Light NE breeze, beautiful red sky over Emita.
We were in the shelter of Prime Seal and would not know the Sea conditions in Bass Strait until we rounded the Northern tip of the island.
Had a light breakfast and got under way at about 5.45.
Once under way we should have not worried,the contrast was remarkable.The Westerly sea had gone down a lot and the light NE wind was on our starboard quarter.We set the throttles up to 19 knots and we were away.
The first waypoint was the Curtis Island group,might as well go and have a look on the way.Calculated we should be there a bit before 10 am.
It is surprising how many Islands and rocks there are in Bass Strait.After a short while we could see some in the distance on our starboard side off the top of Flinders and a bit later Deal island group.
The further we travelled the better the sea conditions became,we reached the Curtis group on time and were really surprised to see how big the main island was.The sides were very steep with only sparse vegitation on the side we could see,one would not be able to get on it easily if wrecked.no doubt a few vessels would have run into it in the early days,might Google it sometime to see.
We pulled up for a few minutes and had a cuppa before rounding the Northern end and setting a course for Port Phillip still many hours away.
As we progressed the new AIS system occupied the crews attention.It tracks any boat fitted with a reciever and transmitter which works on a VHF radio signal .So any vessel in range or a shore station in range will come up on my plotter screen with its details like heading,speed and name.
We had to pass close to the dreaded traffic zone near Moncur island off The SE corner of Victoria.
There is an area where ships are only allowed to pass on the South side going East and the North side going West.A place to be avoided at all costs because of the constant parade of vessels and today was no exception.
You can't help but wonder at the skill of people like Bass and Flinders and what they would think if they were here today.They would not even imagined the electronic aids we have which makes navigation a snap if you pay attention to what is going on around you.Even travelling at 19 knots in the direction you want to go as often a dream to them,probably take them two weeks to sail what we were doing in 10 hours.
We saw the Bass Pyramid on our journey and imagined Bass saying look at that what a beauty.bugger it I will name it after myself or may be someone else did to honour him.
The further we went the better the sea condition became,by about midday the wind died and swung to the South as promised by the Weather prediction.A touch of East in it was welcome also.
As we were now say 6 miles south of Moncur island we could see the ships plotted on the AIS plainly with our eyes and it kept us occupied.We had a few snoozes each person doing an unstructured watch ,just changing every now and then to ease the burden,A bit of reading also.
As the day wore on we got back in phone and internet range,well really to be correct there were only a few short times when we were out of range.
We got a few calls telling us we were polling on Marine Traffic and telling us where we were,we had a pretty good idea of our position!
As the afternoon wore on we opproached Port Phillip heads and that is when the AIS really came into its own.There were three ships coming out and the Spirit going in.The controller on channel 12 was slowing the Spirit down to allow a large cruise ship and an even large container ship to follow before she could enter the rip.There was also another ship timed to pass her along the straight stretch near Sorrento when she had turned the right hand corner inside the heads.
We could see them all on the screen.We slowed down and decided to follow the Spirit in .The controller advised the ships we were in the area but we had not contacted him but had AIS.
I called up the Spirit to advise him of our intentions and he replied take we are ramping up now.
The entrance is quite wide really but the east side is where the rip is and it was acting up a bit because of the now 16 to 18 knot Southerly.We went around that and it was interesting to see the ships avoided it as well.
As we turned the corner inside the heads the other freighter was coming out and the two Sorrento ferries were also standing by to let the ship pass.A lot going on with fishing people,jet boats and speed boats every where.We followed the Ferry up the channel to Sorrento as the Couta boat club running the Moth worlds is just along a bit from its berth.
We tied up along side the club jetty at 5 on the dot ,Dave Connor taking our lines.He was watching Charlie practicing out on the bay.
The crew tidied up a bit and we had a well earned Coffee.Went ashore for a while to check out the boys.I think they will curse the sand before the racing is over,the organizers have put down about a quarter of a mile of grass carpet but the sand is every where.Dave said the other two hot days there were five deep people on the beach as well.The water is quite shallow with deep areas for quite a long way out so it will be interesting seeing 150 moths coming and going.We saw one fellow coming in fast and when he woke up he was in shallow water and still foiling he just did a back flip into the water at about 20 knots and let the boat tip over by its self.Could be a few damaged foils later on! He made a big splash,some one said he was a Yank.
Got the Marina key off Rob and motored along to The Blairgowrie Club where we had booked a berth.
Had a plan with our berth marked on the tee end.You can have all that ,no one else has booked it.
Hmm as we approached we saw there were two boats tied up there and no one about, bugger this is going to be fun I thought 10 days of pot luck after costing an arm and one of Robs kidneys.
Put in a call to the emergency number and got a message bank.
We anchored out for a while and saw a much more difficult one to get into and decided to go there.
Good now it is Southerly weather but will no doubt sort something out tomorrow.
A bit later a man and his wife and dog urged up into the berth beside us and told us the fellow who runs it is a good bloke and he will sort it out.
He has a nice Palm Beach day boat and also a Couta sailing boat.He won a big race put on today at the Couta boat club as a corporate day for KPMG .It does not get much bigger!
All the big firms are represented ,BHP,AMPand Quantas etc.He was chuffed as he had won for the second year running and had just beaten John Bertrand who was interviewed on the tv and was very gracious in defeat.
Rumour was there were 500 people and it cost 300 thousand to put on.They give them yellow shirts and to control it you cannot get a drink after 6 if you have one on!
Judging by the bravado Nigel put his boat into the Marina it is just as well they cut the grog off.It will be interesting to see what he is like in the morning.
Well the crew is up so I better finish,they are booked on Jetstar tonight.Another adventure getting to the airport by all accounts Bus ,train and another Bus.Ben lived here so he knows his way about.
Curtis Island ,Bass Strait.
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