Adventures at sea

Editor’s note: OCC’s 65-foot sail training sloop Alaska Eagle recently

completed an expedition voyage from Tasmania to New Zealand via two

remote subantarctic islands in the Southern Ocean.

During the 2,300-mile voyage, Alaska Eagle’s 11-man crew braved storms,

predatory sea lions and the everyday challenges of sailing near the

bottom of the world. Now berthed in Wellington, New Zealand, Alaska Eagle

is in the middle of a 14-month sail training voyage from Newport to

Australia and return. Alaska Eagle skipper Brad Avery reported weekly

during the voyage. This is the first in a five-part series.

Jan. 8, anchored in Port Davey, a remote cruising ground at the bottom of

Tasmania:

We left Hobart three days ago, going upwind through D’Entrecasteaux

channel and around Southeast Cape to Port Davey, about 110 miles. It was a good windy trip with big swells offshore, giving our 11-person crew

something to deal with right off the bat.

BZ Jones won the prize for steering in the wettest, coldest conditions.

Port Davey, every Tasmanian sailor’s idea of heaven on earth, is a

15-mile-long estuary, filled with anchorages -- similar to southeast

Alaska, but with ground cover like the Channel Islands.

Robbie Vaughn, a Tasmanian sailor now from Newport Beach, has been our

guide for the past few days. Yesterday, we anchored in tiny Starvation

Cove, taking the bow anchor ashore in the dinghy to the beach and tying a

stern line around a eucalyptus tree.

In the morning, seven of us hiked to the top of Mount Rugby -- 2,500

feet. The climb was a workout, two leeches and one tick hit their marks,

but the view was worth it. The jagged peaks of the Arthur Range behind us

faced the Southern Ocean far in the distance. Below us was Alaska Eagle,

just a white sliver at the end of winding Melaleuca narrows.

This morning we watered under Mount O’Brien in Bathurst channel. We

brought Alaska Eagle stern-to against a sheer rock face where a waterfall

cascaded from 200 feet above. Robbie and Don took turns holding a funnel

under the falls, which drained the sweet water via a long hose into

Alaska Eagle’s tanks.

This afternoon, Robbie and Bruce are leading a trip up the Davie River in

Alaska Eagle’s 15-foot inflatable. We’ve had hot sunny weather during our

two days here, but now we’re in for a change. After dinner this evening,

we will set off for subantarctic Macquarie Island, 900 miles south, at

latitude 55.

o7 The OCC Sailing program is dedicated to providing offshore sailing

instruction to the public. Alaska Eagle, a former winner of the Whitbread

Round the World Race, was donated to OCC in 1982. Since then, the

aluminum sloop has sailed more than 200,000 miles with hundreds of OCC

sailing program students aboard.

f7

FYI

On board Alaska Eagle from Newport Beach:

* Skipper Brad Avery

* First mate Bruce Tice

* Watch leader Robbie Vaughn

* Graham “BZ” Jones.

Other crew members:

* Andrew Hollings and Bruce Griffen, New Zealand

* John Wolfe, Philadelphia

* Mac Lingo, San Francisco

* Don Peterson, Laguna Beach

* Lee Sadler, Salt Lake City

* David Slaunwhite, San Diego.