Turning Sixty in Port Phillip

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Mon 28 May 2018 04:30

Position: 38 16.48 S  144 39.11 E
At anchor off Queenscliff, Port Phillip
Wind: N – F4 moderate breeze
Sea: slight  Swell: S  0.5 meters
Weather: overcast, showers, cool
Day’s run: 126 nm

We ended up motoring round Wilsons Promontory due to lack of wind but once clear of Skull Rock the wind suddenly picked up warm from the north, clearly a change in air mass.  We enjoyed a pleasant sail overnight working our way in towards the shore. There was a strong wind forecast for the afternoon and I wanted to be able to hug the shoreline so as to have flat seas for a fast comfortable sail.  Kate kept the first watch from 2100 to midnight and I was awoken to the sound of her sweet voice singing Happy Birthday.  That’s a first.  I turned 60 today which is half the reason we are here.  The other half is that one of my brothers, Michael, turns 50 in a few days, so the clan is gathering for a bit of a celebration this weekend.

The sailing plan went well.  We passed Cape Schanck at 0900, the wind freshened, I put a reef in the main and reduced the jib to 70%, tightened sheets, and hugged the coast.  At 1035 we tacked to close the coast a bit more and when about half a mile from the beach we tacked back again and were able to parallel the coast for the rest of the way to Port Phillip Heads, where we arrived off at 1300.  The tidal stream was still flooding but approaching slack water and the Rip was smooth.  The flooding stream helped carry us in and after a couple of tacks we dropped anchor off Queenscliff.  This is the first time I have anchored here.  It is a little exposed to the swell but there are no well protected anchorages from northerly winds on the southern side of Port Phillip and I do not feel like a long bash to windward to find a more comfortable anchorage.  Hopefully it will prove to be comfortable enough.  We plan on spending the night here and tomorrow, when the wind backs more into the west, we will make our way towards the northern end of the bay.

Ships company’s morale is high,

All is well.