TASMANIA
Tasmania is Australia’s least inhabited Island with about 42% of its land area protected (national parks and World Heritage Sites) It is a natural treasure offering both amazing cruising grounds and some of the best hiking we have ever experienced. We bought Black Duck in Hobart and sailed her south to Cygnet, where we lived for over two years working and sailing the Channel. In May 2017 we sailed North, leaving behind one of our favourite places on Earth. This list of anchorages is from Cygnet to the Furneaux Group in Bass Strait, where we sailed for a month before continuing to mainland.
Useful Navigation Resources
- Hard copy of Cruising Southern Tasmnaia https://onlinestore.bookcellar.com.au/cruising-southern-tasmania-cruising-and-anchorage-guide-to-waterways-of-the-derwent-river-d-entrecasteaux-channel-huon-river-and-tributaries.html
- Jack and Jude’s https://jackandjude.com/anchorages/tasmania/
- The AUS 173 paper chart gives you an overview of the D’Entrecausteaux channel.
- Ask around, in Tassie local knowledge is the key.
| ANCHORAGES | LAT/LONG | DEPTH | NOTES | DATES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Hole Bay, Southport | 43°27.204'S 146°58.064'E | 6m sand/mud | This is a great anchorage in good holding. There is a 1.5 hour return hike to the Southport Lagoon. | 2019 |
| Rabbit Island, Dover | 43°20.342'S 147°0.557'E | 2.5m sticky mud | We really liked this very secluded anchorage and have been here many times. It is good in all but strong Northerly weather. Anchorage can also be found at Knobby's Point in front of the town or the dinghy can be taken across. It is about 1nm from Rabbit Island to the jetty at Dover. The Esperance Narrows are great to explore in the tender. | 2019 |
| Port Cygnet | N/A | 5-10m | We owned a mooring in Port Cygnet as this was our home port for over two years. But anchorage can easily be found anywhere outside the mooring areas. The wind can really funnel through here, but the holding is great. The Sailing Club is super friendly. | 2017-2019 |
| Quarantine Bay (Barnes Bay), Bruny Island | 43°07.379'S 147°20.398'E | 11m sand | This Anchorage is very protected. Even more protected anchorage can be found in Barnes Bay or Duck Pond further in. | MAY 2019 |
| Dunally at Denison Canal | Wharf at approximately 42°53.268'S 147°48.937'E | We stopped here and tied to the Wharf after passing through the Canal. It This is a nice stop either after or before going through Denison Canal. We tied up to the Wharf overnight at no charge. I recommend to seek local knowledge about both Canal and channel as the leads are slightly out (at least the last time we went through in 2019) | MAY 2019 | |
| Maria Island | -to be added- | Idyllic Anchorage can be found in Chinamans Bay. You can take the tender to the beach and cross the Isthmus to the Ocean side. While at Maria Island, look out for Penguins in the evening. | DEC 2018 | |
| Burns Bay St Helens | 41°16.583'S 148°20.709'E | About 4m in sand | This is a fair weather anchorage with no protection from the North. But it is a good place to anchor and wait for the right tides to get into St Helens. We swam with huge stingrays here, who came to check out the boat. | MAY 2019 |
| Pelican Point St Helens | 41°17.292'S 148°19.392'E | This is a difficult bar crossing, and requires perfect conditions. It is very narrow and winds its way in, marked rather poorly. A local whom we knew came out in his fishing boat and showed us in, without him, it would have been hard. Call VMR for pilot. We stopped here for the night and enjoyed collecting many cockles on the beach for dinner. | MAY 2019 | |
| Port St Helens | Wharf | Minimum 2m | Tied up to fishing boat on Wharf. Very cheap. Diesel available on south Wharf. | MAY 2019 |
| Eddystone Point | 40°59.994'S 148°20.395'E | 8m | This is a roadstead anchorage. We anchored here for the night and the wind blew 30 knots from the West. It was very rolly but the holding was good. | MAY 2019 |
| Kangaroo Bay Clarke Island Furneaux Group | 40°29.758'S 148°12.448'E | 5.3m | This is a beautiful anchorage with access to deserted Clarke Island with a view over Banks Strait to Tasmania. We entered Armstrong Channel from the South passing between Forsyth Island and Passage Island. | MAY 2019 |
| Preservation Island Furneaux Group | 40°28.854'S 148°5.068'E | 2.2m | Shoaly anchorage, so be on the lookout. Strong currents run trough here but the holding is good. This is the Island where the Sydney Cove ship Wrecked which is a seriously good story and is told best by John McCrystal https://www.magic.co.nz/home/archivedtalk/on-demand/weekend-variety-wireless/special-archives/misc-/shipwreck-tales--sydney-cove.html At the South end of Preservation it is really interesting snorkeling if you can stand the cold. | MAY 2019 |
| Badger Island, Furneaux Group | 40°18.354'S 147°54.617'E | 6m | Badger Island is an old Sheep Station and was still in use when we were there, though at the time there was nobody on the Island. Apart from all the shot wallabies scattered around the island it is really cool to explore. The SW tip of little Badger Island provides awesome snorkeling around the rocks, with some coral, many kinds of seaweeds and rich fish life, but watch the currents. | MAY 2019 |
| Trousers Point, Flinders Island, Furneaux Group | MAST Mooring at 40°13.770'S 148°2.043'E | There is a heavy duty public mooring here (MAST) if the weather permits this is the ideal spot for climbing Strzelecki Mountain. (though you need to hitchhike to the bottom which is super easy on Flinders Island) | MAY 2019 | |
| Lady Baron, Flinders Island, Furneaux Group | MAST Mooring at 40°12.754'S 148°15.065'E | There are two heavy duty MAST Public moorings available here. This is a good place to hide out while strong weather are passing, though swell can still make it into the bay and make for a really uncomfortable anchorage. We hid here for over a week during which we saw 40 knot winds. Trusting the moorings we moved ashore in a tent on our friends' property for a few days while the weather was at its worst. We also tied up to the Wharf for overnight to fill up water. Fender-boards are necessary and watch the big tides. Our friends used the wharf for careening to do a repair on the bottom. | MAY 2019 | |
| Blythe Bay, Flinders Island, Furneaux Group | 39°45.496'S 147°52.862'E | 4.5m | This is a good stop before crossing Bass Strait to Eden. | MAY 2019 |