I'm off to the East coast of Tasmania this weekend so I tracked down Brian from Little Island surfboards at Bicheno. He runs a SUP school and has a few 11'6" kalamas there. He said on the phone that the SUP scene in Tas is still pretty small but (like everywhere else) interest is growing quickly.

Just wondering if there were any Tassie SUPr's out there with experience paddling around the Freycinet peninsula? I've bushwalked the area and it is spectacular from land and I think it would be even more so from a SUP.

My ultimate aim would be to SUP into Wineglass bay but its about 40km which is probably beyond me even in ideal conditions and certainly if the weather got a bit stinky. But Coles bay to Cooks corner looks doable in a day.

Litte Island are having free SUP demo days all weekend at their sheltered lagoon near Bicheno if anyones interested. I'll probably go along for a look see on Sunday.

http://www.littleislandsurfboards.com.au/

Yeah wine glass bay looks awesome to SUP into. But there is no road access anywhere around there. The only way there by land is over the trail which is a challenging hour or two walk IIRC. And thats without carrying a 12 foot board!

In perfect conditions and with the right board (say a 16 foot) i think you could paddle from Coles bay to Wineglass, leave the board on the beach overnight and walk the hour back to Coles bay to sleep. Then do the reverse the next day.

Ideally you'd want an option to pull out if you needed to along the way. But I';m not familiar with the terrain that far down the peninsula. Would Schuten island be a good port in a storm I wonder?

This is what I might have a crack at if the conditions are amenable. Can always shorten it just to Promise Bay

Hey Brooko i have lived in both places but i was only a young tacker when i lived in WA.The Hazards and the Beaches around Coles Bay and Bicheno are the best i have seen , apart from some down the wild West Coast i reckon that place is possibly one of the last explored places for the big wave chargers.

mefeedia.com/entry/most-perfect-wave-ever/14292555

Hey Lobes,

I'm from down that way so can give you some pointers.

My girlfriend and I paddled at Coles Bay a few weeks ago (2x Naish 11'6) and had a ball. If you are planning to go from Coles Bay to Wineglass though, you'd need to pick your weather. Late April/May would be a good time to do it. Even though its a little cooler, the weather is very stable and you can have 4 or 5 days of glassy calm weather and sun (18-24º).

Inside the peninsula the seabreeze tends to come in a NE direction if its warm enough and can be a hard paddle back north. The seabreeze might be a little inconsistent now its cooler.

You could paddle down to Cook's Beach in a day easily and maybe down to Bryan's Corner or the North beach on Schouten. There is a recently refurbished cabin at Cooks, and possibly some water.

If you are going through Schouten Passage, pick your tide as you can get a few knots either way.

On the outside there are very few (maybe none) places to pull in on the way north, and if the weather turned pear shaped you'd be in a bit of trouble.

Coastguard Freycinet operates out of Swansea so a good waterproof handheld VHF would be best. There is phone range on the inside of the peninsula, but is a little sketchy down the bottom and on the outside.

Give Mark and Louise a buzz (www.freyscape.com.au) they have good local knowledge of the area and Mark does a bit of multisport paddling. They also have beautiful accommodation.

A day trip/overnight down to cooks is probably the best bet. Otherwise, have a look at Swanick barway if the swell ends up southerly this weekend with a NW-NE wind, its small but fun, otherwise Friendly (probably big), and Bicheno is a great spot.

If I get my new paddle (replaces the broken C4:( ) by the weekend I might make the trip down to Coles Bay on Saturday. Hope you have a good trip!

Cheers Klektik, thanks for the tips. I reckon Cooks corner or Promise bay is the go.

Wow looks awesome! Do you recommend wearing the full steamer or could I get away with boardies and a rashy (my only two options!) ?

Just got back from Tas and had a blast!

Unfortunately I didnt get on the water at Freycinet peninsula (no racks on my car + a bit windy) but I did get up to the free SUP clinic at Bicheno.

The clinic was held a bit North of Bicheno at a lagoon on Denisons beach. I met Anne and we had a paddle around the lagoon which was really cool. There are tiny little tracks through the reeds in the lagoon and its swarming with wildlife including swans and wallabies (onshore). A great place to learn SUP IMHO.

After our little paddle I had a look at the beach and saw some awesome perfect barrels rolling in. I convinced Anne to let me paddle out for a few waves and was soon out in the perfectly clear turquoise water.

However the waves were probably a bit bigger then they looked from the beach or (more likely) I overestimated my surfing ability. As a result I got trapped inside when a huge (overhead ++!) set rolled in. Got absolutely smashed, lost my paddle and took a big swallow of seawater. Was a little bit concerned for my welfare at one point but managed to catch some white water in and retrieved my paddle from where it washed up on the beach. After pulling myself together I slinked off back to Coles bay but stopped at Bicheno on the way and had a long chat about SUP with Bryan from Little Island. Was a great weekend all round but I think I'm going to stick to SUPing inland when conditions are like that. Reckon Cradle mountain lake looks the go next time.

Bryan, sorry I didnt get back up mate, got sidetracked with wedding duties and they took up most of my time. Definitely drop me a line when you're next in Vico and/or PNG.

Yeah it was a perfectly clear day with no wind so I went out in just boardies and a rashy (no wettie - damn you Tiger and your 7kg weight limit) . The water was very cold. Once I was in the washing machine for a minute or so my strength really went fast .

Couldnt believe how far the legrope stretched when those big sets came through, at least 30 feet I reckon. Even though the board came skimming back it felt like minutes would pass until I could haul myself out of the icy water ready to get pounded by the next one.

you done well to get back in with your hat still on!Looks like a pretty heavy shore break.