About 20 years ago a chap left Latrobe Valley in his Thruster like aircraft for his destination of Yarram. This flight was obviously pre-GPS days and the conditions were 7/8, so the pilot found a hole and went VFR over the top.
He estimated the most suitable time to descend based on his usual speed of around 50 knots. He couldn't find a hole so searched around for a while and found one.
When he descended he was well and truly over the beginning of Bass Strait. He saw a small island nearby, headed for it and landed immediately. There was a very strong northerly on top of the clouds that he wasn't aware of. He had landed on Cliffy island and done some damage to his undercarriage so there was no way he could take off.
Through some sheer luck a nearby boat spotted him land and he was able to arrange a ride back and the later recovery of his aircraft by boat.
So there you have it, a successful near ditching in Bass Strait!