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TN14 News
TN14 Days 4 and 5 Report
Day 4 was blown out. Some of the fleet gave it best and went home, but
the weather report for day 5 (Tuesday) was auspicious, and so the
remainder gathered before 7 am to hoist sail. The promised northerly
breeze turned out to be a northerly zephyr - so those sails didn't have
much to do for a while, and oars were more effective. Martin and Deb
caused some mirth by maintaining a reef - their Lazy E must be VERY
twitchy - but the rest of us did little better with all our canvas set.
Somewhere between Middleton and Gordon we gave up and took a tow past
the Gordon Corner, where a beautiful southeasterly sea breeze kicked
in. We rollocked along past Arch Rock, Huon Island and then Garden
Island when a decision had to be made about whether or not to stop at
Randall's Bay. We had the sun on our backs and the sailing bit between
our teeth, and chose to push on. It was a good decision - even the
slowest of the boats (Swiftsure) maintained a steady five knots all the
way to Port Huon and beyond. In an audacious attempt to steal a march
Swiftsure took the eastern channel to the Egg Island canal, but it
turned out to be a scenic 'longcut', and she arrived back at the wharf a
little after the other boats. A great day's sailing.  |
TN14 Day Three Report
Day three was supposed to be a lay day with nothing much happening, but,
as everybody in south eastern Tasmania knows, mother nature decreed
that Sunday afternoon would be a time when things DID happen. A storm
erupted that most if not all of us at Kettering could not recall the
like of. Certainly, watching a whole shed cartwheeling and sailing past
Chris Wilson's head to come smashing down on a row of boats was not a
sight that your correspondent had ever witnessed before. Tents were
ripped and flattened, boats were torn off their moorings and cast up on
the rocks, and the Mermaid Cafe lost its roof. A wind speed of 130 kph
was recorded just across the water at Dennes Point, which sounds about
what we experienced. The good news was that, having accounted for David
Ellis and Oscar Metcalfe who were amongst many blown to Bruny, nobody
was hurt, and the LBT fleet is still intact. We will meet in the
morning and regroup.     |
TN 14 Day Two Report
The forecast was for an early calm and then increasing winds through the
day. The Gordon corner is a good place not to be in a small boat in
increasing winds, so a rise before dawn was called for, with only a
small expectation that it would be achieved. However Julian
Robertson's singing has apparently been used to rouse generations of
camping school children from their slumbers, and it certainly did the
trick for us. Tents were packed, breakfast eaten and boats rigged and
departing by 7.30am. And, as with yesterday, the forecast proved
accurate, with only the lightest of airs to start with, but the with the
more adventurous sailors surfing downwind by mid afternoon when they
arrived in Kettering. We onshore had to leap to our stations when John
Walduck came hurtling into dock hours ahead of schedule, did a couple of
wheelies, threatened to mow down a catamaran before deciding it was too
big, and eventually got his mainsail down so that we could get him
berthed. And this was in a Grebe! The rest of the pack soon followed,
and are now safely nestled in the Kettering marina, overlooked by we
happy campers (see pic below).   |
TN 14 Day One Report
Sometimes, just sometimes, days go according to plan, and Friday was one
of those days. The fleet got away at the stipulated 7.15 (well, 7.45)
with the tide and the land breeze, which took us down to Port Huon
before dying away in time for morning tea. We rowed across a mirror
past Bullock's and Brabazon points, stopped for 'small lunch' and
watched the grey band of a boisterous south westerly change advance
steadily up the river. Oars were stowed, sails hoisted again, and we
were away, tacking speedily down to Randall's Bay. Tents were erected,
eskies raided, beers drunk, meals cooked, birthday cheers sung to Peter
Laidlaw, yack had, then off to bed. Will we pay for it tomorrow? Stay tuned.  |
An opportunity to join Tawe Nunnugah
Liz Smith is looking for a crew of two to join her on Tinderbox for
our 'Tawe Nunnugah Lite' expedition which departs Franklin next Friday
morning (7th Feb) on the outgoing tide. For those who don't know her, Tinderbox
is a fast rower and gentle sailer, ideal for short inshore
expeditions such as this one. The picture below shows her moored beside
Imagine at Recherche Bay during last year's Tawe Nunnugah. If you are interested register here, or contact sec@lbt.org.au.  |
Campsite at Kettering
We will be staying on a nice level site immediately behind the marina workshop, just down from the pub, and a short walk from the 'facilities'. Looks ideal. Thanks to Julian Robertson for sorting this one out. General view of site, with workshop, marina and Kettering harbour to right.  Closer view of site  |
Sail TN14 on the Yukon
For those who prefer a little more comfort. Enjoy the spectacle of a small boat event from the steady decks of Yukon, Depart Franklin on Friday 7th Feb at 7 am calling Randall’s Bay or Gordon. Yukon will be taking part in the Kettering wooden boat rally and Sunday afternoon keel boat event. Price: $625 (includes $ 125 donation to the living boat trust) Participants must be members of the Living Boat Trust Franklin. .BYO: Sleeping bag, drinks and snacks. For all enquiries Call David on 044 797 2342. |
Planning Checklist
The committee are using the checklist at Planning as an aid to getting things organised. Check it out, and if you can suggest improvements let us know: info@tn14.org  |
Randall's Bay
We have had the great good fortune of being able to use John Young's beach block and shack. For details see http://bit.ly/1iMNPPz  |
TN14 Ultralite
The
committee met on January 6th and made the decision to alter the format
for this year’s Tawe Nunnugah to broaden its appeal. The major change
is that there are now NO FEES - the cost is only $25 per day to cover
common organisational expenses. This is based on participants being
largely self sufficient. You still get to do all the important stuff -
cruising the beautiful inshore waters of the Huon and the D'Entrecasteaux
Channel in good company (both on and off the water), but you will have
to throw your own snag on the barby in the evening. Here, in summary, is the new plan.
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