Knockdown

IN May 2018 the Adams 40 steel cutter Goanna experienced three consecutive nights of gale force winds in the eastern approaches to Bass Strait and got severely knocked down on the third night. This is the story of that voyage.

We are a husband and wife crew of live-aboard yachties and sometime voyagers. Hardship and danger have never been on our agenda. This undertaking would be our sixth sail across Bass Strait. Previous trips in that region had ranged from a genoa-all-the-way sunny ride, to a battle into winds reaching gale force strength.

On Thursday 17 May 2018 Goanna departed Triabunna in eastern Tasmania bound for New South Wales. Our attempt at sailing off the mooring under mainsail and jib did not go so well, a flukey wind shift as soon as I let go of the mooring had us in stays and we drifted sideways over the mooring rope. We were most fortunate that Goanna did not end up moored by rudder.

The sail up Freycinet’s east coast was quite successful. The wind gusted up a bit, as to be expected only five miles seaward of The Hazards. It was a good start, but it was frustrating to be leaving behind granite islands and peninsulas possessing exploratory potential of the leg and backpack kind.

Next morning, we were within easy reach of St Helens, but after five Tasmanian winters we wanted to keep going to where it was warmer and where the wind did not blow so hard so often.

A 1032 hectopascal high over southern Bight waters had strong westerlies under it heading our way as the next cold front swept over Tasmania. We had left Triabunna with the expectation of being in 20 to 30 knot winds east of Flinders Island and when we expected to be at the wild eastern throat of Bass Strait.

But now the expectation from the Bureau of Meteorology for the East Gippsland coast for Sunday 20 May was for wind westerly 25 to 30 knots possibly reaching up to 35 knots. ’s noon position was 41º 20’S, 148º 38’E and 13 miles