On glassy seas, over a moderate swell, five powerboats left Deal Island at dawn on February 28th to cover the final leg to the Victorian mainland in the penultimate stage of the 2011 Australian Offshore Challenge. As competitors in The Bass Strait Rally edition of the Offshore Challenge, each team had commenced their rally five days before on the Derwent River adjacent to Hobart’s Wrest Point Casino and navigated their way up the east coast of Tasmania and on into the islands of Bass Strait.
Leaving Hobart at the start was a diverse mix of power-boats, all with one aim – to push the boundaries of their boating experience and claim the honour and kudos of having crossed Bass Strait.
Along the way, each team was set the daily task of navigating a series of waypoints against a nominated target time. But equally important to the competition was the chance to explore a wide range of new boating territories, unfamiliar to almost all of them. The first challenge came on Day 1, when after an easy cruise south down the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, the boats rounded Tasman Head and straight into a Southern Ocean swell across Storm Bay on the way to the first overnight stop at Port Arthur. Surfing the swell at close to 25 knots was the first test of what “offshore” means.
With a forecast of good weather for the next few days, a pattern of ocean swells, moderate seas and fine skies gave crews a chance to experience close-up the rugged and spectacular coastal scenery that is South East Tasmania. On the competition side, the larger boats with sophisticated navigation systems achieved near perfect times for each stage and a contest between the big cat of Kennards “Paprika”, the Sunrunner 3700SE “Captain Chaos” and the alloy Tristar “Grey Pearl” was clearly emerging. For sheer speed in all conditions, the “Team Biomax” Scarab was thoroughly enjoying the experience, with Campbell Durrant at the helm and Adrian Bright on the charts. However, the smaller boats were not being left behind by any means and “Eagle Eye”, the Trailcraft 660 of Gordon Tuffley and Greg Farr showed they knew exactly what they were doing. Brothers ‘Bomber’ and Joe Jetson entered the fray in a brand new Archer 63C, prepared by Hobart’s Maynes Marine and with a Mercury 150 providing the horses, they were by no means outdone in the conditions.
After leaving the Tasmanian mainland at St Helens, the teams headed for Flinders Island and a planned weekend of recreation and fun. But the organisers had an eye on the weather ahead, and this being Bass Strait, there was no room for taking chances. With a big cold front approaching on the synoptic charts, it was decided to forego the Sunday lay-day and run ahead of schedule across to the Victorian coast. Escorted by the powerful Stabicraft 759 from Deegan Marine, the remaining teams (“Paprika” elected to leave the event at this stage and make their way directly home to Sydney) set out in convoy for Deal Island in the Kent Group in mid Bass Strait. The clear skies called for a beach BBQ before an early night in anticipation of a dawn start the following morning. Disturbing the tranquillity of this remote wilderness island, the assembled Bass Strait ‘Challengers’ were soon joined for the BBQ by the island’s ranger and his wife and the evening stretched on with lots of yarns and a spirit of camaraderie.
At daybreak, the sun silhouetted Deal Island as it faded into the horizon and the teams headed north thankful for one last day of good weather. The planned visit to Refuge Cove was replaced with the necessity for the safe harbour of Port Welshpool. As the cold front passed through that afternoon, it brought squally rain and a big drop in temperature. For the next three days strong winds and further cold fronts effective put an end to any further progress with the Challenge.
So having successfully completed the main objective – the safe passage of Bass Strait – the consensus view was to conclude the event at that point. That evening the closing function was brought forward from Jimmy Watson’s in Melbourne to the Pier Port Hotel in Port Welshpool and the awards announced. Each team received a recognition plaque for their successful crossing of Bass Strait. As a navigation rally, the navigator’s award went to “Captain Chaos” and was received by navigator, Alan Latta. The Spirit of the Challenge award went to “Grey Pearl” with skipper, Tony Johnstone and crewman Mitch Raspin, taking home the champagne.
All in all, a very successful event in changeable and challenging conditions, but with individual participants heading home with a treasure trove of good memories, new friends and stories to tell for years to come.
