Catchments to Coast - Triabunna

Pelican is heading for home. The East Coast of Tassie pictured above is now slipping under the horizon behind us as we motor sail across Bass Strait. We were escorted by dolphins as we sailed into Banks Strait towards Tasmania and this morning were shadowed into the vast sea paddock between Tasmania and the mainland by a big pod of squeaking, whistling Bottle-Nosed Dolphins.




Our stay in Tasmania was all too brief, particularly as we have sailed all the way down here. We did two events, one from Swansea and one from the port town of Triabunna (Aboriginal word for Native Hen). Both towns are part of the East Coast catchment of Glemorgan Spring Bay.
And it is with the Natural Resource Managers of that particular council that we may be setting up a new Two Bays kind of project. Triabunna sits in a wonderful deep harbour and we thouroughly enjoyed meeting the people from there and having a tiny bit of time to explore on land.
Below is a photo of a woodchip pile. This enterprise is situated just outside of Triabunna. Some people may be aware of the controversies surrounding the logging, woodchip, pulp mill industries in Tasmania. These industries are the mainstay of the economy and there has been a constant struggle between the green movement and the people who run and are employers in these industries. The Australian Greens party was formed in the 70s in response to the planned damming of Lake Peddar and the Franklin. A company called Gunns basically has the monopoly of the forestry industries and also many agricultural projects (wineries) and is a big player in Tasmania. In fact, the Premier of Tasmania, who resigned while we were there, left his position in the main due to his too obvious connection with these powerful industrialists.



For me the highlight was meetinig a local artist, Vita, pictured below with one of our crew, Julia and Aurora.
She is nearly 92 and going strong, painting very interesting abstracted landscapes with a joyous sense of colour. I hope to meet with her for longer if the planned project takes off in early 2009. She thought that our boat, Pelican, was the most beautiful boat she had ever seen. And she added that she hasd seen plenty of boats in her lifetime. We think so too!!

the crossing

It is pitch dark outside as Pelican gently rocks to the long slow swell of Bass Strait. The cook is reading, my daughter is making paper dolls with our new volunteer on Pelican; Julia, a young Marine Biologist from Germany. The skipper and first mate are in the wheel house, making sure that we don't hit a tanker or a whale . Estelle, another of the old Pelican crew is tidying up the galley. And I am blogging! I will put in my communal time after dinner and do the dishes!

We are sailing down to Tasmania to hopefully develop a Two Bays project on the East Coast. But it really is just a wonderful excuse to be out on the ocean , on a cold late Autumn night, sailing under a lop sided moon.

My personal life is still in a bit of freefall but being out here is slowly giving me a much needed feeling of peace. Sometimes I wonder about what I am doing and feel like I am floundering in a sea of good intentions.

Particularly now as I am crossing this stretch of water, created during sea level rises over 10,000 years ago, and traversing my own internal changes that are in their own way causing a complete change in the geography of my own life.

Ahh the grandeur and tininess of me, ahh, the joy of watching an albatross skim the surface of the wave - wing outstretched in graceful pleasure of motion and control.