Inside Tasmania's most renowned waterfront accommodation, Captain's Rest

This week on the Home Life Series, pack your bags and join us on an adventure to Captain’s Rest, a charming waterfront cabin nestled in the serene waters of Lettes Bay, Tasmania. 

Beginning its life as a hand built fishermen's shack, this humble cabin became a place of solace for designer, author, and sailor Sarah Andrews, following a dramatic shipwreck during her solo sailing adventure. 

Now Tasmania's most renowned accommodation, Sarah has lovingly restored the exterior to preserve its heritage, while redesigning the interior to create a cosy, welcoming space that blends seamlessly with the surrounding natural beauty. Local timber, antique pieces, and personal treasures give the cabin its unique character, making it the ideal retreat for those seeking rest and rejuvenation in a home away from home. 

Keep reading to hear Sarah’s incredible connection with Captain’s Rest, the natural wonders that surround the property and the impact it’s had on Tasmanian design style.

Hi Sarah! We’re so excited to showcase your gorgeous accommodation, Captain’s Rest, nestled in the calm waters of Lettes Bay, Tasmania. Tell us a little bit about what you do and how you stumbled across this humble waterfront cabin? 

Thank you so much for featuring me and Captain’s Rest! It’s a real story, and like all good tales started on a dark and stormy night (actually!). In my early 20’s I was solo sailing my own boat, a beautiful 41 foot sloop named Gabrielle around the world, when I ended up sinking dramatically off Mexico and was shipwrecked for some time. Living in a 3 sided tin shack with dirt floors and a stray cat for company. The experience of re entering society after so long living on my boat, at sea, and in far away places was a difficult one. The experience had fundamentally changed me and a deep yearning for the life I had lost seemed to settle in, with no way to find my way back. 

In 2016 I was flicking through a magazine that featured an article about the ‘Wild West Coast of Tasmania’ a place so raw, harsh and uninhabited, the author exploring this region that time had forgotten felt like he had fallen off the edge of this world and into some new realm entirely. A photo featured in the piece had a photo of a little shack at the end of an old Jetty and I knew in an instant that’s where I wanted to be. Back out in the wilds, but this time safe from the ocean's might. I wondered if a place like that might be for sale, and some quick internet sleuthing turned up that that actual shack was for sale. It had been for years and years. No one wanted it. I brought it sight unseen the next day — those were the days when Tasmania wasn’t as desirable as it is now, the deposit on the tiny mortgage was just a few thousand dollars.

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What can you tell us about the history of the cabin and the inspiration behind the name? 

I nicknamed the tiny cabin ‘Captain’s Rest’ because it was what I was yearning for. A chance to return to the life I had loved so much, rest and really have the chance to process what had happened and what was next for me. It was one of the happiest times of my life - living alone down there at earth’s edge, making friends with the local wild ducks, slowly turning Captain’s Rest into my own perfect, safe and protective world. It’s an achingly beautiful place, a day is full of rainbows, dolphins, seals, all sorts of birds and wonders. Captain’s Rest itself is in a little historic shack village called Lettes Bay, and at that time, most of the surrounding shacks were abandoned. 

A perfect place for a Captain to rest.

You’ve lovingly restored elements of the cabin, ensuring its historic charm is ever-present. Now heritage listed, what aspects of the original build did you maintain and what features did you decide to redesign?

The exterior of the shack is as it was, the old tin lining was given a re-coat of paint. Heritage Tasmania gave me permission to change the exterior doors and window. At some point in the 80’s they had been updated to aluminum frame versions, so they were encouraged about the restoration to collected antique pieces found on gumtree. The interior changed completely, I was able to remove most of the flimsy interior walls and redesign the space to suit how I wanted to live. As much a part of the beautiful outside world as possible, whilst remaining safe, warm and private in my little nest inside. Everything that mattered as a part of the heritage of the shack was kept, like the floors, the walls and the old roof - so it was beautiful to be able to protect it all.

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The perfectly curated styling and decor of the cabin really emphasises the Captain’s Rest experience; a peaceful retreat for those seeking solace by the sea. How would you describe this interior style? 

I simply recreated a version of my life on my boat Gabrielle (with a little more comfort) from what I could source around me. Local timber hand hewn by neighbors, velvet bench seat made by my parents, retired upholsters with some leftover material from a job 20 years prior. Some of my own special objects I had collected I like to have around me. I didn’t set out with any intent, but to make myself feel safe, happy and back at home. I love seeing how much Captain’s Rest has inspired the Tasmanian design style. The impact it has had is extraordinary, and I pinch myself often.

We’re all about romanticising Winter getaways, and Captain’s Rest is the perfect place to start. What are some of your favorite things to do whilst staying here during the cooler months? 

After so long of being the custodian of this rare slice of the universe, I'm still completely moved by its natural beauty every time I visit. Even though there are endless adventures outside its doors, it’s one of those places I find very difficult to leave. I usually arrive with a huge stack of books, a watercolour set and enough cheese and wine to be able to snack endlessly and I find myself just resting. Staring endlessly around the windows, visiting with the ducks, rowing my boat as far as I can out into the inky bay and laying back to watch the clouds until the sun sets. I've often seen the southern aurora from its windows. Hours are spent in the bathtub and in bed, which both have views of the water that’s just a few meters away. I can’t help but to just listen, be, rest and dream endlessly. It is honestly like leaving this world, and entering another - I am very lucky to look after it, and share it with so many other beautiful people too.