The alarm went off a 5am,  listening outside all is quite,  no wind!  Yay!

We got up nervous about the next challenge as we have no idea what to expect.   Leaving by 5:50am we head for the entrance to the narrows at Marion Bay and arrive by 8:15.   We have read and researched that it is good to enter the narrows 1 hour and 15 minutes past high tide in Hobart as Ebb Stream commences at the Denison Canal 2 hours 16 minutes after high water at Hobart.  This gives us enough time to get through the narrows and up to the canal during slack water or just starting Ebb stream.   We need this as we have a 1.95 meter keel and some areas are noted as being as shallow as 1.4 meters.  Yikes.

Entrance to Marion Narrows[/caption]

So this means we should enter the narrows at 8:40am.   Evan wants to wait for 9am just to give the tide a bit more time to rise.

We hovered around the entrance re-examining the chartlet many times.   We see on AIS that Winifred is coming… maybe we wait for them and follow them?  No, its going to take 40 minutes for them to get here and we know we have to go for it.  We gather our courage, take a deep breath and enter the narrows.

Hey it’s not so bad.   If you have ever gone into Lake Macquarie you have done something more challenging than the Narrows.  Honestly.

On high alert though we keep our wits about us looking for shallow areas.  Only once did we go astray and almost touch bottom.   A slight lapse of concentration at the end of the chartlet and not quite knowing where to go next we saw markers in the distance and decided to follow those.   It was a good call.

Safely in deeper water we navigated to the Canal channel and radioed Denison Canal control.  We waited for two more boats to arrive then all three of us made our way through the canal.  It was super cool to watch the bridge swing open.

Denison Canal

Once through the canal and out the other side we were free!!  It felt great to conquer another fear.    We did high fives and dances of happiness.

We sailed down to Taranna just south of Denison Canal and anchored in Little Norfolk Bay.  An interesting place in history as this is where ships came to drop off supplies and people bound for Port Arthur.  Ships found it easier and safer to come here rather than go around Storm Bay south to Port Arthur.

This is apparently the place of the first Australian railway and its not what you think.  They built carts and tracks and the convicts pushed and pulled carts by hand.

This is also where Evan’s cousin Gary Thompson and his partner Carolena live.  They happened to be home and after we anchored Gary met us at the wharf and drove us to their place for lunch and a magic afternoon.   They are the kind of people you are so comfortable with that they feel like you have known them a lifetime.

In the late afternoon Evan and I walked back to the jetty (It does feel good to stretch and work your legs after sailing, sitting for so long).

Tonight we rest, tomorrow on to Hobart.

Back at Nashira, relaxing, Evan is sleeping on the bench opposite me while I write our blog.

I hope you are having a lovely day too.   Remember to do something you have never done before, anything, and let me know what you did and how it made you feel.

Big Hugs