Eden to Hobart across Bass Strait December 2025
We had another quiet cruising Christmas, this time on the mooring behind the wave attenuator in Eden. Fred and Judi hosted us for a traditional Aussie feast and the next day we all started following the annual Sydney Hobart Yacht Race which begins on 26 December. Eden plays a special role in the race because of its location on the southeast corner of the Australian "mainland". This makes it the last chance for yachts to bail out before crossing the always challenging Bass Strait, which would be challenging us soon enough.
This year's Sydney Hobart race was a tough one with very heavy winds and seas the first day and night — there were 2 fatalities the first night . We are very glad we get to choose our weather. We watched the first 5 boats to abandon the race come into Eden to rest and recover. One of the 72 foot maxi yachts even broke and lost its carbon fiber mast. One thing all 5 crews had in common was being soaked and exhausted. We wished them well and got ready for our turn across Bass Strait.
We left the following day at 5:00AM along with 3 other cruising yachts and jumped into the middle of the Sydney Hobart fleet, which was well strung out by this time so we didn't actually see any of racers. It took us just less than 4 days to make the passage from Eden to Wineglass Bay — this is a traditional first stop that is about half way down the east coast of Tasmania. The passage was a doozy for sure. The Tasman Sea typically has 3 swell patterns all coming from different directions that make it feel like you are sailing through a washing machine. (Mike even got seasick on this one.) We took a slower route further offshore — following some of the race boats — and our friends took the closer to shore route and got pummeled. Anchoring in the dark at 4:00AM was no problem and the next day we celebrated with the Pit Pony crew. The first and hardest part was behind us and we settled in for a few days of hikes and beach walks around the beautiful bay in beautiful Tasmania. We spotted our first wallaby right on the beach!
Fully recovered and already in love with Tasmania, we pulled up our anchors and headed down the coast to Chinamans Bay on the west side of Maria Island with Pit Pony. Maria Island is home to a very large wisdom of wombats. They are the successors to a small wisdom of 25 wombats who were relocated from Flinders island in north Tasmania to establish a mange-free population. There were no wombats on Maria Island at the time and today there are more than one thousand. We headed to shore just before sundown in search of some and saw hundreds! We wandered among them for a couple hours and were able to get quite close. There are few predators on the island — later we were to see that the automobile is their biggest threat. It was a magical experience communing with these large and gentle marsupials and the largest wisdom we would see — and yet another reason to fall in love with Tasmania.
Next up: Fortescue Bay, our last stop before the passage to Hobart where we would welcome our second set of guests and get ready to head down the channel and around the corner to the southern coast in a few weeks. There is a dramatic hiking track to a world famous rock climbing spot which has two spires called the Candlestick and the Totem Pole. The candlestick rises vertically to a height of over 100 meters above the surface of the sea which you have to get across to even climb it.
After a few days in Fortescue Bay, we headed off on the trip around Tasman Island, across Storm Bay, and up the Derwent River to Hobart. This is also the last leg of the Sydney Hobart route although the last yacht to finish had done so long before we got there. Being in the Roaring Forties in the Southern Ocean and Storm Bay sounded like it could be treacherous — and it certainly often is — but we chose a quiet clear day and were rewarded with amazing scenery and a pleasant trip. As we approached Hobart, we hear a familiar voice on hailing Calla Lily on the VHF radio. It was Sam and Emma whom we met in New Caledonia welcoming us to Hobart! They were anchored in a nearby bay and saw us sailing up the Derwent River. What a warm Tasmanian welcome! Soon we were safely and happily on a mooring just off Battery Point that Sam had helped arrange for us. We couldn't wait to explore Hobart and the next day Sam and Emma came by and drove us around for a sight seeing and provisioning tour. Now it was time to settle into our Tasmanian base for the next few weeks and get ready to welcome our guests to our new favorite island.
