5/1/12

Noon Position: 44 29' S, 148 07' E, SOG 6.8, COG 105, Day's Run 150nm.
I sighted the Tasmanian coast yesterday afternoon at 1400 about 40 miles
away. This being my first sight of land since Tierra del Fuego, some
two and a half months ago, I thought it only appropriate to celebrate a
little. However, I was stymied. I have nothing Tasmanian on board,
know no Tasmanian songs or stories or cheers, and couldn't really have
my own private fireworks show with expired flares so close to land. So
instead, Tasmania being very near Australia, I celebrated by trimming
the jib with my Barlow winch handle (made in Australia, stamped in bold
font underneath), Eating some delicious canned cheese on crackers (Bega,
the Great Australian Cheese), while hailing the coastline with such
traditional down-under greetings as "Croikey!" and "Oy, look at the
teeth on this one, moyte!" Finally, I sang a few lines of that grand
old song, "Oh, Tasmania!," with lyrics of my own composition set to the
tune of "Oh, Canadia!" (I needed the extra i to make it scan) I
thought of all the Tasmanians just a few miles away, doing Tasmanian
things, thinking Tasmanian thoughts, maybe even (in the wildest reaches
of my fancy) chasing Tasmanian devils out of the garden with a broom!
It's nice to be back moving again, after losing almost two full days of
longitude from that last gale, and Odyssey sailed fast all night around
the Southern tip of Tasmania in oddly still waters, watched by the
blinking eye of the Maatsuyker island light, to finally find the horizon
empty once again as the sun rose this morning.