Hobsons Bay, Port Phillip
Where Next?
Bob Williams
Sat 12 Nov 2016 10:58
At anchor Hobsons Bay, Port Phillip
Wind: North West, F4 – moderate breeze
Sea: calm Swell: nil
Weather: partly cloudy, cool
Day’s Run (31 hours): 146 nm sailed
The easterly wind that was forecast for yesterday afternoon did not kick in until fairly late. I pored over the weather and navigational charts but no matter which way I turned them there was no way that I was going to get to Apollo Bay before the north-westerly change arrived. I considered my options. Keep on going? I imagined being out in a strong headwind going nowhere for a few days, not getting any study done, and decided that while I am keen to get to Adelaide I just did not feel so inclined. The only other sensible option was Port Phillip. My brother Mark lives in Melbourne with his partner and two children. I was planning on visiting them on the return trip but under the circumstances it seemed a good idea to do it now.
So, that is what we have done. We ran square at times and broad reached for a large part of the passage between Wilsons Promontory and Port Phillip Heads, arriving with near perfect timing, at slack water and just before the strong north-westerly change came through. We were just tacking into the Heads, past the Rip which was relatively quiet, when some heavy drops of rain began to fall and the wind to pick up. I reduced sail and beam reached up through the Western Channel and then close reached across the large expanse of water which is Port Phillip.
A little before sunset we tacked the last few miles into one of my favourite spots, Hobsons Bay. It is perhaps not the most scenic of anchorages, being surrounded by Melbourne’s port facilities to its west, but it is well sheltered from the north-east through north-west to west and there are rarely any other boats here so I can always be assured of some swinging room. At 19.20 I handed sail and let go the anchor in four meters of water.
Tomorrow the winds will swing round to the south-west in the afternoon and as Hobsons Bay is not so well sheltered from this direction tomorrow morning I will probably move to the Brighton Yacht Club marina if they have room and then tomorrow afternoon go and visit my brother and my niece and nephew.
All is well.