Morning walk around Constitution Dock / Salamanca and afternoon catching up with friends

14th Feb 2023 

After an excellent breakfast at the hotel, we headed off for a walk around the waterfront and the decommissioning of the Wooden Boat show infrastructure was in full swing, although there were still quite a few boats still there in the water. Getting around parts of Salamanca was a bit precarious as many area were closed off for contractors to carry out the cleanup.

A new cruise ship, Celebrity Eclipse was at the cruise terminal, much bigger than the previous Holland America ship.





There are still quite a few boats hanging around after the show and we get see a few things we hadn't seen because of the crowds yesterday. In particular we came across the "Westward", winner of the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in 1947 and 1948.



        
                            The history is fascinating. Amazing how much the competition has changed


The ferries to Mona are back at their dock.


We walked all through Salamanca, around the point to Battery Point and eventually back to the city. Not a lot has changed including a couple of restaurants we had eaten at years ago.

We only wanted a simple lunch so ended up having wonton noodle soup at Grandmas Noodles, not far from our hotel. It was a pretty good example of proper wonton noodle soup.

This afternoon we are catching up with some Coastal Cruising Club friends who sailed to Tasmania. They are berthed at the Prince of Wales bay Marina which is a little way up the Derwent River from the Tasman Bridge. We have decided to meet them there rather than they come into town as everything is booked out for Valentines Day.

Initially we had contacted Andrew and Lyn on "Mischief" hoping to catch up whilst they were in Hobart. It also turned out that another CCCA member who we know well Symphony 11 is also at the same marina, so we get the opportunity to catch up with Graeme and Sue at the same time. Lyn kindly invites us to dinner on Mischief as there are no dining establishments nearby, despite a very large brewery / restaurant that has been built next to the marina. 

The marina is huge and is the site of INCAT's manufacturing operation for the big aluminium cat ferries that are sold around the world. The marina is currently under going a huge expansion in new berths.

It has been noticeable so far on our trip that supply of services does not appear to be market driven. It may be staff shortages or possibly a lack of ambition. In lots of places the availability of restaurants which appear to have high capitalisation is limited to a few days a week.

We enjoyed catching up with our old CCCA friends. Lyn cooked a great curry which we enjoyed on board Mischief, Graeme and Sue came over for an after dinner catch up and eventually we had to head off back hotel after a nice night of reminiscing.

Mischief is now heading to Port Davey with a few other boats currently at the marina, all looking for a good weather window. There is a good chance Symphony 11 may join them.


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