Tasmania: Sailing

Tasmania has plenty of events and attractions to appeal to yacht enthusiasts, including the biennial Australian Wooden Boat Festival, the Royal Hobart Regatta, Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, and the Australian Wooden Boat Centre in Franklin, south of the capital. Alternatively, you may want to glide past picturesque fishing towns, sail around one of Tasmania's many offshore islands, or pass beside fluted cliffs that tower 900 feet (300 metres) above the sea. You could also sail out to seal haul-outs amongst the sculpted rock formations of Bruny Island. In Tasmania you will find many protected anchorages and a spectacular coastline of towering sea cliffs, turquoise ocean and white sand. Mid-way up the coast, on the Freycinet Peninsula, lichen encrusted rocks add tinges of red and orange to the palette. You will also find many convenient berths in Tasmania, such as at Hobart’s central docks. Port Davey in the south-west is an absolute must wild, remote and beautiful, it is a destination the likes of which you may never have the opportunity to experience again. Why not choose a safe picture-perfect anchorage farther north to while away a day or two until weather conditions are favourable for crossing Bass Strait? The Bass Strait is revered by sailors throughout the world as one of the toughest stretches of water on the planet, a result of shallow depths and strong westerly winds causing high, confused, steep seas. Whichever direction you sail in, treat it with respect.