Hobart is the finish line of the most famous ocean race in the southern hemisphere and the base for some of the best cruising in the world. The River Derwent runs from the city past Sandy Bay's yacht clubs into Storm Bay, open to the Southern Ocean; to the south-west, the D'Entrecasteaux Channel threads 30 miles between Bruny Island and the mainland to the Huon River and Recherche Bay, sheltered from the ocean but not from the fronts, with tidal streams that matter and anchorages every few miles. Fronts cross every few days in every season; the water is cold enough that survival time is part of every safety brief; and the mountain behind the city throws bullets down the river with no warning. Tasmanian Yachtmasters are weather-literate because they have to be.
The waters
The River Derwent
A wide, deep estuary with the city on its western bank, yacht clubs and marinas at Sandy Bay, Bellerive and Lindisfarne, and a sea breeze on summer afternoons. Bullets off Mount Wellington.
Storm Bay and the Tasman Peninsula
Open to the south; the last leg of the Sydney to Hobart. Anchorages at Nubeena and Port Arthur; the sea cliffs of Cape Raoul and Cape Pillar.
The D’Entrecasteaux Channel
Sheltered water between Bruny Island and the mainland, with Kettering’s marina, the Bruny ferry, tidal streams at the narrows and anchorages at Barnes Bay, Great Taylors Bay and the Huon.
The Huon River and Recherche Bay
The Huon winds inland past Cygnet and Franklin; Recherche Bay at the southern end of the channel is the last anchorage before the south coast and Port Davey.
Training here
Courses run from Hobart and Kettering, using the Derwent for boat handling, the channel for tidal pilotage and anchoring, and Storm Bay for open-water experience. Weather routing and heavy-weather seamanship are taught as core skills.
What an exam here looks like
Passages for the logbook
| Passage | Miles | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hobart to Recherche Bay | 50 | The length of the channel; sheltered tidal pilotage. |
| Hobart to Coles Bay | 80 | Round the Tasman Peninsula to Freycinet; qualifying passage. |
| Hobart to Port Davey | 100 | Round South East Cape into the wilderness; a serious open-ocean leg. |
| Hobart to Sydney | 630 | The delivery north after the race. |
Conditions
| Tides | Semi-diurnal, range 1 to 1.5 m. Streams of 1 to 2 knots at the narrows of the channel and at the Derwent entrance; weak elsewhere. |
|---|---|
| Weather | Westerly and south-westerly fronts every few days, sometimes violent; summer sea breezes on the Derwent; snow possible on the mountain in any month. Cold water year-round. |
| Facilities and rescue | Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania and Derwent Sailing Squadron at Sandy Bay, marinas at Bellerive, Kettering and Prince of Wales Bay, the Hobart waterfront docks (full for the race in December); Coast Guard and volunteer rescue at Hobart, Kettering and Dover. |
Boat licence
Questions about Hobart and the D’Entrecasteaux Channel
Can I sail in Tasmania in winter?
Yes, in the channel and the Derwent between fronts, with warm clothing and conservative planning. Open-coast passages wait for settled windows, which are rarer in winter.
Is the Australian Wooden Boat Festival relevant to training?
Not formally, but the February festival (every second year) fills Hobart with boats and sailors and is a good time to find crewing opportunities and to see traditional seamanship up close.