Anyone who has travelled across Bass Strait - even on the 28,000-tonne Spirit of Tasmania - knows it can be a dicey stretch of water. Try doing it on a little old jet ski.
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Canberra landscaper Andrew Thompson has done just that, he and his mates completing the 1600km circumnavigation of the treacherous body of water between Tasmania and the mainland across six days, dolphins even accompanying them for part of the way.
The 55-year-old from Calwell and mates Brendan Whitty from Geelong in Victoria and Aaron Tarbitt from Griffith, NSW completed the watery loop earlier this month.
"We rode from Apollo Bay [in Victoria] across via King Island to Stanley [in Tasmania]," Andrew explained.
"Stayed in Stanley over night and rode from there across the Tasmanian coast to Launceston. Stayed there a night as well. Rode from Launceston across to Flinders Island. Stayed there two nights as the next day's forecast wasn't every good.
"And then we did a really long haul from Flinders Island all the way back to Queenscliff [in Victoria] which was 380km. We didn't plan to go that far, but the conditions on the day got better and better and that was the extent of our range for fuel. We made it with a little bit of fuel to spare. And the last leg was just along the coast back to Apollo Bay where we had left our cars and trailers."
While he is a long-time and passionate Canberran, Andrew says he has "salt water running through my veins", growing up on Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia. Doing the loop of Bass Strait was a chance to indulge his love of the ocean and adventure.
"We've done lots of other rides. We did a ride the length of the Darling River in March, that was Bourke right through to Mildura. We did the Murrumbidgee last year and we liked talking about ocean rides," Andrew said.
"It was just one of those things. Just wanted to do it. So we started planning probably 12 months ago. April, May is probably the best time to go for the conditions.
"There was a bit of swell out in the middle and when we left the first day. We just watched the weather very closely. The idea to travel around Bass Strait kind of came on the hop based on the weather and where we could go."
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The father-of-two, who owns 4 Gardens in Canberra, is "pretty fit" and prepared for the ride with personal training sessions two days a week at the Alive Health and Fitness gym in Narrabundah.
"I told the guys what I was doing and they just tailored my program so I was ready for it," he said.
The men were elated to finish the challenge.
"Absolutely," Andrew said. "When we arrived at Stanley, Aaron and I, who hadn't been before, did a little happy dance. We were really stoked to get there. But after about an hour, we thought, 'OK, we still have to get home yet'."
The trio were helped along the way by jet skiers in Tassie who provided everything from morning tea to encouragement.
"I love the adventure but also the mateship," Andrew said.
"We met some lovely people. The two guys, Brendan and Aaron, are just really good mates and just the best people to do something like that with."