The view from 'Imagine'. The troops pushed on to the Wooden Boat Festival with a voyage to Alonnah on Bruny Island. “Imagine” rowers left first in beautiful still conditions with an aim to beat the southerlies by heading past Huon Island early, aiming for an easy run past Spectacle Island and then into the Alonnah haven. However, the still waters came under the influence of strong northerlies making the journey a real test for the crew. Six hours later the caterpillar-like progress was cause for celebration with the St Ayles Skiff making the first entry for the fleet into the delightful harbour of the Alonnah waters. Celebratory swims in the turquoise waters of Bruny Island were enjoyed by all. Sailors also had a challenging crossing from Cygnet arriving one after the other shepherded by the protective backup of Yukon at the rear. Jane Johnson And from Yukon... We left Cygnet in light winds, and learnt to tack the ship which involved 4 people under the tutelage of Dave Mayhew on the foresails. It took us 3 hours to get out of Cygnet Bay and into the Huon, at which point the wind started to come in from the east, south east. We had a grand sail across the Channel, keeping an eye on the small boats as the wind swung around to the north east. Swiftsure disappeared as it made a long tack into Great Taylor's Bay. Some boats dropped anchor in the lee of Huon Island for lunch. It was windward work all day and the crew of Imagine rowed for six hours. We all arrived at Allonah by 5pm - Yukon had to anchor outside. We went ashore to the Allonah community centre where Jamie and Rob and their helpers cooked up the usual storm. Silkweed, gave us a beautiful performance of their narration with musical and video accompaniment called voices from the distant past. To bed. Louise Crossley  |
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