Westernport to Williamstown.

Yaringa to Williamstown in a 24' Vandestadt

Picking the time and tide was crucial for the delivery of this sturdy little 30 year old vessel. After watching the weather for around three weekends, the date was chosen and plans confirmed.

The Owner, his son, and Kavin, set out from Yaringa at around 0200 on a saturday for the journey to Williamstown. The owner had not sailed on Bass Strait in years and the son had never been offshore, so Kavin's services were engaged to assist the passage.

The trip down Westernport was uneventful, the little 5hp outboard buzzing merrily as we sliced through the glassy calm of the bay at around 5kt. As we approached the entrance to Westernport the Bass Strait swell put in an appearance, but it was no more than a metre and set the tone for the remainder of the trip. The wind was non-existant until well after the sun raised its head over the horizon, even then it teased us by making sure we were heading virtually head to wind for the entire trip.

Around Cape Schanck, with the headsail up, marveling at the beauty of the southern end of the Mornington Peninsular. The run up the coast to the Port Phillip Heads and the infamous Rip was uneventful and very peaceful, if a little cold. A quick call to Point Lonsdale light as we approached the Rip to check for conditions and traffic, then on with the safety gear (just in case) to tackle the Rip.

Through the Rip with barely a ripple (maybe a few around the eddies) and we were headed for the south channel. An uneventful trip through the south channel and up the bay saw us entering the Port Melbourne channel around 6pm and eventually mooring in Hobsons bay around 7.15pm.

Another successful delivery, another happy customer.

Westernport to Patterson Lakes.

Hastings to Patterson Lakes in a Searay 290 Amberjack

The owner of the 29' powerboat, not having transited the Port Phillip Rip alone before, called on Kav to assist and provide guidance. Meeting at the Hastings Marina early on the morning of the delivery, a quick check of the vessel, pre-starts and a radio check before getting underway meant that I felt comfortable and showed the owner and his daughter (who had refused to accompany her father on his own!) that I was serious and knew what I was on about. The radio was intermittent, but my handheld was in my bag, fully charged for just such an occasion.

The wind was gusting to 20 knots and the waves on the bay were around a metre as we headed down Western Port towards the Fairway Bouy. Once outside, it was a little lumpier with the waves reaching up to 3 metres with the occasional 4 metre rogue, so typical of a spring day on Bass Strait. Punching along over the waves at a sedate pace meant a comfortable ride, but it would mean missing the slack water at the Port Phillip Heads.

Missing the slack water would not mean that we would not get through, as this little boat had more than enough power to blast through, but it would mean an uncomfortable (and possibly dangerous) crossing through the RIP. So, with a finger pointing at the watch and a shout to the owner, he opened the throttles and we were soon bouncing off the waves at a respectable 20 knots, all I can say is thank you to the vessel's designers for putting such a large amount of padding on the seats and grab handles in strategic places.

Half an hour out of the heads, we slowed down long enough for me to make the call to the Point Lonsdale Light for a quick check of conditions and traffic, calm and clear was the reply. So once more the throttles were opened up and we jumped from wave to wave.

We hit the line of the leads and a quick explanation of what we were looking at was in order, checking charts and my notes on the RIP passage, standing beside the owner as we transited the RIP at a more sedate pace. Despite the calm conditions, all were wearing life jackets and movement kept to a minimum - the last thing I wanted to do was a man-overboard at the heads.

A snappy turn to starboard and we were in the south channel and on our way to the Patterson Lakes entrance and a meeting with a shallow channel. The owner had done this part many times before, so I sat back, enjoyed the scenery and called Lonsdale as we approached the entrance to Patterson Lakes.

A little over 4 hours for the trip, quite a marked difference to the same trip in a yacht, but enjoyable none the less.

Docked at Patterson Lakes, lines tight and the vessel secured, another successful delivery.

Docklands to Launceston.

34 hours in a Dufour 40 called Alegria II

The day started inauspiciously enough, bright and calm as the weather forecasts for the next couple of days were checked on the BOM site. The owner had called me, as he needed an extra watch leader to help him deliver his boat to Launceston in preparation for the Three Peaks Race. This was to be an unpaid delivery, my reward being the time at sea and a return airfare, the things we do for friends and acquaintances.

Arrive at the yacht late sunday afternoon, stow the gear and a quick look around then off for a bite to eat at one of Docklands many restaurants. Back to the boat and meet the third member of the crew, a mad scotsman, but a fine sailor. The weather was expected to be reasonably calm Nor'easters with an expected strong south west change due sometime tuesday morning. The time approached to slip from the marina as the crews said their goodbyes. At 2100 we left the marina, the motor humming along, we motored sedately down the Yarra, under the Bolte and then the Westgate bridge and out into Port Phillip, we headed down the bay, aiming for the west channel and a passage through the infamous Port Phillip Rip around 0300. The breeze was light as we hoisted the main, set the autopilot and motor sailed down the bay. The Spirit of Tasmania slipped from her berth and headed down the main channel, her lights shining brightly off our port side as she disappeared ahead of us, one large vessel we would not have to contend with in the Rip.
Around 0230, we entered the Rip, life jackets and harnesses on, tethered to the boat, just in case, but the Rip was as calm as a mill pond, despite there still being around 2 knots of ebb tide running. A large vessel approaching from our stern was noticed as a call from the folks at Lonsdale Lighthouse asked us to execute a snappy turn to starboard on a heading of due west to allow the ship a safe and clear passage through these often turbulent waters. The vessel passed, we set course for Launceston, 180nm distant, and settled into our watches, the breeze was light on the port beam as we unfurled the headsail to put a little bit of heel on the yacht. Our speed, around 6.5 knots, we were in no hurry. Passing through the busy shipping lanes outside of Port Phillip, several large ships passed within less than a mile, only once did we have to alter course to avoid them. We then saw a glow on the horizon ahead as the light at Cape Schanck slowly dipped below it astern. The glow turned out to be a few fishing vessels. Once again, a slight alteration in course to avoid passing too close and we were passed them and into Bass Strait, the waxing moon providing more than enough light to see the gentle 2 metre swell as it proceeded westward.

The breeze slowly built to around 15 knots, with occasional gusts to 20, and we killed the motor and basked in the calm and sunny conditions in Bass Strait. The serenity of being the only one on deck, scanning the horizon, reading a book and monitoring our passage as thoughts of what the working folk were doing. Trimming the sails as the breeze backed and veered, we maintained a speed of around 7 knots and the projected ETA at the mouth of the Tamar was constantly revised and hovered around 06-0700 the following morning. Working a rather relaxed routine of 2 hours on and 4 hours off, each of the 3 crew would often be awake before their turn on deck and kept the one on watch company for a while before assuming the duty. We had Bass strait to ourselves, or so it seemed.

We passed an exploration rig and saw a few vessels on the horizon as the breeze lessened and the motor called into duty once more. Only twice did the Auto pilot complain, once when the owner attempted to call our destination on the HF radio and once more when a combination of a larger than average swell and a rogue 25 knot gust overpowered the boat and it complained of no rudder reference. Luckily the watchkeeper on deck was able to take the helm and maintain our course with only a slight swerve in the ocean. The day passed without incident as the sun slid downwards off our starboard quarter and night fell once more. Lights checked and safety gear donned, we continued, now more than halfway through our journey. Minor alterations to our course as our fixes showed us off to port of our intended track due to the currents and 2 on 4 off was working well, rested and unstressed, we headed at around 7 knots toward our destination.

Around 0500, I crawled on deck to see lights ahead, blinking away the sleep the leads to the Tamar were identified, the reef and the Low Head light, we were almost there. An hour or so later we entered the Tamar river and negotiated the channel, dousing the sails as the sun rose over the hills to the east we motored through the water at around 5.5 knots with the tide behind us and achieved an occasional 9.5 knots SOG. By 0730 we were secured alongside at Beauty Point, the AMC on one side and the start of the new Tamar Yacht club on the other. we headed off for a bite to eat and a welcome hot shower. Journey completed without incident.

The Slow trip around Cape Schanck

Kav & Justine started early, getting themselves and their gear to Geelong for an expected departure around 1100 in order to catch the late afternoon slack water at Port Phillip Heads, the weather forecast was for 10 to 15 knots favouring a nice reach on most legs of the trip as the wind swung from North through Northwest to Southwest through the day, but it was not to be.

The S&S 39 Morning After was ready to go and the lines were in the process of being taken in hand when one of the other boats in the Geelong Yacht Club marina decided to relocate his yacht and blocking our exit from the pen, delaying our departure by almost an hour. We were finally underway at 1245 motoring away from Geelong and setting the mainsail as the breeze dropped from the 15-20 knots that had been blowing from the NW down to under 5 and blowing from the west, so the motor stayed on as we motorsailed out of Geelong at around 5 knots, we could still make the Rip around 1900 if the wind remained from the west and we could reach down the bay.

That, however, was not the case, the wind dropped to almost nothing as we continued to motor down the bay and through the west channel. A quick check of the fuel consumption showed if we maintained this speed we would run out of fuel before reaching Westernport, so the iron headsail was reigned in and the speed dropped by almost a knot in order to conserve fuel while Kav prayed that the wind would build and swing around allowing us to sail.

Towards the end of the west channel, Justine, ever watchful spotted a pod of dolphins doing circle work and playing in the calm waters. As we passed they swam and leapt around the boat, occasionally slapping the hull with their tails or other parts of their bodies as if to say, "come play with us!"
Checking the charts and GPS, it was time to put in a call to Lonsdale Light to check for traffic and conditions in the Rip, knowing that there was a dredge operating somewhere in the entrance and avoiding it would be very handy. Calm conditions, no incoming, one outgoing and the dredge was on the western side of the main channel, so it was onto the Eastern channel leads we slid around 1845. The flood had been running for almost 2 hours, so the engine was pushed to get us up to 3 knots (SOG) as the breeze refused to cooperate and swung towards the south. After almost an hour, we changed course and headed for Cape Schanck, motorsailing under main as the breeze refused to strengthen beyond 5 knots.

A couple of hours later, the breeze had swung back to the North and strengthened to almost 10 knots, woohoo, sailing weather, albeit a little chilly. The headsail was unfurled and the motor shut down. we were maintaining the same speed under sail as we were under motor, and if this held would be in Hastings around 2 or 3 am. As we rolled in the swell, the dolphins came to see what was going on and kept Kav company as he kept the yacht heading for a rendezvous with Cape Schanck at 2330. Rounding Cape Schanck, the breeze obliged and maintained the ability to two sail reach towards the entrance to westernport and infact built to almost 15 knots, the Autopilot complaining about the seastate and the wind meant that a human hand on the helm was required.

The isophase light of the Westernport Fairway bouy was a welcome sight at around 0330, it meant we were almost home and the autopilot would once again take over the helm as the motor was once again pressed into service to motor us up the bay against the wind. After a non-eventful trip up the bay, we were safely alongside at the VICSAIL pontoon in Westernport Marina.