Tas-maybe-nia

I woke up and checked the forecast for a potential crossing of the Bass Strait on Thursday morning and proceeded to roll over and go back to sleep after various sources confirmed that we wouldn’t be getting there in the morning. After a slower start to the day and a lovely brunch at a local cafe, we headed out to the airport at about midday to have a shot at crossing over to Tasmania. There was a low cloud layer forecast for the morning and it had lifted a little during the day. We were unsure of if it would be high enough to make the flight, however we made the choice to give it a shot and see.

There’s a reason why I’ve planned to practice this leg dual, and it is because there is a lot of procedure involved in flying over such a large body of water, and I’d also appreciated the additional support of an instructor in case I ran into trouble. Prior to departing, we had a long brief about what to expect in case of an emergency- who would be completing what tasks if something were to go wrong. It was at that point I found out Bec was wearing waterproof eyeliner. I’m glad she has faith in me. We also briefed about the weather. Whilst the forecast and cameras in Tasmania were all pointing to the weather being good, we had to get through that low level of cloud first.

We departed and tracked outbound at about 1500 feet, just below the broken cloud base, flying around terrain towards the coast. Whilst we knew that the forecast was going to be better, upon reaching the coast and still not being at a minimum radio reporting altitude, it wasn’t going to be safe to continue. So, we decided to turn back and fly to Moorabbin. It is a little frustrating that my circumnavigation is now only limited to mainland Australia, however to remain safe and legal that choice had to be made.

Although I didn’t make it to Tasmania due to weather, I think I still learnt a lot about conditions whilst flying with an instructor who I trust and love like a sister. It was also a great girls flight, and we had a fun evening back in Melbourne too!