Position: 38 20.23 S 144 44.90 E
At anchor off Sorrento
Wind: S F3, gentle breeze
Weather: cloudy, showers, cool
Day's run: 129 nm

All things considered my jury self-steering arrangement managed very well overnight allowing me to remain relatively well rested and Sylph to continue making good time towards Port Philip. We rounded Cape Otway just after 9 pm and altered course to the north east, our final leg into Port Philip Heads. We remained relatively close to the coast where we found a good protection from the wind and swell, making for a much more comfortable night, though I did not get much rest as I had to keep a close eye on the navigation, especially with my less than fully reliable improvised self-steering system.

As we got closer to the heads I found the Sylph would no longer maintain the necessary course accurately enough so from 9 this morning I have been steering by hand, which isn't at all bad because by 11.15 we were negotiating the Rip. With a flood tide still in progress the stream was with the wind and I was fortunate that the notorious Rip was not overly boisterous, and the flooding stream also helped speed us along to our anchorage off Sorrento, where we duly anchored at 12.25 pm. I have chosen Sorrento to stay for the night because it is well sheltered from the southerly winds which I am expecting tonight and also is pretty close to the entrance, so now that we are here I can get a bit of a rest.

Tomorrow I will sail to the north end of the bay, 30 miles away, and hopefully in the evening will catch up with my brother Mark.

All is well.