I had the pleasure of being escorted over the Incat factory some years ago. They are an awesome piece of machinery. Sadly they were tried on the Mainland - Tasmania run, but were not popular. The problem lies with the dynamics of the thing. We went to Tassie several times, one leaving Port Welshpool in Vic, and two more trips from Port Melbourne. The scheduled time from Port Welshpool was 3.5 hours, although the seas were a bit rough and it took 5 hours then. There are a lot of holes out there in Bass Strait and the SeaCat (also called the Sick Cat or Vomit Comet) found every one of them.

The ship is huge - twin wave piercing catamaran hulls. It is OK of the ship hits a swell head on - the ship will slow a little and accelerate as it comes off the swell, but when it hits a swell at an agnle, one hull hits the swell first. That hull slows a little and the whole ship turns slightly toward that side. Then the second hull hits the swell and it all straightens up again. Then the first hull comes off the swell and accelerates slightly so the whole ship turns slightly the other way. Finally the second hull comes off the swell and the whole ship straightens up again. The end result is a yawing motion as well as the normal up and down pitching. In smooth seas they are an awesome way to travel, but not for Bass Strait. I think that the whole design is a superb piece of Australian Innovation. Bob Clifford started it out and it seems as if his son is carrying on the business now. Good for him and gooder for Hobart....

We went over to Tassie in 1993 on the Seacat.....flat as a millpond on the way over. Cruise past a small island with sealions lounging on it so ducked outside to have a squiz....and we were bloody hiking!!! Never got to see those creatures....as by the time I got on deck ...they were way behind.

We were on the bike towing the trailer...and to make a bit of room near bike ...one of the crew unhooked trailer and wheeled to off to gawd knows where ....and when we docked ...wheeled right back again.

 

The return trip however was a different story....rough as ....and even some of the crew were seasick....but once in sight of the mainland things improved....but breakfast was over by then.

 

Cheers  Keith

One of our trips to/from Tassie was in one of the earlier Seacats - from Port Welshpool. On the way over, the bureau had forecast 1.5 to 2 m swells. That made my daughter quite squirmish, and me not much better. "Daddy, I feel sick", so I lurched my way down to the bar in the centre of the boat (the boat was leaping sideways such that I had trouble walking in the 2 m wide aisles without crashing into the seats on the sides) and asked for something to help her. The barman sold me 2 bandaid spots. He told me to stick them on the pressure points on her wrists. After 20 minutes of so, some colour returned to her face and she was OK - just. When we got to Georgetown, she took the bandaid spot off and gave it to me. I thought it would be a drug which infused through the skin, but no - it was a magnet.

On the way home, the forecast was for 3 to 4 m swells. We doped our daughter up with drugs and my wife used the new bandaid spot on her. I tried to use the old spot on me but it wouldn't stick, so I stuck it on with a regular bandaid. A few hours into the trip and I felt lousy. I looked at the bandaid and it had come loose, so I slid the magnet under my watchband. After 20 minutes, the sea calmed down again and I felt OK - barely. On the way over, there was a family who would have preferred to die - they suffered horribly. There was only 2 cabin crew working on the way over, but on the way back there were 12 cabin crew, and 2 of then got sick! I can understand it - scooping up other people's vomits... Every time we go to or from Tassie, we make sure we have magnets with us - they work. How they work, I have no idea - if it is the platelets in the bloodstream being aligned (blood consists of a lot of iron based platelets); if it is in the mind; or if it is in my big toe - I don't care - they work for us.

Now for some comments on the replies so far. Regarding the miltiary, the US Navy has from memory 12 of the big catamarans, 10 of them built in the US. They are very good - fast response, good load capability and relatively shallow draft. Regarding the draft, when the cats were operating out of Port Melbourne, they didn't follow the shipping channel around via Rosebud etc - they simply went straight across the bay directly to the heads, so they don't draw that much water. And regarding Triabunna, I think that the swells come from either side (East or West) of Tassie, so I doubt that would be of much benefit. Bass strait has some of the roughest seas in the world because of the sudden rising of the sea floor between the mainland and Tassie itself. There are some awfully big holes out there, and the ships find them. I do prefer the ride of Spirit 1 and Spirit 2, but I do wish that they could get it over and done with quicker. I guess if they went quicker (if they indeed could) the ride would be so much rougher. Our last crossing - May last year - they forecast 3 to 4 m seas on a 4 to 5 m swell, with 40 knot winds. That was not nice, but my wife slept all through it no problems. We arrived at Devonport about 05:15 hrs, and then spent until 09:15 cruising up and down the coast until the light improved and the Captain was brave enough to try to get the ship into the river. Now that part of the trip was damned uncomfortable indeed. The return trip was a snack. Overall, I think that the TT line does a good job, but gee they know how to charge when you take a trailer or caravan over.

-- Edited by erad on Monday 20th of March 2017 05:10:43 PM

Landfall wrote: "Best you look at Google Earth. Triabunna is very well protected from all weather."

No question about that. My biggest worry is getting to the Triabunna area. You have a lot more travelling in exposed areas than the direct crossing to Devonport (or Georgetown). Ok - they may be able to run in deeper water which hopefully may not generate as many hole for the ships to fall into, but Triabunna is a lot further than Devonport and that would not be facoured by the TT line at all. Generally the East coast is more protected than the West coast, but once you get to a lower latitude than say Stanley, you are normally in more protected waters anyway. I still love the place and will keep going back as often as we can.