Around Tasmania in an outboard-engined boat: Launceston to Stanley

For one owner, that recently moved from a dream to reality. And I was invited along on the trip.

Our chariot for our 10-day voyage ahead of us was chosen based on my personal experience of many thousands of miles at sea in all sorts of boats, and in all sorts of weather.

This allowed me to learn the positive and negative attributes of different hulls, power options and hull designs, and ultimately understand what works and what doesn’t, and what sort of boat is required for different types of cruising.

This trip was created for an amazing couple; long-term Marine Riley clients who have over time become great friends.

I was asked to help them find their dream vessel and if it didn’t exist, to create it for them.

They wanted a vessel that would allow them to explore the uncharted islands around Papua New Guinea, but also double as the perfect day boat for Sydney Harbour cruising.

The boat we chose would have to have enough range to get between fuel stops, but also enough performance – power and speed – to get ahead of bad weather.

Meanwhile, the fit-out had to be finished to luxury yacht standards, with all the comforts to make any destination enjoyable.

After hundreds of conversations and thousands of hours, we settled on a list of all the requirements for their dream vessel.

All I had to do now was to search the world to find the boat that met all these attributes.

I’ve travelled to almost every major boat show around the globe and know many builders, but nothing they made fit the bill.

So I started to look down the custom route.

The task was challenging. What boat can travel in the worst of conditions far from any type of help, cruise in the high 20s while fully loaded, nudge up onto a beach on an uninhabited island and have facilities to cook fresh seafood on the barbecue with a nice cool beer after having a warm shower?

We needed something special. After much searching, I found a company that could create our dream boat. It was then three hard, long years, dozens of meetings, thousands of emails and phone calls and lots of input from real masters of the trade to create this beast, our client’s dream vessel – a 14.5 metre RIB dripping with luxury and powered by three 600hp Mercury V12 Verado outboard engines.

But now it was my time to show the new owners that what I had created for them would do what I had promised. Would it cope with the worst of conditions? Would it keep them safe? Would it be comfortable for weeks on end in isolated anchorages?

The only real way to test the boat for the challenges it faced was a shake-down along the west coast of Tasmania visiting some of Australia’s best, and wildest, cruising destinations. And what a cruise it was.

The new boat would be waiting for me at Launceston after bumping across Bass Strait from Lakes Entrance weeks before.

It already had been cruising, having left its home port at Pittwater weeks before with its owner and his friends.

This time, for its proper shakedown, it would be me onboard with my long-term and now great friend, covering the top and west coast of Tassie. Was he also testing me?

We knew we would need the weather on our side. The west coast of Tasmania has quite a reputation for big winds and bad seas, and there is many a shipwreck on the west coast for those who have been caught. We have planned to have calmer winds and milder seas.

After a couple of weeks of watching the weather, a window to cross the top of Tasmania and down the feared west coast finally arrived.

My start to the trip kicked off with a stunning flight down the NSW and Victorian coastlines. Below me, a glittering Bass Strait was as calm and still as a pond on a summer’s evening, leaving me wondering why so many experienced sailors talk so badly of her temper and iron will.

Luck was on my side, as the pilot must have had a great interest in seeing Flinders Island on this glorious day – we came in low, real low. I’ve only ever seen Flinders Island from the sea, so to see it at low altitude with the shifting sands, the marine life racing through the channels, the glittering beaches – it left the Gold Coast for dead.

Landing in Launceston, I grabbed a few extra provisions and a pie for the owner – given what could be ahead, it is best to keep him onside this early in on a voyage.

At the dock, the owner was already waiting with the boat’s protective covers stowed and the Mercury V12 Verado outboard engines idling away and warming up.

While the owner ate his pie I did a last check of the weather, fuel load and safety gear. Soon we were motoring into the channel for the long run downstream to the mouth of the Tamar River.

I have covered many tens of thousands of miles at sea and all that experience has taught me to have a huge respect for the ocean and the weather.

The more time I spend on the ocean, the more cautious I become. Today, as we leave the safety of the river mouth, just as forecast the beautiful Bass Strait was calm and still for our trip from the Tamar to Stanley – a welcome rarity for anyone who makes this passage.

We left the channel in a strong run-out tide. Once past the last markers, we opened up the throttles to a gentle cruise of 26 knots. Ahead of us lies 600 nautical miles of unknown adventure.

Although our cruising speed is close to the top speed of other oceangoing boats, there is still plenty in reserve, with this beast’s top speed tested at 52 knots.

The crew is happy to start this circumnavigation of Tasmania in an outboard engine-powered boat.

Has this ever been attempted before? We’re not sure.

Part 2: Stanley to Strahan