Alongside Robe
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Position: 37 09.68 S 139 45.03
E We continued on, running wing-on-wing, before the light SE breeze. At 2220 we were off Cape Dombey, its white light flashing three bright pulses every ten seconds marking the entrance to Guichen Bay, on the southern shores of which lies the small historic port of Robe. As if on cue the wind started to die and in response I rolled up the jib and started the engine. We kept the sound of the surf breaking over South Reef well to starboard then, once safely past this hazard, turned in towards Robe, dropped the mainsail, coming to anchor at 2317 in five metes of water, one cable north of the breakwater entrance into the Lake Butler marina. After a quick tidy up I turned in for a welcome night of uninterrupted sleep. This morning I arose well refreshed and after breakfast weighed anchor and motored cautiously in through the marina entrance. (We have run aground adjacent the breakwater previously but his time, monitoring the depth sounder, it looked like the entrance had been well dredged with a minimum depth of four meters, including one meter of tide.) We proceeded to our assigned berth (organised yesterday), which I confess took me three attempts to get alongside. I suspect that there was an eddy trying to spin us around as we approached the berth, but eventually I got close enough to jump ashore with a line in hand and secure Sylph to the pontoon. Now Sylph is snug and has been given a good fresh water wash down. Looking at the forecast I expect we will be here until at least Wednesday, with strong NW winds on Monday and Tuesday. I have plenty of boat chores to keep me occupied until then, and of course there are the attractions of Robe to enjoy. All is well. |