Bass Strait is a sea
straitA strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
separating
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
from the south of the
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n mainland, specifically the state of
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
Extent
The
International Hydrographic OrganizationThe International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing the hydrographic community. It enjoys observer status at the UN and is the recognised competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting...
defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:
On the West. The Eastern limit of the Great Australian BightThe Great Australian Bight is a large bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia.-Extent:...
[A line from Cape OtwayCape Otway is a cape in south Victoria, Australia on the Great Ocean Road; much of the area is enclosed in the Otway National Park.-History:...
, AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, to King Island and thence to Cape GrimCape Grim is the northwestern point of Tasmania, Australia.It is the location of the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station which is operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in a joint programme with the CSIRO....
, the Northwest extreme of TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
].
On the East. The Western limit of the Tasman SeaThe Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...
between Gabo IslandGabo Island is a 154 ha island located off the coast of eastern Victoria, Australia, between Mallacoota and Cape Howe on the border with New South Wales. It is separated from the mainland by a 500 m wide channel; access is available by arranged flights and boats...
and Eddystone Point [A line from Gabo Island (near Cape HoweCape Howe is a coastal headland in Australia, forming the south-eastern end of the Black-Allen Line, the border between New South Wales and Victoria.-History:...
, 37°30'S) to the Northeast point of East Sister Island (148°E) thence along the 148th meridianThe meridian 148° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
to Flinders IslandFlinders Island may refer to:In Australia:* Flinders Island , in the Furneaux Group, is the largest and best known* Flinders Island * Flinders Island , in the Investigator Group* Flinders Island...
; beyond this Island a line running to the Eastward of the Vansittart Shoals to [Cape] Barren Island, and from Cape Barren (the Easternmost point of [Cape] Barren Island) to Eddystone Point (41°S) in Tasmania].
Discovery and exploration
The strait was named after
George BassGeorge Bass was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.-Early years:He was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George Bass, and a local beauty named Sarah Nee Newman. His father died in 1777 when Bass was 6...
after he and
Matthew FlindersCaptain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
passed through it while circumnavigating
Van Diemen's LandVan Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
(now named Tasmania) in the
NorfolkThe Colonial sloop Norfolk: “The necessity of a vessel to keep up a more frequent intercourse with Norfolk Island, …having been much felt by the want of various stores …occasioned Captain Townson, the Commanding officer, to construct a small decked boat, sloop rigged, in which he sent His letters...
in 1798–99. At Flinders' recommendation the Governor of New South Wales,
John HunterVice-Admiral John Hunter, RN was a British naval officer, explorer, naturalist and colonial administrator who succeeded Arthur Phillip as the second governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1795 to 1800.-Overview:...
, in 1800 named the stretch of water between the mainland and Van Diemen's Land "Basses Strait". Later it became known as Bass Strait.
The existence of the strait had been suggested in 1797 by the master of the
Sydney CoveSydney Cove was a sailing ship wrecked in 1797 on Preservation Island off Tasmania while on her way from Calcutta to Port Jackson. She was among the first ships wrecked on the east coast of Australia.- Voyage :...
when he reached Sydney after deliberately grounding his foundering ship and being stranded on
Preservation IslandPreservation Island is a low and undulating granite and calcarenite island, with an area of 207 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Preservation Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait south-west of Cape Barren Island in the Furneaux Group, and is an important historic...
(at the eastern end of the strait). He reported that the strong south westerly swell and the tides and currents suggested that the island was in a channel linking the Pacific and southern Indian Ocean. Governor Hunter thus wrote to
Joseph BanksSir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
in August 1797 that it seemed certain a strait existed.
Conditions
Approximately 240 km wide at its narrowest point and generally around 50 metres deep, it contains many islands, with King Island and
Flinders IslandFlinders Island may refer to:In Australia:* Flinders Island , in the Furneaux Group, is the largest and best known* Flinders Island * Flinders Island , in the Investigator Group* Flinders Island...
home to substantial human settlements.
Like the rest of the waters surrounding Tasmania, and particularly because of its limited depth, it is notoriously rough, with many ships lost there during the 19th century. A lighthouse was erected on
Deal IslandDeal Island is a granite island, with an area of 1576.75 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is the largest of Tasmania’s Kent Group, lying in northern Bass Strait between the Furneaux Group and Wilsons Promontory in Victoria. It is now part of the Kent Group National Park, Tasmania’s northernmost...
in 1848 to assist ships in the eastern part of the Straits, but there were no guides to the western entrance until the
Cape OtwayCape Otway is a cape in south Victoria, Australia on the Great Ocean Road; much of the area is enclosed in the Otway National Park.-History:...
Lighthouse was first lit in 1848, followed by another at Cape Wickham at the northern end of King Island in 1861.
Maritime history
Strong currents between the Antarctic-driven southeast portions of the
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and the
Tasman SeaThe Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...
's
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
waters provide a strait of powerful, wild storm waves. To illustrate its wild strength, Bass Strait is both twice as wide and twice as rough as the
English ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. The shipwrecks on the Tasmanian and Victorian coastlines number in the hundreds, although stronger metal ships and modern marine
navigationNavigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
have dropped the danger sharply.
Many vessels, some quite large, have disappeared without trace, or left scant evidence of their passing. Despite myths and legends of
piracyPiracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
, wrecking and alleged supernatural phenomena akin to those of the
Bermuda TriangleThe Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances....
, such disappearances can be invariably ascribed to treacherous combinations of wind and sea conditions, and the numerous semi-submerged rocks and reefs within the Straits.
Despite the strait's difficult waters it provided a safer and less boisterous passage for ships on the route from Europe or India to Sydney in the early 19th century. The strait also saved 700 miles distance on the voyage.
Islands
There are over 50 islands in Bass Strait. Major islands include:
Western section:
- King Island
- Three Hummock Island
Three Hummock Island is an island with an area of 70 km2 and a high point 237 m above sea-level, in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Hunter Island Group which lies between north-west Tasmania and King Island. The island is named after its three most...
- Hunter Island
Hunter Island is an island in Bass Strait between Victoria and Tasmania in south-eastern Australia. It is located near Three Hummock Island, several miles off the north-west coast of Tasmania. The island is run as a cattle property and there is a homestead on the island...
- Robbins Island
South eastern section:
- Furneaux Group
- Flinders Island
Flinders Island is an island in Bass Strait. It is from Cape Portland, the north-eastern tip of Tasmania, Australia and is the largest island in the Furneaux Group.-History:...
- Cape Barren Island
- Clark Island
- and several other islands
North eastern section:
- Kent Group
The Kent Group of Islands lies in Bass Strait, Australia, north-west of the Furneaux Group. They form the Kent Group National Park.The islands were named Kent's Group by Matthew Flinders, "in honour of my friend captain William Kent, then commander of the Supply" when Flinders passed them on...
- Deal Island
- and 3 smaller islands
- Hogan Island
Hogan Island is a granite island, with an area of and a high point of , in south-eastern Australia. It is the largest of Tasmania’s Hogan Group, lying in northern Bass Strait between the Furneaux Group and Wilsons Promontory in Victoria...
- Curtis Island
Curtis Island is a granite island, with an area of 150 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Curtis Group, lying in northern Bass Strait between the Furneaux Group and Wilsons Promontory in Victoria...
Natural resources
A number of oil and gas fields exist in Bass Strait. The eastern field, known as the Gippsland Basin, was discovered in the 1960s and is located about 50 km off the coast of
GippslandGippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
. The oil and gas is sent via a pipeline to gas processing facilities and oil refineries at Longford,
Western PortWestern Port, is sometimes called "Western Port Bay", is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in Victoria. Geographically, it is dominated by the two large islands; French Island and Phillip Island. Contrary to its name, it lies to...
,
AltonaAltona is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hobsons Bay. At the 2006 Census, Altona had a population of 9685....
and Geelong, as well as by tanker to
New South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
.
The western field, known as the Otway Basin, was discovered in the 1990s offshore near
Port CampbellPort Campbell is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Ocean Road, west of the Twelve Apostles, in the Corangamite Shire.-History:...
. Its exploitation began in 2005.
Infrastructure
Transport
The fastest and cheapest method of travel across Bass Strait is by
airAn airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
. The main carriers are
Jetstar AirwaysJetstar Airways is an Australian low-cost airline headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. It is a subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by low-cost airline Virgin Blue...
and Virgin Australia;
QantasQantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
and
Tiger Airways AustraliaTiger Airways Australia Pty Ltd, operating as Tiger Airways Australia, is a low cost airline which commenced services in the Australian domestic airline market on 23 November 2007. It is a subsidiary of Tiger Airways Holdings, a Singapore-based company, which is owned partially by Singapore Airlines...
also operate services. Major airports in Tasmania include
Hobart International AirportHobart International Airport is an airport located in Cambridge, east of Hobart, Tasmania. The Federal government owned airport is currently being operated on a 99 year lease to the Tasmanian Gateway Consortium. The airport has seen strong passenger growth in the last few years, primarily due to...
and
Launceston AirportLaunceston Airport is a regional airport on the outskirts of Launceston, Tasmania. The airport is located in the rural area of Western Junction from Launceston city centre...
; the smaller airports in the north of the state and on the islands in the strait are served either by
Regional Express AirlinesRegional Express Pty Ltd is an airline based in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. It operates scheduled regional services. It is Australia's largest regional airline outside the Qantas group of companies and serves New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, North Queensland and Tasmania...
,
QantasLinkQantasLink is a regional brand of Australian airline Qantas and is an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is a major competitor to Regional Express Airlines, Virgin Australia and Skywest Airlines. As of September 2010 QantasLink provides 1900 flights each week to 54 domestic and...
or
King Island AirlinesMatakana Nominees Pty. Ltd., doing business as King Island Airlines, is a small regional airline based in Moorabbin, Australia. It operates a service between Moorabbin in Victoria and King Island.- Fleet :...
.
Ferries
See also Bass Strait FerriesBass Strait Ferries - have been the ships that have been used for regular transport across Bass Strait between Tasmania and Victoria , as well as the various attempts to link Tasmania with Sydney...
The domestic
seaA sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
route is serviced by two
Spirit of TasmaniaSpirit of Tasmania may refer to:* The trading name of TT-Line Pty. Ltd.* One of the following ferries that sailed under the name of Spirit of Tasmania during its careers:** ** ** **...
passenger vehicle
ferriesA ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
, based in
Devonport-Sport:The Devonport Football Club is an Australian Rules team competing in the Tasmanian Statewide League. The Devonport Rugby Club is a Rugby Union team competing in the Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide League...
,
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. The ships travel daily in opposite directions between Devonport and Station Pier in
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, as overnight trips with additional daytime trips during the peak summer season.
Energy
The
BasslinkBasslink is a high-voltage direct current cable link crossing Bass Strait, connecting the Loy Yang Power Station, Victoria on the Australian mainland to the George Town substation in northern Tasmania...
HVDC electrical cable has been in service since 2006. It has the capacity to carry up to 630 Megawatts of electrical power across the strait.
AlintaAlinta is an Australian energy infrastructure company. It has grown from a small, Western Australia based gas distributor and retailer to the largest energy infrastructure company in Australia. It was bought in 2007 by a consortium including Singapore Power and various now defunct Babcock & Brown...
owns a submarine
gas pipelinePipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
, delivering natural gas to large industrial customers near
George TownGeorge Town is one of the larger towns in north-east Tasmania, on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Tamar River. At the 2006 census, George Town had a population of 4,266. It is the regional centre of the George Town Council Local Government Area....
, as well as the
PowercoPowerco is the second-largest gas and electricity company based in New Zealand. The company is 58% owned by QIC Limited and 42% owned by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners....
gas network in Tasmania.
Communications
The first
submarine communications cableA submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean....
across Bass Strait was laid in 1859. Starting at
Cape OtwayCape Otway is a cape in south Victoria, Australia on the Great Ocean Road; much of the area is enclosed in the Otway National Park.-History:...
,
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, it went via
King IslandKing Island is one of the islands that make up the state of Tasmania, Australia. It is located in the Roaring Forties of Bass Strait, off the north-western tip of the main island of Tasmania, about half way between Tasmania and the mainland state of Victoria. The southernmost point is called Stokes...
and
Three Hummock IslandThree Hummock Island is an island with an area of 70 km2 and a high point 237 m above sea-level, in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Hunter Island Group which lies between north-west Tasmania and King Island. The island is named after its three most...
, made contact with the Tasmanian mainland at
Stanley HeadStanley is a town on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. Travelling west, Stanley is the second-last major township on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Smithton being the larger township in the Circular Head municipality...
, and then continued on to
George TownGeorge Town is one of the larger towns in north-east Tasmania, on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Tamar River. At the 2006 census, George Town had a population of 4,266. It is the regional centre of the George Town Council Local Government Area....
. However it started failing within a few weeks of completion, and by 1861 it failed completely.
Tasmania is currently connected to the mainland via two
TelstraTelstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
-operated fibre optic cables; since 2006,
dark fibreA dark fiber or unlit fiber is an unused Optical fiber, available for use in fiber-optic communication.The term dark fiber was originally used when referring to the potential network capacity of telecommunication infrastructure, but now also refers to the increasingly common practice of leasing...
capacity has also been available on the Basslink HVDC cable.
Other submarine cables include:
| Date | Northern end | Southern end |
Companies
(Manufacturer / Operator) |
Details |
| 1859–1861 |
Cape OtwayCape Otway is a cape in south Victoria, Australia on the Great Ocean Road; much of the area is enclosed in the Otway National Park.-History:...
|
Stanley HeadStanley is a town on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. Travelling west, Stanley is the second-last major township on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Smithton being the larger township in the Circular Head municipality...
|
Henley's Telegraph Works
Tas & Vic Govts |
System 140 nm |
| 1869-? |
? |
? |
Henley's Telegraph Works
Australian Govt |
System 176 nm |
| 1885-? |
? |
? |
Telcon
Australian Government |
|
| 1909–1943 |
? |
? |
SiemensSiemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
Bros
Australian Government |
System 285 nm.
Was reused at Torres StraitThe Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...
|
| 1936 |
Apollo BayApollo Bay is a coastal town in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the eastern side of Cape Otway, along the edge of the Barham River and on the Great Ocean Road, in the Colac Otway Shire. The town has a population of 1380....
|
StanleyStanley is a town on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. Travelling west, Stanley is the second-last major township on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Smithton being the larger township in the Circular Head municipality...
|
Siemens Bros
Australian Government |
First telephone cable, failed after only six months |
| 1995- |
Sandy Point Sandy Point is a township in south Gippsland, Victoria near Wilsons Promontory. At the 2006 census, Sandy Point had a population of 227, growing to several thousand during the holiday period. It is surrounded by areas of significant natural heritage....
|
Boat Harbour Boat Harbour is both a geographical location and a population region on the north west coast of Tasmania. It was originally named Jacobs' Boat Harbour after Captain John Jacobs, master of small vessels owned by the Van Diemen's Land Company trading between its establishments at Circular Head and...
|
ASN
TelstraTelstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
|
First fibre optic cable |
| 2003- |
Inverloch Inverloch is a seaside village in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Bass Highway 143 kilometres southeast of Melbourne, at the mouth of Anderson Inlet, in the Bass Coast Shire and is located close to Australia’s southernmost stand of mangroves...
|
StanleyStanley is a town on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. Travelling west, Stanley is the second-last major township on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Smithton being the larger township in the Circular Head municipality...
|
ASN Calais
TelstraTelstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
|
|
| 2005- |
Loy Yang |
Bell Bay Bell Bay is an industrial centre and port located on the eastern shore of the Tamar River, in northern Tasmania, Australia. It lies just south of George Town.- Industry :It hosts an aluminium smelter and a power station.- Transport :...
|
Basslink Basslink is a high-voltage direct current cable link crossing Bass Strait, connecting the Loy Yang Power Station, Victoria on the Australian mainland to the George Town substation in northern Tasmania...
|
First electrical distribution cable |
Popular culture
- See also Bass Strait Triangle
The Bass Strait Triangle is a term for the waters that separate the states of Victoria and Tasmania, including Bass Strait, in south-eastern Australia...
The issue of planes, and ships and people being lost in the Strait over time has caused a number of theories about the reasons. Perhaps the most thorough list of losses and disappearances has been the oft re-printed book of Jack Loney however it is possible that most losses can be adequately explained by extreme weather events.
On the popular Australian soap
NeighboursNeighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
, one of its most dramatic storylines unfolded when a 1940s themed joy flight to Tasmania was sabotaged by a bomb. The plane crashed into Bass Strait in the middle of the night and many character's lives were put at risk, with some drowning.
In 1978, one of the most famous UFO incidents in Australian history occurred over Bass Strait. Frederick Valentich was flying a small aeroplane over the strait when he reported to personnel at a local airport that a strange object was buzzing his plane. He then claimed that the object had moved directly in front of his plane; the airport personnel then heard a metallic "scraping" sound, followed by silence. Valentich and his plane subsequently vanished and neither Valentich nor his plane were ever seen again.
Non-motorised crossings
Non-motorised crossings are regularly attempted across Bass Strait. After becoming the first person to successfully cross the Bass Strait non-stop in a
sea kayakA sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spraydeck...
(2003),
Andrew McAuleyAndrew McAuley was an Australian adventurer. He is best known for his mountaineering and sea kayaking in remote parts of the world. He is presumed to have died following his disappearance at sea while attempting to kayak 1600 km across the Tasman Sea in February 2007.-Personal:McAuley was...
made two more successful crossings of the Bass Strait before he disappeared in the Tasman Sea in February 2007; his body was never recovered. Other experienced sea kayakers have since made the crossing, usually by island hopping on the eastern side of the strait. The first
windsurferWindsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
crossing was in 1982 by Mark Paul and Les Tokolyi.
KitesurfersKitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...
also do the crossing. Australian Olympic bronze medalist Michael Blackburn set a record in October 2005 when he crossed the strait in just over 13 hours in a
LaserThe International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. According the Laser Class Rules the boat may be sailed by either one or two people, though it is rarely sailed by two. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes...
sailing dinghyDinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls:* the sails* the foils ....
. In 2009, to celebrate the first broadcast of their radio show in
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
,
Hamish & AndyHamish & Andy are an Australian comedy duo formed in 2003 by Hamish Blake and Andy Lee. They currently host the radio program The Hamish & Andy Show which airs in Australia on the Today Network....
sailed a Tall Ship with gifts from the mainland through Bass Strait to Tasmania.
External links
Further reading
- Broxam and Nash, Tasmanian Shipwrecks, Volumes I and II, Navarine Publishing, Canberra, 1998 & 2000.