It”s been a busy week and a half for the Freespirits as we re-established our connections to the rest of the world (Telstra lives again) and topped up on beer and supplies 😉

After a lazy five nights down the channel at Bruny Island it was quite a shock to hear traffic and sirens again from our CBD vantage point inside Constitution Dock.

This boat tying up area is literally in the heart of the Hobart CBD, and each year showcases the winners of the Sydney Hobart race.
Heading out once again we struck some particularly gusty winds and bumpy waves on our way around to transit the Denison Canal early the next day.
Anchored up in Lime Bay that evening we were lucky to have our fellow Constitution Dock neighbours Amnesia and Banyandah close by. The latter boat’s crew being Jack and Jude Binder, seafaring legends and authors of many books, DVDs and a terrific website at http://www.jackandjude.com… check it out.

I must admit to being a fan of their exploits and an avid consumer of their significant output though publications like the South Australian Cruising Guide, The Tasmanian Cruising Guide, Two’s a crew and Practical Boat Bits. So you can imagine it was great at last to meet these two amazing people and have a chat.

On Sunday we transited the Denison Canal/Blackman Bay with our two companions, finally exiting out into the sea to raise sails, switch off motors and relax as we reeled the miles off. Jack and Jude headed to Schouten Island, Amnesia to Maria Island and we to Orford, there to pick up a public m
ooring and rest for the night.

Today we joined Jack and Jude in Crocketts Bay, a small inlet on the northern side of Schouten that is well protected in any wind from the South West round to Easterly.

Unfortunately the fish didn’t favour us this time and we were forced to eat our Paella without the traditional seafood flavour.

We expect to sail and explore this area a bit whilst awaiting favourable weather to continue our journey to “The Big Island” (Australian Mainland) and on up the coast.
Caio