The Adventures of Phil & Dusty

Camping and fishing in remote Tasmania

Phil Adams (RG369) has been a member of Tas Maritime Radio (TMR) since 2005. With his four-pawed crew Dusty the retriever, Phil regularly trailers his Stacer 4.55 metre dinghy to Lake King William where he camps and fishes in the Guelph Basin at the southern end of the lake.

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One August weekend in 2022 Phil wanted to test a boat tent arrangement which would become useful when the Hydro drawdown on the lake brings the water level down 14 metres below the full level. Whenever this happens Phil has to trudge through mud to get to the campsites around the lake. Many times he has holed up at the old construction village site below the dam, unable to get out on the lake.

The area is quite remote with no cell phone coverage , but the TMR base station at Bradys Lookout provides good coverage via the installed radio in his boat. There are some places where just a VHF handheld radio also works on the lake. Phil said he has also picked up the TMR west coast base located at Elliott Range – which is south of Macquarie Harbour. This was when he was mouth of Long Bay in the Guelph Basin. Just to be sure of his safety (and Dusty’s of course) Phil also carries a satphone and PLB to cover him on the boat or while walking along the shores.

Phil said that the TMR coverage is great for getting updated weather broadcasts as it changes so quickly in this area. Phil and Dusty have been fogbound on the lake, had snow in December, and suffered gales, rain and even dead calm.

Dusty takes it all in his stride, as long as they are out there.

This image shows a portion of the VHF coverage of the southern lakes area from the TMR base at Bradys Lookout. The light areas indicate good coverage whereas the shadow areas mean that there may be minimal or no coverage due to terrain. This prediction is based on an installed radio in the vessel, not a hand held radio.

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All photos by Phil Adams unless stated otherwise.

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