Sailing The Wildest Stretch

Port Davey aboard The STV WIndeward Bound

The Windeward Bound

The STV Windeward Bound is a 33m, 120 tonnes, brigantine rig sailing vessel built by Captain Sarah Parry AM, whose singular vision has brought the vessel and youth development program to life. 
The prime objective of The Windeward Bound trust is a focus on youth development, achieved through a structured Sail Training Program on a traditional square rigged vessel. She proudly flies the flag of many sponsors, and of Rotary International with whom she works closely, and is supported proudly by her Patron, Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker AC, the Governor of Tasmania.
Since launch day in 1996, Windeward Bound has covered more than 100,000 nautical miles, has circumnavigated the Australian continent, sailed to New Zealand and back, circumnavigated Tasmania, crossed Bass Strait more than 30 times and sailed the Australian East Coast many times.
We were fortunate to be able to join the (more youthful) crew of The Windeward Bound on a voyage to the pristine World Heritage area of Port Davey and Bathurst Habour recently. This was a truly unique experience and indeed a privilage.

Passing Bruny Island

The Voyage from Hobart takes us some 120nm, heading due south down the d'Entrecasteaux channel around South East Cape and into the Southern Ocean. The final leg pushes northward before ducking inside the Breaksea islands to find the protected, natural harbour of Port Davey, which is 3 times the size of Sydney Harbour.
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After boarding at 11am on a clear sunny day, we left the dock at 1:45, slowly and calmly motoring down the channel. Steering is done by compass alone at the helm, where there are limited instruments (windspeed & direction only) and the ship has no autopilot at all. There are e-charts and radar etc in the pilot house and the officer of the watch sets and calls courses to the helm from there. A look out stands on top of the coach house and calls any information of note, including approaching vessels, to the officer of the watch.

It is dusk by the time we turn east start heading into the prevailing wind and swell Thankfully it is relatively calm with only 1-1.5m, long ocean swell (11-13s interval) and 15kts of wind. That said, we are punching directly on a relatively small and slow sailing ship so it is still pretty bumpy, and the motion of the boat and "compact" cabins make for a challenging night's sleep. Fortunately I still have my sea legs so no sea sickness to report!

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Sunrise over Maatsuyker Island

South West Cape

I got up around 2:30am, had a chat to Ollie the watch captain, and sat in the dining area for a little while, to better appreciate the experience. At this stage we are approaching the Maatsuyker Islands, home to Tasmania's southern most lighthouse. We will motor north of de Witt Island to get a little more protection from SW cape, and Ollie assures me that these conditions are fairly benign! 

Around dawn we are past Maatsuyker Islands and in sight of South West Cape. As we turn the corner the fun continues, this time side on to the swell makes for a bit more of a rolling motion. A few of the poor crew are suffering with the youngsters taking turns to steer and vomit over the side. For many of them its their first ocean voyage, and unlike us old (and insensitive) salts (farts?) they have not had time to adapt. It’s not until we turn east towards the Breaksea islands, that mark the entrance to Port Davey, that the swell is behind us and everyone's stomach gets a break. 

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The aptly named Breaksea Islands mark the entrance to Port Davey

The anchor is readied, which is quite a process as it wash lashed to the gunwhale for the passage. There is alot of shouting of information back to the helm, 30+m away, as well as some bell ringing, chain rattling and hand signals. We anchor in Bramble Cove, and there are a couple of other boats here. Its time for lunch and we get to chill and catch up on sleep for the rest of our day. 
Our amazing chef Zara serves up Asian style fish for dinner in the Saloon and we enjoy chatting to Captain Sarah and First Mate Susie about their Naval backgrounds, the boat and their youth development programs. We learn that the Windeward Bound has circumnavigated Australia’s coastline, following in the tracks of Matthew Flinders.

Check out the video below to follow the first leg of our journey