The grand Cruising plans for this autumn have gone through some sculpting , high fuel costs and family commitments have prohibited any trip north for this winter . Algae tsunami on Gippsland Lakes has put the knockers on trip there in the short term so staying local makes sense , all that's needed is some luck with the weather.
Once committed it seemed I would be spending some time in the cabin dodging forecast rain and showers but just being on the water would be a small price to pay.
Still new to rigging and launching a 28' ts , many times I wondered if it was going to be worth the effort and beach ramp launching had me spending too much time waist deep in the chilly port phillip waters before the rewards begin to flow.
After a huge day and one last wade to boat at 9 pm had me navigating the 4 NM to portarlington safe harbour .
So far the winds have been light the sun has shone and the predicted rain has stayed away.
First night at indented head , second at portarlington , third at queenscliff and tonight at Mornington .
The forecast now looks good for next week so will see how that pans out full moon on Monday will be welcome.
Great legs impy
Both times I dried mine out I hated the thumping when starting to refloat cannot be good for old bones.
Certainly not easy to sleep through.
Out of the grey mill pond of Mornington and accross the bight to mordialloc where I was greeted by numerous pods of freeding dolphins.
While keeping an eye on ais traffic I noticed an unusual activity of Victoria Police ribs belting around in all directions between 22 - 40 kts in all there were at least 4 craft in and around the bight bounded by Mornington, Patterson River and black Rock , seemed to be nothing going on ? Just out and about ? Your taxes at work ?
With welcome breeze I set a course close hauled to the west with werribee River a likely destination. Over the afternoon the wind slowly clocked south to north east allowing gentle spinnaker work with final pole gybe in shipping mooring ground off altona bay.
Once off the river mouth just on dark I decided to push on to portarlington another 10 NM while preparing dinner. Approaching the shipping channel bottleneck at the Richards ais again allowed me to keep close eye on converging traffic the Siem topaz supply vessel steaming out from corio Bay outer harbour at 13 kts and bellarine and geelong flyer ferries racing by at 30 kts in the dark.
Dinner and wash up completed before entering the safe harbour of portarlington at 7.30 pm.
So another comfortable day of around 35 NM with mixed points of sail and periods of motoring early and late.
Weather has changed overnight and now have light showers and moderate northerly with more to come throughout the weekend.
That will suit me as I have family commitments shore side before continuing my cruise on Monday.
I had an extended stop over at portarlington having weekend commitments and rather vigorous north westerly weather event until Wednesday I took advantage of the casual berths offered by Parks Victoria and caught up on some jobs.
The facilities at portarlington continue to be developed nowhere have I seen such improvement of a public harbour / marina precinct.
Soon there will be a covered walkway 3/4 of the way to the public recreational berths.
Much of the investment has come on the back of the commercial development of the port phillip ferries service and the mussel farming industry.
The small seaside town is Such a hidden gem , full of warmth and charm .
