The Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria. The final hurdle for any Bass Strait crossing is the last step to the Tasmanian mainland across Banks Strait, theoretically the most dangerous part of the whole crossing. Bass Strait is regularly crossed by sailing vessels, including during the annual Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race. The Bass Strait's owner and operator, Hong Kong-based Pacific Basin, did not reply to several requests for comment. And all of them seemingly have strange stories to tell. On the same day that Fred Valentich disappeared (October 21, 1978), Roy Manifold would capture a picture (shown above) of a strange object in the sky over the Bass Strait. Simon Louis, from the Bureau of Meteorology in Tasmania, says cold fronts around southeast Australia can split up and become westerly and southerly winds that later meet around Bass Strait. A legend on the slide shows at least four UAS tracks, and the timeline mentions that lights from as many as 10 additional drones were visually spotted. Despite myths and legends of piracy, wrecking and alleged supernatural phenomena akin to those of the Bermuda Triangle, 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. During the height of the gale, crewman Chris Rockell was thrown . Answer (1 of 9): The straits of Magellan (red course above) is actually a considerable shortcut in distance. [7], The next European to approach the strait was Captain James Cook in the Endeavour in April 1770. Two years earlier in 1942, an Australian fighter pilot took his plane over the Bass Strait after orders to investigate reports of strange lights made by fishermen. Furthermore, Banks Strait is an awful place to try to navigate any boat. As investigations widened, reports began to emerge of strange lights being seen in the area on the evening in question. The stories of the ancient world made the whirlpool into a much more deadly threat. Esso Australia has made significant progress on our well plug and abandonment work, which puts non-producing platforms in a safe state until final decommissioning occurs. While this data offers some perspective on the scope of incidents, it suffers from a number of limitations inherent in ad hoc reports. In the United States, says the report, the fatality rate for . Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. The Straits have commercial and strategic importance. There are now 23 offshore platforms and installations in Bass Strait, including the new Marlin B platform and Kipper subsea wells, which feed a network of 600km of underwater pipelines and keep the oil and gas flowing, 24 hours a day. On July 21st, the USS Paul Hamilton again reported seeing a group of drones. . Your buddies will want to blame fishing pressure. Deck logs previously indicated that another more complex incident occurred around July 30th, again involving multiple Navy vessels. Ever since Bass Strait was charted by George Bass and Matthew Flinders in 1798, many ship's captains have decided to risk the dangerous passage to shorten the time needed to reach Sydney. All Rights Reserved. The Tasmanian (Launceston, Tas. Oil facilities in Saudi Arabia have been significant targets of drone attacks in recent years, with massive economic consequences. Exactly a month later in Hobart, a taxi driver was suddenly forced to slam on his breaks due to a strange green glow in the middle of the road. Many of those questions can now be answered. Bass Strait, channel separating Victoria, Australia, from the island of Tasmania on the south. However, when it is considered that there were no official reports of any enemy fighters even entering the strait, perhaps it is a little strange that 17 military planes were lost in this stretch of water during the war years alone. The national park is wholly contained by the Beagle Commonwealth Marine Reserve. Perhaps the most thorough list of losses and disappearances has been the oft reprinted book of Jack Loney[20] though it is possible that most losses can be adequately explained by extreme weather events.[21]. Hopefully, this year will be smooth sailing. This mysterious part of the world runs from the southern coast of Victoria in Australia over the stretch of water that is the Bass Strait and into the mysterious regions of Tasmania. While the Department of Defense spokesperson acknowledged our questions, they have not provided a comment at the time of writing. The purpose of the voyage was to raise funds for the treatment of the endangered Tasmanian Devil, an animal species suffering from a facial tumour disease and, if possible, break the dinghy sailing time record for the crossing. Bass Strait is shallow. You can see evidence of old sand dunes that should be on the coastline that are now 50 or 60 metres underwater, he says. It is somewhat dangerous due to rocky and narrow passages, tricky currents and winds along the way but it is sheltered from major open ocean storms. Victoria has several marine national parks in Bass Strait, and are all adjacent to the mainland coastline: A number of oil and gas fields exist in the eastern portion of Bass Strait, in what is known as the Gippsland Basin. Forty miles into its Bass Strait nightmare, Midnight Rambler was confronted with a situation that could easily have ended its race. Indeed, the strait became so notorious for ships going missing that few dared to make the north to south journey until Melbourne was established in 1835, and even then at least seven major vessels vanished without a trace . The Australian Hydrographic Service does not consider it to be part of its expanded definition of the Southern Ocean, but rather states that it lies with the Tasman Sea. Blom, W. M., & Alsop, D. B. The veteran sailor, who has completed the race many times, was watching the forecast for strong winds on his way south. It is about 80 mi (130 km) wide and has many reefs and shoals dangerous to navigation, and its larger islands are inhabited. Bass Straight is exposed to the Roaring 40s that blow across the southern coastline of Australia. The fastest and often the cheapest method of travel across Bass Strait is by air. In 1858, the British ship HMS Sappho met the same fate as it ventured into the straits apparently deadly waters. Andrew McAuley was the first person to cross Bass Strait non-stop in a sea kayak in 2003. . The strait also saved 1,300km (700nmi) on the voyage.[10]. They are a dangerous craft. A . There is also the question of the sheer amount of people who go missingseemingly vanishing into thin air. "Purists occasionally spark up and say that . so a higher than normal number of incidents can only to be expected. The body of water between Tasmania and mainland Australia is called Bass Strait.. It's about 300kms or so from the Surf Coast on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria (the mainland) to get over to Tasmania, so it's a fair distance and a bit too far for a casual swim, although some people have kayaked across (hopping from island to island along the way, the biggest gap is about 60kms). And they all affect what happens on its surface. 28. Bass Strait sea conditions and wind forecast. Fast replacing the Somalian coast as the piracy hotspot, the Gulf of Guinea has become one of the most dangerous places to go sailing. When the ice melted - a process estimated to have taken 6,000 years - Bass Strait formed and became . Sea level rise during the marine transgression flooded the basin, forming an westward embayment from 11,800BP to 8700BP, and the basin rim was completely flooded by about 8000BP, at which point Bass Strait was formed and Tasmania became an isolated island.[15]. 1980. It is 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide at its narrowest point, and is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world. So if that happens, obviously you can get a fairly sudden deterioration in conditions and quite strong winds and heavy seas.. As in the earlier incidents, an unidentified pleasure craft was operating in the vicinity. It is a narrow and deep strait. The ships travel daily in opposite directions between Devonport and Spirit of Tasmania Quay in Geelong as overnight trips, with additional daytime trips during the peak summer season.[18]. For example, on October 9, a husband and wife witnessed a bright light above them that actually came down to the level of their car, maintaining pace beside them as they drove. The smaller islands of Bass Strait typically have some form of protection status. At times it becomes dangerous because of its narrowness and acute turns the ships have to take. Hendrich, J.H., Palmer, I.D., and Schwebel, D.A., 1992, Fortescue Field, Gippsland Basin, Offshore Australia, In Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade, 1978-1988, AAPG Memoir 54, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Jack Loney, Mysteries of the Bass Strait Triangle, Neptune Press, 1st ed. Subaqueous dunes (sandwaves) and tidal current ridges cover approximately 6,000km2 (2,300sqmi) of the seabed in Bass Strait. Then, without warning, it shot upward at an amazing pace and vanished. Its not just whats happening under the water that makes it difficult to cross Bass Strait. [6] Tasman was on a mission to find the Southern Continent, not more islands, so he abruptly turned away to the east and continued his continent hunting. It also indicates that the UAS incident continued after the Bass Strait departed the area. What makes Bass Strait a gnarly part of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race? The strait was possibly detected by Captain Abel Tasman when he charted Tasmania's coast in 1642. Qantas also operates services. UFO captured by Roy Manifold. The USS Russell in particular is known to have these systems onboard prior to the incident on July 30th. There are seemingly certain parts of the world where strange things are seen and even stranger things happen. Read about more mysterious incidents around the world on 10 Bizarre Paranormal Encounters From Old Europe and 10 Paranormal Investigations And Encounters In Africa. Also read: Interesting facts about the Strait of Gibraltar Bass and low frequencies aren't necessarily bad for your ears - but they can be if they're too loud. It is still one of Australias most well-known UFO cases on record. (1988). Of the more than 60 islands only three have permanent residents: Flinders Island, Cape Barren Island and Clarke Island. Then there are local tides, which generally flow west to east in the strait. In that time, multiple UAVs were spotted operating around the destroyer. Though some of these incidents involved things like attempts to hack civilian light displays, many fall in the realm of more nefarious activities. Van Diemen's Land and New Holland] are one land or no",[8]. DroneSec cited a 2020 Department of Justice audit focused on the use of drones in delivering prison contraband as an example of how swarm technology is increasingly used in practice. When the land veered to the north-west at Eddystone Point,[5] he tried to keep in with it but his ships were suddenly hit by the Roaring Forties howling through Bass Strait. "Medically important" is the nice term for "you're going to . The probability of encountering 3 meter or higher waves is approximately 30% at the western end of the Strait compared to approximately 15% in the North East. His crew named the passage Cook Strait in his honour. While most of the bizarre accounts on our list are connected to the Bass Strait itself, several times, these encounters have seemingly wandered onto the mainlands. Watch the waves batter the vessel in the video above Watch the latest News on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus >> Found inside - Page 106So my years as a deep-water diver were filled with danger and excitement, . Perhaps strangest about the incident are the reports of strange lights being in the skies over the Bass Strait. [24], In March 2009 two young dinghy sailors sailed a B14 (dinghy) from Stanley in north west Tasmania to Walkerville South in Victoria. Perhaps the strangest, however, is that of a young woman who went missing from Bruny Island. The western field, known as the Otway Basin, was discovered in the 1990s offshore near Port Campbell. Exactly as Lien has said. The USS Gabrielle Gifford's MQ-8B was deployed again after refueling, but was unable to locate the four UAVs. Australian Journal of Earth Science, 35, 303-311. Although many questions remain about these incidents, one thing is clear. 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