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Today we had a rather leisurely
paddle from Whitemark to Preservation Island. We had all slept extremely
well except for those who decided to sleep out in the open. The irony
was that Phil was late getting started after telling Ian that we would
be going at 7.00am so that Ian would finally be ready to start at the
same time as everyone else.
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The water was flat calm
with so little wind after a short while we took down our sails. It is
a good idea to try and arrive or leave Whitemark at high tide as the
whole coast along here is very shallow.
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Out to the west was Chappel
Island, the home of the biggest Tiger snakes in Australia. The sea became
mirror smooth as we quietly paddled on to Trousers Point. At one stage
we had a kayak race with only hands to brreak the monotony. Everything
was something of an anti climax after crossing from Deal to Flinders
Island.
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We stopped at Trousers
Point and had a swim in the crystal clear water. Jamie even practised
walking on water. We had many pleasant
memories from previous trips of this great camping spot. Matt tried
to creep up on Ian who had lagged behind taking video.
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Crossing from trousers
Point to Cape Barren Island would have taken ages except Matt and Phil
decided to slip stream Jamie and I in the double. This was too much
of a challenge for us and we eventually broke away from them. Landing
just below the new shop on Cape Barren we couldn't see the others, particularly
Ian who had been videoing a pod of Dolphins.
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The pies were quickly
comsumed as we waited for the others to catch up. Eventually we could
just make out some small dots way in the distance. We tried to convince
the shop keeper to tell the others that they were out of pies but it
didn't work out.The others also stocked up on some carbohydrates from
the shop, mainly pies, icecream and coke..
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We could hardly believe
how calm it was rounding Cape Sir John, last time we were here there
were huge breaking waves everywhere, in fact some of the group took
their kayaks around the cape by road. The channel between Preservation
Island and Cape Barren Island has strong tidal currents and we ferry
glided across to the island.
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The shack on Preservation
Island is also one of well known haunts. It has comfortable bunks, water
and a sheltered outlook. We have met the owners a number of times and
they don't mind us using the shack when they are away provided everything
is left as it was.
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Some off us walked over
to the signal fire bulit in 1796 by the survivors of the wreck of the
Sydney Cove. Their ship had sprung a leak around the south west coast
of Tasmania while enroute from India to Sydney. In those days Bass Strait
was unkown. The ship lurched its way up the east coast with lascars
manning the pumps. Eventually the ship was run aground to stop it from
sinking near Preservation Island. The crew and cargo were got ashore.
Two longboats set off to get help but only a couple of the crew made
it back to Sydney. The rescue journey prompted the futher exploration
of the area resulting in the discovery of Bass Strait and the rich sealing
grounds around Tasmania.
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