Taylor Island is the closest to Port Lincoln of the islands that stud the Thorny Passage – the eastern coastline of Lower Eyre Peninsula. It is privately owned and used to farm sheep. This years wool clip was taken from the island by the historic fishing vessel “Tacoma” and it was a great opportunity for a fifteen mile row as the Tacoma crew transported my Whitehall , a mates 23 foot gig and their own surf boat (once used for salmon fishing) to the island so that we could all row and or sail home!

It was a lovely day for rowing -  initially calm but with a light following south easterly for all but the first hour – excellent for sailing too. Taylors is a couple of nautical miles off the coast of the Lincoln National Park and, heading for Lincoln, you row pretty much due north passing prominent features such as MacLaren Point, Carcase Rock and September Beach to westward. Two and a half hours of steady rowing sees you passing between Cape Donnington and Donnington Reef and turning westward to enter Port Lincoln’s beautiful Harbour. Two and a half hours was on this occasion also an adequate duration for ones bladder to fill so a brief stop at the beach to the north west of Donnington Light was appropriate! It’s a delightful beach with clean, white sand emerging from crystal clear water. The clearing above the beach is often utilised by campers as the area is accessible by road and on this occasion a family were camped and enjoying the idyllic setting. From Donnington you can head due west to pass close by Fanny Point on Boston Island and thence on to Lincoln or, as I did on this occasion, head slightly further south of west to pass close to the Bicker (colloquially “Brother)” islands. This dog legged route takes you closer to Kingfish feedlots too and serves to remind one of the politics and efficacy of fish farming around Port Lincoln as does the detritus one sees scattered along the coastline adjacent to these farms! It’s interesting too that ones view of coastal detail from a rowing skiff standing close in seems quite different to the dominant view taken by the majority who whizz by further out in their cruisers! This northern Brother seems home to a sea eagle – he was on the wing above it on this occasion as he had been on other occasions that I had rowed by – I wondered if he was partial to Kingfish!

Having passed the northern Brother it’s a final hours row into the marina at Lincoln Cove, thus completing a roughly four hour, fair wind jaunt. I might add that the aforementioned other vessels on this jaunt used sail as well as oar and looked great under sail -  having a rather easier time of it than me but not nearly the same exercise!