“The night was dark and stormy” as we raced across the Bass Strait and into Sydney Harbour

HOBART TO SYDNEY

The day that the new voyage crew joined was wonderfully sunny and I was thrilled to show lots of visitors around the ship including the pastor of the Hobart Cathedral and his wife, one of the gentlemen from the Seaman’s mission and the cutest guide dog puppy! (I may have squealed in delight when I heard the announcement over the tannoy “Tam, there is a puppy in the chart room to see you”.

Guide dog puppy "Tony" on the helm

Unfortunately, the list of jobs didn’t reflect the happiness of the sun and we were soon battling with a faulty generator that required an outside electrician. After spending nearly all day poured over electronic diagrams, checking voltages and replacing switches we discovered poor quality batteries were the root of it all and hastened to order new ones before we left Hobart at 0930hrs the following morning. 

When we left Hobart the wind was blowing us onto the berth so we had to use the local support boat to pull our bow off. By the time all the tall ships had pulled away from the dock the wind was all over the place, a steady 25 knots at one point followed by gusts of up to 40 knots and lulls where any sails flapped helplessly. We tentatively readied our sails and set them as we rounded the mark near the Tasman Bridge. By the time we passed the Commanders yacht and sounded the salute we had all our Outer Gibb and Mizzen sail up (two of our lower, triangular sails) as well as our foremast top sail and course and our main mast top sail…Not bad considering the wind!

The wind got back up and the sea swell grew as we sailed north along the Western coast of Tasmania and there were a number of very green faces by lunch time. I had a busy day dealing with lots of little problems that always show themselves when we leave a berth including a last minute panic when the oven door came off in Cookies hand as he was cooking our evening meal! I worked until 2000hrs trying to fix it, but I was too tired to finish what ended up being an involved job. We sailed until the early evening when we handed sail and turned the engines back on. 

I was woken early to carry out pre-arrival checks so that we could go to anchor in Wine Glass Bay at 0800hrs. The bay was gorgeous: A long sandy beach in front of us (with the only disadvantage being that its low profile was poor protection from Westerly winds) and beautiful cliffs and rocky shores either side. When we arrived there was a seal playing with a fish and a man fishing of the rocks. This inspired our 2^nd officer who caught a couple of flat head fish which the captain and I had for our dinner. (Thanks Kev!)

After a day at anchor in Wine Glass Bay all the voyage crew had recovered from their seasickness and the engineering department had completed a number of jobs that are much less unpleasant when the ship isn’t rolling (i.e. emptying and cleaning the grey water tank). It was a chilly evening but we woke to beautiful sun and the sound of the SV Tecla (one of the dutch tall ships who had anchored in the bay with us) motoring out. We had our breakfast and prepared the yards and sails so that we sailed off the anchor. This was a little awkward as the tides in the bay were strong and the wind dropped off to nearly nothing so we had to use a bit of engine power to help us pivot around the anchor and stay at a safe distance from the rocky shores. 

As soon as we sailed past the protection of the bay the wind filled the sails and we shot north until the wind dropped again and we were forced to do some more motoring. The swell got up a bit again and there were some more green faces, but Cookie made an amazing curry that filled the ship with lovely smells before dinner! We continued to motor-sail close to the land throughout the night so that we have a gorgeous view to our port all the time. Tasmania is truly wild and reminds me of the West coast of Scotland- an area that I absolutely love. I really hope that I can visit here again and do some trekking in the mountains.

We left Hobart knowing that we were sailing into gale force winds, but as we sailed North, the forecasts became worse until we were sailing into a storm. The winds were already high as we entered for the Bass Strait (the piece of water that separates Tasmania from Australia) where we were hit by high swells and squalls of rain and high wind. We had most of our sails up but (because of the wind and sea state) it would have been dangerous for us to hand them down so we just had to hold on!

 

Our rolls went off the scale during the storm in the Bass Strait!

The angle recorder stops at 45 degrees of heel- but we were taking water over our rails at some points during the afternoon. We recorded over 50 knot winds (the limit of our annometer) but the meteorological reports stated 75knot gusts in some areas. We shut all the doors and stopped people from going on deck (not that anyone wanted to).  

The engineering alarm was going off every 10 minutes so I spent the best part of the day running up and down the steps to mute and accept the alarm. The alarms were caused by our high angle of heel which meant that the low oil level alarm kept being set of in the steering gear and bilge alarms were being set off all over the ship due to moving “stuff” (sails, pots and pans, water). Poor old Dave (our cook) had to confess to the captain that she couldn’t have any vegetables as he gestured to her feet where the vegetables had just been sent flying. Although, he still managed to bake a wonderful looking Banoffee Pie (although most of it ended up on the inside of the lift shaft after the volunteers failed to secure it properly)….Poor Dave.

To try and stop the steering gear alarm I had to climb onto the chart house roof (in the middle of the storm) and poor more hydraulic oil into the tank. After dinner the white knuckle ride continued. I walked into the bar to see one of our voyage crew walking down in a daze covered in blood. He had fallen when he came off the helm and had hit his head, both his hands and cut down the side of his leg. Our on board doctor and one of the voyage crew (who happened to be a nurse in the “real world”) lept into action and within minutes they were (literally) stitching him up in the bar.

Then we heard a tremendous roar and a sudden change in course and went outside to find that the main course sail (the lowest and largest sail on the main mast) had been teared when a gust had come through. By now it was dark, raining and the wind was blowing so hard that it made it difficult to hear anything when you were outside. The captain gave a call out over the tannoy for volunteers to put on harnesses to help with the torn sail. About ten of us turned up and went outside where we quickly clipped onto the ship for fear of being thrown into the deep blue on the next big wave. The wind was howling wind and rain was lashing down almost as hard as the sea water was crashing over the side so that we were all quickly drenched. It was all very surreal and took a good half an hour and a lot of pulling before the main course was pulled up onto the yard to stop it from flapping around and potentially causing more damage or injuring someone.

Bad day at the office- the main course after the storms

Not soon after we came in when another tear was heard, this time on the outer gibb. There was no way that we could have sent anyone to the bow to pull this in, so we just had to leave it where it was, flapping helplessly in the wind. 

“The night was dark and stormy, and the rain came down in torrents, and the Captain on the bridge said to the Mate down below “Tell me a story”. And, thus, it began.

“The night was dark and stormy, and the rain came down in torrents, and the Captain on the bridge said to the Mate down below “Tell me a story”. And, thus, it began.

“The night was dark and stormy, and the rain came down in torrents, and the Captain on the bridge said to the Mate down below “Tell me a story”. And, thus, it began…”””

The last engineering alarm went off just after midnight and the storm calmed down by about 0300hrs. The next morning we surveyed the damage….Considering the wind speed and age of the ship we did extremely well. The injured voyage crew was looking much better now that the concussion had worn off and apart from some very sea sick voyage crew (and chief engineer) we were all looking ok…..just very tired. Needless to say, we were all very happy when we motored into Eden and had two nights ashore where we enjoyed some of the local beer and the lovely fresh fish that the little fishing village provided. 

Eden....enough said

 The interesting thing about Eden is there history with Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca)where the Orcas used to heard whales into the Bay and slap their flippers on the surface of the water to attract the attention of the local whalers. The whalers could then row out and catch the whales and "repay" the Orcas by floating the carcasses back out to sea for the Orcas to eat.

I went for a lovely run before we left Eden alongside the SV Lady Nelson. Not far out of the bay we were entertained by a pod of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) who were displaying by jumping out of the water and flapping their pectoral fins on the surface. It was great to see them in the bay famous for its whales.

By the afternoon, the wind turned to the north to head us off, so we had to hand our sails and turn on the engines to keep to our schedule. I managed to find time just before dinner to climb to main mast and out onto the t’gallant yard to help stow the sails. 

The next morning we woke up surrounded by War ships….We had entered Jervis Bay where half of the Australian Navy as well as ships from Navy’s all over the world had gathered to prepare for the fleet review. The fleet review is a celebration of 100 years of the Australian Navy and will see hundreds of ships in Sydney harbour (including Nelly!)

We anchored in Jervis Bay for a few hours before sailing out of the bay and towards Sydney. It was the quiet before the storm…As we arrived in the entrance to Sydney harbour. Around 20 tall ships were vying for space as the wind whipped up to 25 knots, the clouds darkened and the rain and squalls began to hit. We had timed our entrance to arrive at the “Zulu line” in procession with the other ships. However, with the wind and photo shoots, the timings didn’t match up and we ended up with sails backed, wallowing across the headlands that made the Zulu line (and the entrance to Sydney Harbour) with a fleet of tall ships coming down on us! It was lashing with rain and the wind was up and in the wrong direction. We were desperate to keep as much sail up as possible and we gave a great show to the cameras that were all over the place, in helicopters, yachts, other tall ships etc.. We have some great coverage on channel 7 news!

All the ships eventually manoeuvred into “marching order” and paraded into the harbour dodging yachts and other pleasure craft that had entered the skirmish. The skies eventually calmed down as we squeezed into our berth outside Sydney Maritime Museum. 

The rain cleared just as we past the Opera house and headed under Sydney Harbour Bridge

Tams in Tasmania – Spinning like a Tasmanian devil! (Sailing Melbourne to Hobart)



Tall Ships leaving Williamstown (near Melbourne)



We had an amazing leaving night in Melbourne (Williamstown) with local dancing, fireworks and a band in the nearby pub. In response, the 9 tall ships left in procession and gave a parade of sail across the bay until we disbursed into the Southern Ocean heading for Hobart.

We have a film crew on board for this voyage! They are making a documentary about the JST and “life on board” especially following some of the service men who became disabled in the line of duty. It is great that they are (hopefully) going to raise awareness about this wonderful charity (although it’s a shame that it means I’m going to be filmed in a dirty coverall!

After the first day with sunny skies and sheltered seas we rounded the south-eastern point and where hit by 35-50 knots gusts of wind and the characteristic long swells of the southern ocean. About 1/3 of the voyage crew were sick but most of them still managed to be classed as “walking wounded” as they still got up for meals (where they tentatively sucked at pieces of toast) and stayed on deck for their watches. I had a perfect line-up for a bumpy day: Head down in the bar hatch most of the morning hovering up beer that was sloshing in the bilge followed by an afternoon working on the sewage plant in the forward pump room. Who needs windows or fresh air??

Midday the next day we had headed far enough south so that Tasmania acted like a wind shield for us. This meant that Nelly sailed at a more comfortable angle with less pitching up and down. She still kept a gentle roll from the Southern Ocean swells, but the reduction allows the voyage crew to get over their sea sickness and get on with the sailing.

West coast of Tasmania

As we came in closer to the land in the afternoon we caught our first glimpse of the West Coast of Tasmania. We know we are in a truly wild part of the world as some of the areas are uncharted and the coastline is absolutely stunning! We anchored in a ba called “Port Davie” although there is no port….in fact there is nothing at all apart from baby “pointers” (Great white sharks, Carcaridan Caurcarius). Unfortunately we didn’t see any sharks, but we did have a wonderful display of dolphins surrounding the ship as we sailed into the bay.

Dolphins on the Starboard side

Once we were at anchor we all came on deck to enjoy some of the Chief Engineers punch and a wonderful curry. A little bit of music and good company made it really magical especially when we were surrounded by a coastline that looked truly Jurassic.

Of course, the serenity didn’t last long for the engineering department and we were soon alerted of a flood in the male showers. This turned out to be a back wash of grey water caused by a blockage in the pipe work at a right angle bend where the grey water from the showers and the grey water from the galley run into the forward grey water tank……The voyage crew did wonder why there were carrots in the showers! Unblocking it involved the Chief and I getting covered in grey water for just over an hour, but the problem was solved and showers were quickly had!

In the morning all the assisted climbers we able to climb up the masts and enjoy the view of the bay. It was great seeing everyone get up including an incredibly fast climb by one of our voyage crew with Cerebral Palsy who was able to go up both in his wheel chair and on his own feet with the assistance of one of our deck crew…..Awesome!

Plumbing is one of many jobs that I seem to spend a lot of time doing on board. That afternoon we had a planned job of re-plumbing the aft grey water tank. I really enjoy these kinds of jobs as it involves a bit of design work, a bit of art and a bit of maths. It also involves getting a little high from the glue too! I had just finished cutting the last piece of pipe for the day and started to bezel it when I managed to slip with the file I was using and whacked my finger between the file and the desk clamp…..*Ouch*. I now have a black line across the forth finger on my left hand which looks particularly pretty!

Dolphins on the starboard side.....again

As we left the anchorage we had another dolphin display and I even managed to get up the main mast to help unfold the topsail! Naturally it was raining and the gasket on my side got caught so we were up there for a while freeing the rope, but it was great to be up there getting involved with the voyage crew. It is too easy in my job to not spend time with the crew so I always try my best to talk to as many as possible as they always have great stories to tell about how they heard about the tall ship.

As I came down and was about to chill out for 15 minutes before dinner I was phoned from the bridge and informed that one of our lifts was broken….again. I had a good look after dinner, but we have already had problems with this lift as it needs a new cable which is a big job that needs to be done by the manufacturer. Up until now we had got it to work by short circuiting past the stop buttons, but this was only ever a short term fix.

Once we left anchor we were joined by the Lady Nelson who then sailed with us down the bay into Hobart harbour. It was like two lovers reunited! The Lady Nelson was a beautiful little ship and had all her sails up to try and keep up with Nelly. As the day wore on we were surrounded by all sorts of vessels including planes, helicopters, jet skis, yachts, dinghies, canoes and a steam boat. I couldn’t help thinking what an incredible variety of transportation methods man has designed!

 

Lady Nelson under full sail trying to keep up with “her man” (Nelly) as we sailed towards Hobart

Hobart is a beautiful town. We were incredibly busy when we first came in, but I was able to head off for a run after work to stretch my legs and try to keep my fitness up for the Marathon des Sables (…hmmm…) As I ran North up the bay and past under the Tasman bridge there was a double rainbow in the bay and the sun shone on the other side of the mountain. It was a steady uphill run into the hills which was really nice, until after just over 5 miles I realised that I needed to head back for dinner. The temperature dropped like a flick of a switch and suddenly I was running along the cycle track in the dark. I got a little lost (proving, once again, why I’m not in the navigation department) and ended up at the top of a hill with a Cenotaph and Memorial sculpture that were lit up. At the top of the hill I was able to look out over the harbour and the entrance to the bay to see the whole of Hobart lit up. It was stunning!

Hobart port authorities do not allow any black water (water from the toilets) to be flushed into the harbour, even if it is fully treated. This means that even our treated black water (that is deemed good enough by the USA coast guards) has to be stored on board and pumped into an onshore tanker every 12 hours. This involves me and the Chief getting up to sort the pumps and the pipes ready for 0700hrs in the morning and 1900hrs at night. So, whilst I’m in Hobart I am starting and ended each day with sewage….Living the dream!

There was so much work to do in Hobart. It was absolutely exhausting! On top of the usual daily maintenance there was still a back log of jobs from dry dock and all the extra bits and bobs that insisted on breaking just to keep us extra busy. That on top of the 0700-1930hrs days and the “Open Ship” (where we allow members of the public to view the ship and take them round) mean that most of the crew now look like zombies….Happy zombies, but zombies none the less.

Saying that, I was allowed one afternoon off and I managed to haul myself round the maritime museum where I read about Joseph Conrad and all the tall ships that first graced the Bass Strait into Tasmania (often full of convicts). It was amazing to see just how many ship wrecks are in these waters as well as the history of shipping in Tasmania. It’s great to feel like we are keeping history alive by sailing the Lord Nelson back into Hobart.

Jumping ship: Adelaide to Melbourne

On the way to Adelaide I managed to succumb to the worst eye infection I have ever had in my life. It was a killer and left me lying in my darkened cabin for days on end until the pain started to subside. Due to this, and a hospital appointment in Adelaide I had to leave the ship for a week and JST managed to find a replacement 2^nd engineer at the last moment. Annoyingly I had started to feel a lot better but I still had to take the week off to wean myself off codeine and have my follow- up hospital appointment. 

I was extremely lucky to be taken in by the family of one of the voyage crew who couldn’t have been more wonderful to me. The big bonus was that I was able to go to the local Cathedral with them and walk their beautiful dog “Archie”. Archie and I had one very eventful walk when we met another dog and his pet human walking the other way on a path through a field. The human stopped and held the dog in the middle of the path as it started growling at Archie. In order to pass the dog Archie and I had to walk up on the verge. In trying to do this and hold Archie away from the growling dog I managed to trip over my own feet and then had to stand for a few seconds on the verge to regain my balance. It was literally only a few seconds but suddenly I felt like my legs were on fire and I looked down to see an army of giant fire ants (the big ones with the red heads) crawling all over my feet and legs up to my knees!!! I started doing the “dance of the seven army surplus blankets” trying to get away from the nest and the dog and get some of the ants off at the same time. I through myself on the ground and to allow myself to swipe at the ants and the human started trying to make conversation with me….Stupid human. Archie, however, was staring at me as if to say “Seriously? ….I don’t know you and I’m not with you.”

Animals I met at Adelaide Wildlife Park

I also managed to do a bit of touristy stuff…..I cuddled a Koala and fed kangaroos in the nearby wildlife park and enjoyed the local museum. I then caught a cheap flight to Melbourne to stay in the youth hostel and await the arrival of the SV Lord Nelson.  

Melbourne Aquarium

Melbourne is a beautiful city full of character. The set-up for tourists is really good and there are lots to see and do including a really great aquarium (…well, with my background in shark research and love of all things “shark”…I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see them now could I?!) I had a lovely evening run along the Torren river although my two weeks off and general lack of running due to ship voyages has slowed me down (again)...I’m going to die in the Sahara . (www.justgiving.co.uk/Tam-at-sea).

Melbourne Aquarium

It was great to re-join the ship, which has become my extended family and get stuck back into the engineering jobs for a couple of days of maintenance. We did a day sail across the bay for some employees from a local company who had donated a lot of money to JST over the years along with other locals. Day sails are very different from full voyages and start early for the permanent crew as we have to have breakfast and prepare the ship before the voyage crew arrive. I ended up spending most of the morning up on the bridge controlling the engines and teaching voyage crew how to steer the ship! After a morning of rain and cold, the day brightened up and we ended up having a great sail, saluting the local ship SV Young Endeavour on the way round the bay. 

Lord Nelson at Williamstown (near Melbourne)