Schouten Passage to Furneaux Group

After saying farewell in the morning to our dedicated trip monitor Reg(circumnavigating the state for the 2nd time!), we left Schouten Passage around 3:30 pm Saturday 11th Feb to do an overnight run to Clarke Island. Within a couple of hours we were fairly certain we were going to have a rough night with a stiff E SE and confused sea and swell making for an uncomfortable time. 20 hours later-this included 2 hours of us hove-to off St Helens for a rest,  feeling and looking a bit rough around the edges (...no sleep, no food, the weight loss program has begun!)) we arrived in Great Musselroe Bay at 11 30 am to  repair body and spirit. A reasonably good nights rest was had before we headed for Clarke Island.

Reg leaving Schouten Passage

Clarke Island granite formation

Spike Cove, Clarke Island

Clarke Island

Preservation Island

West Bay, Preservation Island

Monday 13th had a beautiful sail across Banks Strait and tucked into Spike Cove on the western side of the island. Beautiful walking and swimming that day and continuing to recover from our previous long night we headed to bed early to sail next day to Preservation Island. After a delightful 1 hour sail we dropped the pick in clear turquoise water in West Bay. Walking, swimming and taking photos around Preservation and Rum Islands was just about as good as it gets. I did ask myself why I needed to go any further North.