Stanley ~ February 8, 2010

Twenty miles further along the north coast from George Town awaited the major port of Devonport, where the ferry Spirit of Tasmania docks. After an easy sail, using the outgoing tide to leave the Tamar River and the incoming tide to speed our entry into the Mersey, we were immediately confronted by a bustling harbour city filled with noise, accentuated by a busy highway of trucks hauling containers and livestock. Just past the port’s hubbub, the local yacht club beckoned us to a place alongside their jetty, for a price we learnt after our lines were attached.

“Is there any free anchoring or courtesy overnight,” I asked the bosun whose eyes slowly roved over acres of moored craft before settling on a small empty space near the base of the bridge where the river ran fast.