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by Greg Peart & John Higginson

Taste of Tasmania. It’s the name of Hobart’s annual food and wine festival, a summer gathering that attracts thousands of people from around this rugged, windswept island. Yet it also alludes to the fact that once you’ve savoured the delights of ‘Van Diemen’s Land’, you’re sure to come back for more.

Located off the southeast tip of mainland Australia, Tasmania is blessed with staggering natural geography, made all the more noticeable by the fact sailors can enjoy its inlets, bays and beaches in peace and quiet, even in the supposed peak season. For throughout the island, throughout the year, there’s a relaxed, easy-going and undisturbed way of life that Tasmanians like and have done well to protect. More than a third of the island is preserved as World Heritage Area, national parks or forest reserves, and it boasts the cleanest air in the world - officially!

As Australia’s only island state, Tasmania naturally has an avid boating population, and most of the cruising around the island is by locals and, increasingly, by mainland visitors on their own yachts. To date, there are only a handful of charter boats officially available for overseas visitors - but going off the beaten track has some benefits. You’re far more likely to hold court in Asia’s yacht clubs when regaling mates with talk of the Iron Pot, the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and Hen and Chicken Bay!

“Tasmania is really just being discovered. After all, it’s an island on the edge of the world,” says John Pugsley, Tourism Tasmania’s marketing director. “Face south, and the next land is Antarctica. Face west, and it’s South America.

“This remoteness is a big part of its appeal. You can sail to somewhere as stunning as Wineglass Bay and there might only be half-a-dozen people there. Or you could be by yourself. Even the most beautiful places are secluded.”

Although the island’s stunning geography, diverse wildlife and outdoor lifestyle is like an escape into purity, Tasmania is no secret. Overseas arrivals have increased by 50 per cent over the last five years, with 120,000 people visiting in 2003 – not bad for a state with a population of less than 500,000.

“Tasmania stands for cleanliness, friendliness, relaxation,” Pugsley continues. “There’s peace and safety. There’s a feeling of community – people will stop and talk to you. All these themes have become very relevant today.”

The most popular time to visit is during the southern hemisphere’s summer, from Christmas onwards, which is even more enticing for those living far enough north in Asia for it to get cold at that stage.

Imagine the option: Christmas Day on a beach in Sydney, with lobster for lunch instead of Turkey, then sunbathing in the afternoon. On Boxing Day, get on a boat to watch the beginning of the Rolex Sydney Hobart - the world’s greatest race start - and then head to Hobart, where the sea is a way of life and your coastal cruising can begin in earnest. And if you keep up with the Sydney Hobart race coverage, you can head back to Constitution Dock to welcome in the boats.

Natural attractions

While the race has drawn much attention to Tasmania, the island is a great sailing destination all round. Local sailors are united in their praise of the island’s cruising areas and the many reasons for it, while the few international visitors who have come to sail agree that its cruising grounds have international appeal.

“A lot of our customers are wealthy people who have chartered all around the world, and they all love it,” says Doug Seath of Hobart-based Yachting Holidays. “It’s so different because it’s not overdeveloped, it’s easy to see pristine wilderness, there are no crowded anchorages, no coral reefs, and it’s very affordable.

“It’s an amazing area. In a small space, there are so many total contrasts. Furthermore, wherever you are, you always have the opportunity to go ashore, so you don’t have to be locked on your boat, which I know is a big appeal to day sailors or those who like to go walking or have dinner onshore.”

John Brettingham-Moore, author of Cruising Tasmania, has run various boating operations in his time, including out at Port Davey on the southwest coast, regarded by many as the prime sailing destination on the island. He agrees that Tasmania has a variety of factors that make it such an alluring sailing area.

“There are so many reasons that make sailing here so good. The wildlife, for one. You often see dolphins; some people have even seen whales. There are seal colonies, seabirds, wallabies, wombats … you name it,” he says.

“The scenery is spectacular and there’s such diversity, from white beaches to the rugged and mountainous coastline. There are safe anchorages all around. Even when there’s bad weather, it’s only for a few hours. There’s no fog and it doesn’t rain for days like in other places. The weather’s changeable but it doesn’t ever get bad enough to stop you from doing anything.”

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