My Sydney to Hobart and Merry Xmas

[Ozzie]

This retirement is a good gig I can tell you. We have just returned from our fourth trip to the Apple isle, second by cruise ship, in this case Explorer of the Seas. This has seven bars and two theatres so meets my blue water sailing criterion . Pulling out of Melbourne after a day ashore I am always respectful of the TS owners and I’m sure some of you are amongst them who sail in Port Phillip Bay.

On what was probably mild conditions for PPB there were a couple of small yachts clearing our path...bashing into a decent wind and waves from what appeared to be the SE, our ship giving them the blast. Makes me appreciate the relative calm and protective hills of Lake Mac. Plus I don’t have to duck cruise ships and ferries.

As a brief history lesson PPB was first explored in 1802 by John Murray on HMS Lady Nelson but 10 weeks later by, you guessed it, Flinders in the original HMS Investigator. Other thing that I always notice is the narrow channel from the terminal. EOTS has a beam of 49.1 m and as you can see from this shot we are right on the channel edge. I assume there’s room for two way traffic but the offside channel marker looks awfully close too.

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While berthed in Hobart just around the corner from Victoria Dock, currently preparing for the Sydney to Hobart hullabaloo, we were on the opposite side of the bay to the CSIRO facility with its new research vessel, of which I took a snap. The name, INVESTIGATOR You can do a virtual tour on the CSIRO site

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Hello to our tassie members. Great place, if it wasn’t so bloody cold I could probably move there.

I take this opportunity also to wish old forum members and (welcome) all the new owners merry Xmas and safe holidays saying, as always, you are safer in front of the tiller than behind the wheel.

As our children are currently spread out around the world and the country and this will be our first Xmas forever with no family at home so we may spend Xmas day on Spritzig II and run some colour LEDS up the mast. There could be worse places to spend it.

Thanks again Ian B for keeping our little pond in the sailing ocean full of water.
cheers, the Ozzies

[atles]

good to see you haven fun ozz

[Ozzie]

Thanks Atles. Hoping for more Investigator time this month other than photographing new ones . Liked your video, reminds me to get sailing, but my wife keeps taking me on holidays Definitely going out on Australia Day . Oz .

[Yara50]

Its the fashion lately to say "Me Too", so the wif and I are off this weekend on the same trip. Stop-off at Eden to make the trip longer on a cruise liner.
Cheers
Ian

[Ozzie]

Bon Voyage Ian, it's a great trip and no sails to wash down or outboard to flush