Hobart harbour photo essay

Like most capital cities the explorers and pioneers chose the position for ease of access. In the days of sail boats as the main transport that meant a good safe harbour and a reliable source of water from a river.

The Derwent is deep and wide, almost 3 kilometres wide near the estuary and is the widest in Tasmania.

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is an annual ocean yacht race, considered to be
one of the most difficult in the world. It starts at Sydney Harbour on Boxing
Day and finishes a few days later in Hobart, approximately 1,170 kilometres (630
nautical miles) away. Since the inaugural race in 1945, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race has become one
of the top three offshore yacht races in the world and it now attracts weekend
racers and sleek maxi yachts from all around the globe.

The finish is at the Constitution Dock and thousands gather to cheer the yachts into harbour after the gruelling and some times deadly race, lives have been lost in storms during the race.

But at this time of the year the main vessels are the fishing fleet preparing to head out again for the lucrative crayfish catch.

I spent a very interesting day wandering around the wharves, talking to the fishermen and taking lots of photos.

This is another part of Hobart.