Above; we ran down the east coast of Tassie from Frechinet National Park and cut through the Denison Canal. Cut in 1905, the channel substantially shortens the long and often rough fishing and trade route between the east coast and Hobart.
Below; oyster farms in East Bay near the town of Dunnalley.
Above right; approaching the canal through the shifting sands and oyster farms at Blackman Bay…..
The Denison Canal (below) is 2.4km long, as narrow as 7m on a super low tide, and gets as shallow as 2.6m. We timed our approach for high tide but the 34m width still felt skinny in places! We exchanged pleasantries with old men fishing from the bank and waved at the people on the verandah of the local cafe/bakery.
Approaching the Dunalley swing bridge- nearly through the canal… Here we come Hobart!
Above left- Russ wrestling with the sail cover. While we were in East Bay we were hit with some big wind gusts (north of 30 knots), our reefing line snapped and our sail cover ripped. With two reefs in, it was a battle to contain the excess sail that was spilling onto the decks and billowing out. We had to contain it into the ripped sail cover and lash it to the boom before Russ could replace the reefing line…
We are 42 degrees south now and it’s a tad chilly for summer in Australia! Jaiya was often found cuddled up in her sleeping bag tucked well away from the wind chill on deck…We are now closer to Antarctica (2609km) than Bundaberg Queensland (2612km) After transiting the Denison it was just a matter of skirting around Lime Bay, Betsey Island and South Arm before heading north towards the Dewent and Hobart City….
Above right; approaching Hobart, Elizabeth Pier and Constitution dock… The precinct is a humming melange of restaurants, ice cream kiosks, snap happy tourists, meandering locals, a lively fish market and the buzzing Salamanca markets..
It was cool to wander the docks and eyeball a number of the lingering Sydney to Hobart yachts still resting after their late December race.
Above- sitting on Elizabeth Pier celebrating our arrival in Hobart- we moved around to the quieter floating dock the following day. It was more removed from the frey of the many waterfront cafe’s and bars and Tika was safer from drunk people carelessly flicking cigarette butts over the concrete pier (and onto her decks)
As always, boat work was on the agenda for our stop. We needed to make sure Tika was in good shape for our cruise around Tasmania’s remote west coast, back across Bass Strait and then west-ward towards the Great Australian Bite and Western Australia. We replaced all four engine mounts, did repairs to the sail cover and the mainsail….
We were also up for buying the kids some shoes and a winter doona for me!
Above left; pulling fish traps on the Derwent.
Above right; MONA- The Museum of Old and New Art; located just up the river from Hobart sits an architectural showpiece that houses the highlights of David Walsh’s $110m private collection of art and antiquities. It also hosts an impressive exhibitions program, rock and jazz bands and cultural festivals. According to Walsh’s marketing; “looking at the art used to be boring. It still is, maybe, but at least here at Mona, the Museum of Old and New Art, you can get drunk and/or rage against the machine” MONA; people seemed to love or hate it. We loved it.
The museum has a lot to offer. Even for complete philistines, Mona encompasses the Moorilla winery, Source Restaurant, bars, cafes, accommodation pavilions and the Moo Brew brewery (off site).
Mona is noted for its central themes of sex and death. The museum has been described by Walsh as a “subversive adult Disneyland.”
Above left; the architecture at Mona is impressive. A maze of galleries spanning over 3 levels have been excavated downwards into the siltstone cliff creating a mammoth, roughly hewn rock wall centerpiece.
Above right; water falls in the form of words in Julius Popp’s ‘bit.fall’
Above left and right; Richard Wilson’s ’20;50′ is a curious, overwhelming installation that disorients your senses. Thick, black engine oil reflects architectural structures like mirrors…
Above middle; ‘Cloaco Professional’ or the “poo machine’ by Belgian concept artist Wim Delvoye. Feeding time involves food being placed into a receptacle with cutlery- where it begins a gastroenterolgical journey from mastication to defecation. The smell is unbearable and part of the experience. Hanging orbs containing digesting matter hang from the ceiling connected to tubes, guages and sensors. The machine poos once a day.
Above; excuse us while we get all arty with some photos in the courtyard…
Richard Wilsons 20;50
Look out- some grotty yachties snuck into the swanky restaurant for a cheeky dinner over looking the Derwent.
Above; ‘Beside Myself’ integrative artwork by James Turnell
Next post; Kai and Jaiya’s research paper’s on artists discovered at MONA. Followed by a quick recount of a brief stop at Recherche Bay- this is the most southern point in Australia accessible by road…
This entry was posted in The Sail.
