RAIN EXPECTED
The passage between Bare Rock and Venables Corner at Sandy Cape;
The reef on the northern side of Temma Harbour;
The entry to Couta Rocks - you can't see the right path clearly until to get in closer;
Arthur River - far worse than the entry to the Pieman River due to more rocks;
Paddling between the Doughboys and the Cape Grim area;
Woolnorth Point area due to strong currents and reefs;
The passage immediately at the end of South West Cape;
Paddling between Acacia Rocks & Mainwaring Inlet;
The entry to the Wanderer River/Hartwell Cove;
Paddling around the n/w corner of Hibbs Point in a big swell - due to the reefs:
The entry to Granville Harbour;
Conical Rock Harbour;
The entry to Pieman River - DON'T DO THIS UNLESS THE CONDITIONS ARE DEAD FLAT AND THE FORECAST IS CALM FOR THE NEXT DAY AND THERE IS NO RAIN EXPECTED
The passage between Bare Rock and Venables Corner at Sandy Cape;
The reef on the northern side of Temma Harbour;
The entry to Couta Rocks - you can't see the right path clearly until to get in closer;
Arthur River - far worse than the entry to the Pieman River due to more rocks;
Paddling between the Doughboys and the Cape Grim area;
Woolnorth Point area due to strong currents and reefs;
As I headed north from Low Rocky Point in
a light n/e wind I followed the shore very closely and made a note of many
possible landing points that I hadn't previously seen. I kept paddling at
a steady pace and passed High Rocky Point. After another 5km I reached the
entry to Hartwell Cove and the Wanderer River aka Christmas Cove. I first
paddled into Hartwell Cove which is a beautiful sheltered cove. I left
after 30 mins and headed into Christmas Cove and approached the Wanderer River
mouth. There was about a 2-3 foot breaking wave at the beach and it was
tempting to catch the wave straight into the river at the right-hand end of the
beach. I recalled that previous paddles had holed their kayak on rocks
here so I approached cautiously.
I caught a wave in to the beach about 20
metres from the river mouth. I walked to the mouth and found that there
were lots of submerged rocks in the entry to the river mouth. I walked my
kayak along the shore and pulled it carefully into the river. It was
beautiful in the Wanderer River. I found a small creek after about 100m on
the left. I stopped and had a swim. It would have been nice to camp
here to give me time to paddle up the river for a few kilometres.
I explored for an hour or so and then
left to head for Hibbs Point. As I was leaving I could feel the sea breeze
from the south east. I had about 20km to get to the northern side of Hibbs
Point to the place I normally camp at Sanctuary Bay or Meerim Beach. I
made great time with the sea breeze behind me and I put in a big effort to catch
runs. I would have averaged over 10km/h and reached Hibbs Point quickly.
I was welcomed to the s/w corner of Hibbs Point by the 'barking' of the resident
seals.
With the wind still behind me I decided
to continue past Hibbs Point. I wasn't sure where I would stop but the sea
conditions weren't rough so I kept going. I reached about 2km north of
Hibbs Point and the wind dropped out and then turned back to the east. Now
that I didn't have the wind assistance I decided to stop at the next possible
spot. I aimed for the northern end of Hibbs Bay and then continued for 2km
more and found a crescent bay (un-named but it is about 6.5km north of Hibbs
Point). I paddled around the bay from the southern side. It looked
promising from a distance. I could see lots of beaches but as I got closer
the shore was blocked by rocks.
Finally on the northern side of the bay
there was a very small beach. This beach also had rocks on it but there
was a gap just wide enough for a kayak to fit in. The beach was very
gravely and steep. In a big southerly swell it would surge up the beach
and be nasty - but in this easterly weather it was fine.
I struggled to pull the kayak up the
steep beach and found a nice flat grassy open area. As walked onto the
'grass' I realised that the grass was in fact small green prickles. I also
shared the spot with lots of jack jumper ants and bullants. I put down my
tarp under the tent to protect it from being torn on the prickles. I then
spent over an hour trying to get a phone signal on my globalstar satellite
phone. I hate globalstar!
Nye Bay to small cove 6.5km nth of Hibbs
Point - 81km
Monday 12 Feb 2007 - Day 5 - 6km nth
of Hibbs Point
I woke up early and headed off with the
expectation that I would reach Macquarie Harbour today. I had sore hands -
not so much from blisters but from the effort it takes to try and accelerate a
fully loaded sea kayak to catch swells.
As I paddled up towards Varna Bay there
were lots of reefs all the way. I stayed well out to avoid them. I
remained well out past Gorge Point and Spero Bay. At Spero Bay in headed
in amongst the rocks. It was a beautiful spot but the conditions were calm
due to the easterly weather. In westerly weather it would be a bit
interesting.
From Spero Point I aimed for the
lighthouse at Cape Sorell. A very light southerly sea breeze picked up.
I eventually rounded Cape Sorell which was a great feeling of relief. It
was also the first stepping stone over. As I entered Hells Gates I was a
bit too far to the north and ended up in shallow water. This wasn't all
bad as there were waves here to catch into the harbour. I went straight to
the boat ramp that is 2.5km from the Hells Gates islands - on the left shore as
I paddled in. I was very happy to land. It was a successful start to
the trip to get from Cockle Creek to Macquarie Harbour in 5 days - especially as
your fitness improves each week and this was the first week.
I had told my father that I would be
arriving and he turned up at the heads after a while. We went into Strahan
for tea and had fish & chips.
I made a list of re-supply items to buy
at Strahan:
small tube of sun cream
1 weeks worth of food bars for lunches & breakfast
6 x 1.5 litre water bottles
goulburn valley fruit cups
nurofen tablets
another weeks worth of night meals (packet pasta)
500ml metho
1 weeks worth of food bars for lunches & breakfast
6 x 1.5 litre water bottles
goulburn valley fruit cups
nurofen tablets
another weeks worth of night meals (packet pasta)
500ml metho
Hibbs Point to Macquarie Harbour camp
ground: 50km
Tuesday 13 Feb 2007 - Day 6 -
Macquarie Harbour
I bought my re-supply items and headed
back out to the heads. I packed the kayak again and headed off at 12.45pm
saying goodbye to my dad. The water was pretty calm as I left the harbour
so I was surprised when I felt water wash against my hip inside the kayak -
while I had my spray deck on. I looked down to the left side of my kayak
and was shocked to see that there was a hole in the side where the bolt and
washer that held the seat in place had pulled through the fibreglass - leaving a
round 4cm sized hole.
I turned around and went back to the boat
ramp. I called my father to let him know that I had come back to fix the
kayak. He returned after a few minutes. We pulled the kayak back to
the camp site and took the seat out of the kayak. I spent the afternoon
repairing the fibreglass where the seat bolt goes through and used larger
washers as well. By this time it was too late to start paddling to get to
Trial Harbour 35km away in a n/e headwind.
Wednesday 14 Feb 2007 - Day 7 -
Macquarie Harbour
I woke at 5am and had some quick
breakfast. I packed and left at 6.45am. It was calm as I paddled
across Ocean Beach towards Trial Harbour. I saw some albatrosses resting
in the water while there was no wind. I also saw a seal feeding - swimming
around in circles.
I made good progress for the 35km to
Trial Harbour and continued on for the next 20km to Granville Harbour. I
met a couple from Queensland and had a chat while I was having lunch. The
march flies were very active and persistent.
I headed off again for the next 15km to
Conical Rocks Harbour. I saw a few local people checking cray pots.
I landed in the sheltered sandy cove and was frustrated that the march flies
were very active here as well. Some of the march flies had green eyes and
some had red eyes. I lay in the water for a while to avoid them. I
put up my tent straight away and lay in there to hide from the flies. I
went for a short walk and came across a 2 guys on a 4 wheeled motor bike.
I found out that the passenger had was from Canada and had sent my father an
email for information about Tasmania about 12 months ago. He was in
Tasmania for '10 days on the Island' art festival. It was an amazing
coincidence and we found it quite amusing.
Macquarie Harbour to Conical Rocks
Harbour: 70km
Thursday 15 Feb 2007 - Day 8 - Conical
Rocks Harbour
I got up at 6am to try and get away
before the march flies were active. As I headed north from Conical Rocks
towards Sandy Cape it was quite misty around the mouth of the Pieman River.
There is a very long 30km section of white sandy beach. The
tranquillity was spoiled by a few 4 wheel motor bikes screaming along the beach.
I cruised along in calm weather.
As I turned the corner around the
northern side of Sandy Cape the north east wind picked up to be about 20-25 knot
headwind. I landed in the corner of the bay and was immediately attacked
by the march flies again. I decided to have a go at paddling into the wind
but it continued to build and after 60 minutes and 3km, I turned back.
I landed and wandered around looking for
a campsite but couldn't find anywhere sheltered from the strong wind for my
tent. I ended up using my bivvy bag instead to avoid having the wind snap
the tent poles.
I set my alarm for 4am to try and get
some distance under my belt before any wind picked up but it didn't reduce at
all during the night.
Conical Rocks Harbour to Sandy Cape: 45km
Friday 16 Feb 2007 - Day 9 - Sandy
Cape
After getting up at 4am and finding the
wind still strong, I went back to bed until 7am when I heard a car nearby.
I looked out of my bivvy and saw an old Suzuki Sierra hooning on the beach and
then heading up the track into the dunes. I decided to go for a walk
(while the wind was too strong to paddle) and follow the car tracks. I
followed the car tracks to the southern side of Sandy Cape and found a guy
checking a cray pot that was marked in an 'interesting' manner. I
continued walking down the track and found a hut with Parks & Wildlife staff
there. I had a brief chat (after waking them up). He obviously had
no interest in talking while he was still hoping to be asleep - so I left him in
peace.
On the way back I found a shell pile in
the dunes that was about 10 metres high. On the side exposed to the wind
it was exposed and you could see a cross-section of the shells. As I
returned to my bivvy bag I found a guy with a bike who was riding down the coast
to the Pieman River where he was going to get a boat back up to Corinna.
The march flies were making my life
miserable and the wind was still very strong from the north. It was also
about 30 deg C. At about midday I heard the roar of a plane and looked up
to see an F/A 18 Hornet fly over the headland at only a few hundred metres above
the ground. I could feel the vibrations from the plane and it made an
incredible noise. It roared off into the distance to the north as quickly
as it appeared.
I finally decided to leave at 12.30pm.
The wind was still very strong from the north-east but I couldn't take any more
of the march flies. The sea was very rough and there were 2-3m waves
rolling into the Sandy Cape beach as I moved away from the sheltered corner.
In n/e wind I would normally try and stay close to the shore to shelter from the
wind as much as I could but with the large waves I had to stay about 1km out.
Even at this distance out I had to avoid breaking waves when I paddled over sand
banks and was nearly caught out. The offshore wind was blowing the tops
off the waves and sending huge clouds of spray high up and well behind the wave.
I had a big challenge ahead of me.
There was 10km of beach before I reached the rocky shoreline where I could
shelter in some rocky coves. I just plugged away steadily - just doing
enough to keep the kayak moving. I had regular drinks to help me keep up
the effort.
It was a massive relief to reach the
rocky section and then I just took it one bay at a time, hugging the shore.
I headed into Temma Harbour and pulled up at the end of the bay. It was
beautiful to have a swim and relax. There were a few cray fishermen there
doing some maintenance to their boats. I was very happy when one of them
gave me a freshly cooked crayfish for tea.
Sandy Cape to Temma Harbour: 26km
Saturday 17 Feb 2007 - Day 10 - Temma
Harbour
I woke up at 6am and it was forecast for
strong n/e wind again. I was tempted to just lie in the tent all day but I
managed to get up. I thought that even if I only managed to go 10km it
would be something.
Again I just took it one bay at a time as
I struggled into the wind. I headed for the shelter of Couta Rocks 8km
away - entering through the sheltered passage from Rebecca Point (ok for kayaks
but not for boats). I stopped for a stretch.
I left after my break and headed for
Bluff Hill Point (23km away) where I had a break at 1pm. This is a
beautiful spot and there are sheltered landing spots behind the rocks.
After an hour break I left and found that the wind had turned into a sea breeze
from the n/w at about 15 knots.
I plugged away up to West Point and then
crossed to Greens Point then turned into Marrawah Beach. I was mobbed by
curious kids and other onlookers. I dragged the kayak up to the camp/car
park area and then got a life up to the shop. I then went to the pub for a
meal and walked back down the hill, feeling very happy.
Temma to Marrawah: 50km (following the
shore)
Sunday 18 Feb 2007 - Day 11 - Marrawah
I woke up and found there was a very
strong northerly wind. I could see white caps on the waves coming from the
north. The forecast was for the wind to remain like this for the day.
I decided that I would have to have stay where I was. It was a sunny day
so I washed all of my clothes and hung them out to dry. I charged all of
my batteries with my solar panel. During the morning I walked up to the
shop to get a couple of salad rolls to have for lunch and tea.
About 7pm there was a thunder storm with
torrential downpour. The storm passed and I was left with that fresh 'just
rained' smell.
Monday 19 Feb 2007 - Day 12 - Marrawah
(still)
I woke at 5.50am and started at 7.25am.
I was greeted with a few waves in my face as left Marrawah beach. There
was a light southerly wind that helped me towards Woolnorth Point - the
north-west corner of Tasmania - 33km away.
As I approached the Doughboys and Cape
Grim there were big rolling swells from the south-west. I had to be very
careful at I approached Woolnorth Point because there were many reefs with
breaking waves. I let out a loud cheer as I rounded Woolnorth Point -
finishing the West Coast. I rounded the point by catching a wave between
some rocks and the point itself.
On the eastern side of Woolnorth Point
the water was calm and the conditions were very pleasant. I tried to be
clever and take the short cut and go to the south of Kangaroo Island to save
3.5km. You can only paddle to the south of Kangaroo Island at high tide
and even then you may have to pull the kayak for a while. This is what
happened to me. I ran out of water and had to drag the kayak for about 200
metres to the next channel.
Once I reached the channel again I was
paddling against the current - through Robbins Passage. It was sunny and
the water was very warm. There were big stingrays everywhere in the clear
shallow water. I stopped at Stony Point which is at the eastern end of the
passage. It was good to have another stretch after 60km from Marrawah.
I had a chat to some people about to take out 2 Hobie Mirage pedal kayaks.
I left Stony Point at 3.50pm to head to
North Point (near Stanley). I was feeling weary but just kept plugging
away across the 27km gap to North Point. There was only a few km's to Half
Moon Bay where I had camped before. I caught a wave into the beach where
there is a little hut. I had camped here before and enjoyed it because it
was near a penguin colony. That night I heard them arriving at about
9.30pm. I heard them 'talking to each other' through the night. They
are beautiful creatures.
Marrawah to Half Moon Bay: 91km
Tuesday 20 Feb 2007 - Day 13 - Half
Moon Bay
I woke up feeling a bit sore and tired
after my 90km day yesterday. As I was moving my kayak down to the waters
edge, using my trolley as I did every day, a golden retriever appeared running
around on the beach. The dog was in heaven to have so much beach to run
around on.
I headed towards the Nut at Stanley and
saw lots of seals on rocks near the Nut. There was quite a strong current
here. I had a 20km gap across a big bay to Rocky Cape against a north-east
wind. I plodded along at 6-7km/h. Upon reaching Rocky Cape I stopped
for a rest. When I left I was happy to find that the wind had reduced on
the eastern side. I cruised along to Boat Harbour, following the shore
closely to have something to look at. My father was planning to meet me at
Boat Harbour and as I approached the beach I could see him on the grass nearby.
That evening we had a meal at the Cafe
and set up the tent near the beach, where lots of campervans had turned up.
The temperature was very warm during the night.
Half Moon Bay to Boat Harbour: 42km
Wednesday 21 Feb 2007 - Day 14 - Boat
Harbour
I packed up quickly and had some
breakfast. There was a strong north-east wind that I would have to paddle
into and I wasn't looking forward to it. I had very slow going towards
Table Cape. There were large rolling swells. I stopped at Somerset
for a break after 26km. After my break I continued to Burnie where I
stopped again. I wanted to find a cork or bung to put in my pump outlet.
This outlet didn't have one-way valve and let water into it.
After walking around town for about 2
hours without success, I ended up using an old thong that was on the beach.
I cut it into pieces to use for a bung. It worked perfectly. The
wind was quite calm as I cruised to Penguin and then on to Ulverstone. I
landed at West Ulverstone at 7.30pm and pulled my kayak up. I set up my
tent on the beach. It was another warm night and there were a few swimmers
there. I was just on the western side of the Leven River mouth.
There was a strong current coming out of the river mouth with the tide falling.
I could see some swimmers that were out in the water very close to the line of
current from the river.
I watched for a few minutes until I saw
that they were being taken out to sea. I quickly dragged my kayak back
into the water (still wearing my dry 'night clothes'). I paddled out to
the swimmers and they were totally unaware that they were in a current.
They could swim ok but they were quickly being taken further out. I helped
them to get out of the current flow and they returned to the beach.
That was the last thing that I felt like
after a long day in the kayak.
Boat Harbour to Ulverstone: 59km
Thursday 22 Feb 2007 - Day 15 -
Ulverstone
I got up and packed quickly because I
wasn't supposed to be camping where I was. I left at 7am and cruised along
close to the shore. I stopped briefly at the mouth of the Forth River.
The tide was falling. I continued towards Devonport, stopping at the
Mersey Bluff Beach for some breakfast for 45 minutes.
I continue towards Port Sorell with a
light sea breeze from the north. I could see a large thunder storm to the
south that appeared to be coming towards me. From Point Sorell to West
Head I paddled very hard because I didn't want to be out in the water in
lightning. By the time I rounded West Head I realised that it wasn't
getting any closer so I relaxed again. I landed at Greens Beach and found
the shop nearby for tea.
I waited until dark and put my tent up on
the beach.
Ulverstone to Greens Beach: 56km
Friday 23 Feb 2007 - Day 16 - Greens
Beach
After a restless night's sleep I got up
at 6am. I headed along Greens Beach to the east and then found that I was
in a shallow rocky area. I had to head north to get around it and then
cross the mouth of the Tamar towards Low Head. There was a strong flow out
of the river.
After rounding Low Head I followed the
shore closely to try and shelter from a moderate south-east wind. I stayed
close to the shore until I reached the bay off Beechford, where I
'straight-lined' to Stony Head. In the afternoon the wind turned to the
north-east at about 15 knots. I just plugged away at 6-7km/h. I
continued to West Sandy Point, East Sandy Point and into the river at Bridport.
I pulled the kayak up and camped behind the police station in vacant land.
I wandered up to the shops for tea feeling buggered after a hard day.
Greens Beach to Bridport: 71km
Saturday 24 Feb 2007 - Day 17 -
Bridport
I got up at 5.15am and packed quickly
because it was spitting with rain and I didn't want to pack away with a wet
tent. I started paddling at 6.30am. The tide was falling and there
was a current heading out of the Brid River.
I cruised slowly for the 25km to Croppys
Point with a light northerly wind that was partly a head wind. Through
Waterhouse Passage my kayak felt very heavy and I started to think that the rear
hatch was full of water. I stopped at the eastern end of the passage and
checked the hatches. They were all fine. I guessed that I was just
paddling against the current and that I didn't have breakfast and was feeling
weak.
I had a break for about 45 mins and had
some food bars. I left Waterhouse Point at midday to head straight across
the bay for the 23km to Petal Point. I continued for about 4km and a
strong easterly headwind came up. There was no way I could have continued
for 19km against this wind so I turned right to head back to the shore to follow
it around the bay.
I stopped at Tomahawk and had some
toasted sandwiches at the shop. I left at 3pm to continue following the
shore around Ringarooma Bay. Instead of the 23km across the bay I would
have 32km around it.
I plodded along for the first 1½ hrs in
the strong easterly wind. There was a fair bit of surf at the mouth of the
Ringarooma River so I didn't go into the river. I checked my gps and it
said that I had 9km to go to Petal Point, so I had a big drink and headed off
again feeling renewed motivation. I struggled along to Petal Point and
caught a 2 foot wave into the beach on the southern side of Petal Point. I
put up my tent just up the track on the headland.
I was too tired to cook a meal. I
just lay down in the tent and went to sleep.
Bridport to Petal Point: 66km
Sunday 25 Feb 2007 - Day 18 - Petal
Point
My alarm went off at 5.45am. I
found that I couldn't clench my fist on my left hand. I had a weak grip in
both hands. I was concerned by this. I had another short nap and got
up at 6.30am. I packed slowly due to feeling sore and tired. I left
at 8am. The sky was clear and there was a light easterly wind. I
cruised to Cape Portland and found that the tide was going out and as a result
the current was travelling to the east around the Cape.
I sped around the point at 14km/h with
the current. I sped around each point but I returned to 8-9km/h between
them. By the time I reached Little Musselroe Bay the current was a lot
slower and I thought that by Big Musselroe Point I would be against the current.
I followed Big Musselroe Beach closely
because offshore the westerly current would be stronger. This beach is
spectacular because it is very steep as the strong currents flow past it and the
waves wash up the beach.
I reached the entry into the river at the
eastern end of Big Musselroe Bay. I paddled up against a strong current
and stopped next to the boat launching spot. A motor boat stopped here.
I asked them if there was a shop here. They said no but one of them had a
shack nearby and offered to make me some sandwiches. This really hit the
spot and gave me a renewed burst of energy.
As I left Big Musselroe Bay there was a
n/e sea breeze. I cruised along to the south-east towards Eddystone Point,
at one point passing about 10 people walking along the beach. I stopped on
the northern side of the point near a shack. I landed at 4pm had a swim to
relax. I charged up my batteries with my solar panel and sat watching the
wallabies.
I cooked up a meal and went to bed.
During the night I had strong stomach pain followed by the runs and vomiting.
I sat up for most of the night feeling terrible because I wouldn't have made it
out of my sleeping bag and tent in time. I finally went back to bed at 3am
feeling drained.
Petal Point to Eddystone Point: 60km
Monday 26 Feb 2007 - Day 19 -
Eddystone Point
I woke up at 6am feeling flat and
lethargic. My hands and wrists were very sore again and my fingers were
numb. I had to massage my fingers to get the feeling back into them (I
later found out it was a carpal tunnel issue). I packed slowly and left at
8am. The water was glassy and clear as I cruised slowly down to Ansons
Bay. I saw a big school of fish below me in about 10m deep water.
At 10am there was a light easterly wind.
It wasn't affecting me but I was very tired and couldn't stop yawning. I
felt very flat and had no energy. It took me 6 hours to get to St Helens
Point. I had a rest on the south side near Beer Barrel Point where I
caught a nice 3 foot wave to the beach. I had some lunch and a big drink
to recharge the batteries.
I didn't really want to continue but I
headed off again, following the shore so I could stop if I found somewhere to
camp. Eventually I started to feel better. I headed for Scamander
and landed at 6.15pm. I had a hamburger at the shop for tea.
Eddystone Point to Scamander: 62km
Tuesday 27 Feb 2007 - Day 20 -
Scamander
I left Scamander early because I had set
up my tent where there was no camping - on the foreshore near the shop. I
was drizzling as I packed up and I was eaten by the mozzies. I left the
lagoon at Scamander through 3-4 foot messy surf and turned south. There
was a south-east headwind hugging the coast closely. I was amazed at how
many houses had survived the recent bushfires. The whole coast and hills
were burnt severely but most of the houses had survived even though all around
was devastated.
I found an injured penguin swimming off
Four Mile Creek. Its body seems bloated and it couldn't dive. It
appeared to have injuries to its feet. It swam away and I was unable to
catch it to help it. Rather than cause it far more stress by chasing it I
left it. I knew that it wouldn't live too long.
Just south of Four Mile Creek there was a
new steep boat ramp at Burial Point on the map. An aluminium boat was
working in the bay and came over to the ramp. I stopped there for a rest.
They said that the place was 'White Sands' and it was a private ramp and the
public had to pay $10 to launch boats from there. They had been fishing
for Moorwong that is sold to China.
After a good rest and feed, I continued
along the rocky shore to Long Point, Seymour. I stopped at a bay on the
northern side. I discovered that my video camera was on a manual exposure
setting and everything was white. I remembered that I had fiddled with the
settings while I was filming the sunset at Eddystone Point.
After leaving Long Point, the sky got
very dark and misty rain set in. I followed the shore closely - plodding
at 6km/h into the southerly wind. I paddled across the next to Diamond
Island and stopped at Waubs Bay. Dad was here to catch up with me again.
He helped me pull the kayak up the beach. That afternoon I bought more
food from the shops and we had fish and chips for tea. I slept in Dad's
car while I charged some batteries.
Our night was interrupted by some drunks
that turned up at 2am.
Scamander to Bicheno: 53km
Wednesday 28 Feb 2007 - Day 21 -
Bicheno
I got up at 6am and left Bicheno at
7.30am but as I paddled through the gulch I realised that the conditions were
terrible. There had been strong easterly winds blowing all night. I
stopped next to a sailing catamaran 'Amazing Grace'. They were staying in
Bicheno due to the wind.
I could see big rolling swells at the
southern end of the Gulch. It looked nasty outside the sheltered water of
the Gulch. I landed the kayak on a pebbly shore near the boat ramp.
My kayak felt a little nose-heavy with my new supplies in the boat. I
moved all of my water bottles from inside the front of the cockpit to the rear
hatch to change the balance of the kayak further to the back to make it easier
to go over waves and so I didn't nose dive as much when catching waves.
I waited until 8.20am, hoping that the
conditions would calm down again. They didn't!
I ventured out of the Gulch. The
swells were about 3-4m and were going in all directions as they bounced off the
rocky shoreline. It was chaotic. The waves were big and steep as I
headed south. I headed to the south-east to get further out so that the
waves would be coming from a more consistent direction.
Once I passed Cape Lodi after 8km I was
paddling past beaches instead of a rocky shore. There were less rebounding
waves but they were still very big. I shouldn't have been surprised
because there had been easterly wind for most of the last 20 days since I
started.
Travelling south off the beaches became
easier. The waves and wind was coming directly from the left and not head
on. In the strong winds there were lots of gannets, mutton birds and
albatrosses around. It didn't seem to take long to reach the southern end
of Friendly Beaches. I regularly had to brace as I was hit by breaking
waves from my left.
As I reached the cliffs of Freycinet it
became very messy and there were still big waves. In challenging
conditions my normal practice is to go as hard as I can to get through the bad
patch quickly. This only works when the hard patch is a few hundred
metres. I was feeling buggered and I wanted a break but I had to get to a
sheltered spot.
I headed for to get to the inside of the
biggest rock of 'The Nuggets' - which were a group of 4 small islands/big rocks
just off the cliffs. There were waves breaking all around the Nuggets but
it was sheltered on the s/w side of the biggest of the rocks. I composed
myself there for about 5 minutes. I had lots of water in the cockpit that
had been sloshing around and I pumped it out. Water in the cockpit makes
the kayak unstable and heavier.
After a good drink I continued towards
Wineglass Bay. There were still big rolling swells heading into the bay
and I stayed along the northern shore of the bay because it was sheltered from
the wind. I decided to stop at the northern end of the beach because it
was closest and I wanted to stop as soon as possible.
I stopped a few hundred metres out from
the beach. The waves were breaking a long way out and I watched the waves
for a while. It didn't look too bad from out here. While I was
watching a big set came through and I had to paddle backwards to just sneak over
the breaking waves.
After the last big wave I decided to
sprint for the beach, hoping to get in before the next big waves. In
hindsight I should have turned around and gone down to the southern end of
Wineglass Bay. I kept heading for the beach. I paused for another
wave to break and then tried to paddle hard to follow it in but another wave
quickly caught up to me. It became very steep and I realised that there
was a sandbar ahead of me causing the waves to peak up and dump.
I was turned sideways on the wave and
braced as it dumped on me. The wave rolled me over and I suddenly realised
that I had my video camera in a housing on a pole on the front deck. I was
worried that it would snap off as I was being rolled over. Before I knew
it I had rolled back up again and the camera was still there.
I was washed up on the beach and had to
jump out quickly to stop the kayak being sucked out into the dumping surf again.
It must have looked crazy to the tourists that had walked down to the beach from
the lookout. I looked back out at the waves for a while and most of them
were 4-6 foot dumping waves on the sandbar.
It was a huge relief to have survived the
very testing day.
Bicheno to Wineglass Bay: a very testing
37km
Thursday 1 March 2007 - Day 22 -
Wineglass Bay
I was pleased that in the morning the
wind had reduced a bit but it was from the south-east. I plodded until I
went through Schouten Passage and headed straight across towards the coast.
I couldn't see the coast of Tasmania in the fog and mist but I just kept
paddling west.
About half way across it cleared a bit.
I headed for Little Swanport and caught some waves into Little Swanport. I
stopped on the southern shore of Little Swanport and cooked up my meal in an old
hut. I set up my tent on grass near the hut and had a good nights sleep.
Wineglass Bay to Little Swanport: 48km
Friday 2 March 2007 - Day 23 - Little
Swanport
I packed quickly in the morning because
there it was drizzling. I left Little Swanport at 7.30am. There was
only a few k's of visibility in the mist and a south-east headwind again.
As I was plodding into the headwind a very loud helicopter flew over me.
It was flying under the low clouds only a few hundred metres off the water.
I crossed the bay out from Orford and
headed for Spring Beach. I stopped there for lunch and had a chat with a
bunch of tourists from a tour group. There were people from UK, Canada,
France, Holland, Ireland and Taiwan and some other people I didn't meet.
After a good lunch break I continued to Earlham. I stopped halfway down
the beach and set up my tent in a paddock among the sheep.
Little Swanport to Earlham: 50km
Saturday 3 March - Day 24 - Earlham
I got up at 5am and packed in the dark.
I left at 6.10am still before dawn. THERE WAS A TAIL WIND ... yay ... woo
hoo! I was excited and charged down the coast to Hellfire Bluff. I
was chasing the wind swells and catching lots of the 2-3 foot wind waves.
There was low cloud and I couldn't see far into the distance. I crossed
Marion Bay quickly and then saw that I was off course. I had been going
towards the entry to Blackman Bay. I turned further left to go towards
Visscher Island still with a tailwind. I had my phone handy and called my
parents to give them an estimate of my ETA to Pirates Bay.
There were Albatrosses and Gannets
everywhere and even a few big ugly brown birds that I think were Southern Giant
Petrels. I was also excited to see lots of flying fish (well gliding
really). One flew across my bow and other flew out in front of me.
There were thousands of birds around Visscher Island also.
Along the next section of coast there
were still good runs but it was lumpier because of the rebounding waves from the
cliffs. As I approached Pirates Bay the tailwind eased. As I
approached the jetty I could see my father standing on it and my mother was
nearby on the beach with their dog. The sun was out and the conditions
were beautiful. I arrived at 11.20am - 47km in the first 5 hours was
alright in a fully loaded sea kayak.
I relaxed and had some breakfast/lunch
with them. I left again at 12.45pm. The wind was from the
north-east. It was very lumpy as I left Pirates Bay. As I paddled
past the tourists near the Blowhole they must have thought I was mental paddling
in the big, messy conditions.
I caught more good runs as I headed down
to Cape Hauy. I tried to go through the normal gap where the Totem Pole is
but the sea was way too rough.
I had to go around the outside of Cape
Hauy for the first time and then caught some great runs down to Cape Pillar.
There were very strong gusts at Cape Pillar. I entered the passage and
there were good swells rolling through the passage as well. I stuck to the
northern side of the passage.
I followed the shore closely. There
were strong downdrafts next to the cliffs and gusts in all directions.
Near Black Head a thunderstorm hit. I got as close to the cliffs as I
could, hoping that the lightning wouldn't hit me. I was being pelted by
hail and it hurt. It passed after 10 minutes. I continued to the
southern end of Safety Cove. I noticed that the wind turned from the
north-east to north-west at 7.30pm. If only it had stayed easterly for one
more day and I could finish from here. After all it had been easterly for
over 3 weeks. I had 101km to go if I took an easterly wind across Storm
Bay and went around the the south end of Bruny Island.
Earlham to Safety Cove: 87km
Sunday 4 March 2007 - Day 25 - Safety
Cove
It was my birthday and I would have loved
to have one more day of easterly wind to finish the trip. It didn't
happen.
I got up at 6am, hoping the wind wouldn't
still be from the n/w. When I got up I found that it was either west or
north-west. I knew that once I got to Cape Raoul either direction would be
a nightmare to get across Storm Bay.
I packed very slowly because I was hoping
that the wind would ease or change direction. Neither happened.
I left Safety Cove at 8.30am. The
wind was still strong and there were big lumpy seas as I passed Crescent Bay and
headed to Cape Raoul. I struggled across to the shelter of Cape Raoul and
hugged the shelter of the cliffs as I paddled south to the tip. Just at
the tip there was a seal colony. A large catamaran rounded Cape Raoul as I
got there. They went right over to the seal colony for photos - scaring
the seals to rush to the water. Obviously they haven't had 'the talk' from
Parks & Wildlife.
I poked the kayak around the impressive
cliffs of Cape Raoul. From there it is 30km to the west to get to Cape
Queen Elizabeth at the northern end of Adventure Bay. That would be too
hard directly into the westerly. I decided to head to the n/w to go around
the northern end of Bruny Island and down the D'Entrecasteaux Channel.
I started heading to the n/w which was
still close to Tasman Peninsula to 3km south of Wedge Island. There were a
few times when the wind changed a bit to n/w or northerly so I turned to go
straight across Storm Bay but it quickly changed back from n/w to westerly so I
changed again to head to the northern end of Bruny Island.
This happened a few times as I zig zagged
to the n/w across Storm Bay to the northern end of Bruny Island. On the
crossing of Storm Bay I saw a few seals, albatrosses and millions of mutton
birds. The conditions calmed a lot when I reached the northern end of
Bruny and I continued down the Channel to Kettering.
I stopped at Roaring 40's Ocean Kayaking
business and they let me put my tent up on the grass next to the water and use
their shower. After cleaning off I went to the pub nearby for a meal.
The meal must have been a bit too much for my stomach after camping food and at
about 10pm I was up again with an 'stomach issues'.
Safety Cove to Kettering: 70km
Monday 5 March 2007 - Day 26 -
Kettering
After my night of 'stomach issues' I was
probably dehydrated which wasn't the best start to my last day. I had
about 72km to go and there would be a south-westerly headwind all day. I
just hoped that it would be light and let me make easy progress into it.
I got up at 5.30am and started paddling
at 6.30am. The morning was cold but it was initially calm. I didn't
have any breakfast or a drink because I didn't want to have any more problems.
As I paddled down the Channel near
Middleton the south-west wind was picking up. By the time I reached Gordon
after about 17km the wind was quite strong. I knew that just around the
corner from Gordon I would have a strong headwind and a big area of open water.
Normally I would go straight towards
Partridge Island and then towards Southport Lagoon but these were directly into
the strong wind. I would have to take the really long way around and head
across to the west to Port Esperance (the port where Dover is).
As I left Gordon I was bracing myself for
pain. I was faced with a headwind of white-caps. I could either go
back to Gordon or try and continue into the wind. I really wanted to
finish today so I kept going.
I just kept plugging away into the wind.
It took everything to keep the kayak moving forwards. A few k's before
Port Esperance I could see some fish farms so I aimed for them because it was
sheltered on the down-wind side. I rested there for about 10 minutes,
watching the fish jumping.
After a rest I continued to the coast a
few k's north of Port Esperance. I reached the shore again and found
sheltered to rest again. After a good drink I headed south across the
entrance to Port Esperance. The open water at the Port entry was very
rough and I sheltered on the southern side.
I checked the gps and found that I still
had 35km to go. I was only going at roughly 5km/h into the strong wind
bits so I had a long day ahead of me.
It didn't get any easier for the next 7
hours. I hugged the shore and just did enough to keep the kayak moving,
creeping past Southport, Southport Lagoon and then across the final open 10km to
Cockle Creek. I landed just before 7pm after a horrible 10½ hours into the
wind.
It was great to see Dad there with my
car. I was cold and exhausted. I got into dry clothes and unpacked
the kayak. It was heaven to get into the car with the heater on. I
had taken 4 days off my previous best time for 'the lap'. I was happy with
the 26 days, but even happier that it was over.
Kettering to Cockle Creek: 74km
(following the shore closely)
| DAY | FROM ... TO ... | DISTANCE | |
| 0 - 7/2/07 | Packing day & 'test paddle' at Cockle Creek | 32km test | |
| 1 - 8/2/07 | Cockle Creek to Deadmans Cove | early headwind that eased | 48km |
| 2 - 9/2/07 | Deadmans Cove to Ketchem Bay | pretty calm | 38km |
| 3 - 10/2/07 | Ketchem Bay to Nye Bay | s/e | 82km |
| 4 - 11/2/07 | Nye Bay to Jones Creek Bay - 3km nth of Hibbs Lagoon | 81km | |
| 5 - 12/2/07 | 'Jones Creek Bay' to Macquarie Harbour | 50km | |
| 6 - 13/2/07 | Macquarie Harbour repair day | - | |
| 7 - 14/2/07 | Macquarie Harbour to Conical Rocks Harbour | 70km | |
| 8 - 15/2/07 | Conical Rocks Harbour to Sandy Cape | 45km | |
| 9 - 16/2/07 | Sandy Cape to Temma Harbour | 26km | |
| 10 - 17/2/07 | Temma Harbour to Marrawah | 50km | |
| 11 - 18/2/07 | Marrawah - bad weather day | strong northerly wind | - |
| 12 - 19/2/07 | Marrawah to North Point (n/w of Stanley) | 91km | |
| 13 - 20/2/07 | North Point to Boat Harbour | 42km | |
| 14 - 21/2/07 | Boat Harbour to Ulverstone | 59km | |
| 15 - 22/2/07 | Ulverstone to Greens Beach | 56km | |
| 16 - 23/2/07 | Greens Beach to Bridport | 71km | |
| 17 - 24/2/07 | Bridport to Petal Point | 66km | |
| 18 - 25/2/07 | Petal Point to Eddystone Point | 60km | |
| 19 - 26/2/07 | Eddystone Point to Scamander | 62km | |
| 20 -27/2/07 | Scamander to Bicheno | 53km | |
| 21 - 28/2/07 | Bicheno to Wineglass Bay | 37km | |
| 22 - 1/3/07 | Wineglass Bay to Little Swanport | 48km | |
| 23 - 2/3/07 | Little Swanport to Earlham | 50km | |
| 24 - 3/3/07 | Earlham to Safety Cove | 87km | |
| 25 - 4/3/07 | Safety Cove to Kettering | 70km | |
| 26 - 5/3/07 | Kettering to Cockle Creek | 74km | |
| 1416km |
