Come rain, hail or shine, there’s always rowing on the Yarra River near where we’re staying in Melbourne. Rowers are accompanied by small power craft, often with three people on board, one to motor the boat, the second to give coaching through a loudspeaker, and a third person videoing the rowers presumably to provide more feedback later. A common instruction is “keep your eyes up”. I reckon I could do this gig! Further upstream, school groups and club members are rowing, but this time with a coach riding along the riverbank, again with a loudspeaker giving instructions. With one cyclist for every craft it’s very busy, and noisy! Rowing is definitely a serious sport here (although I’m not sure they really row in hail).
You’ve probably gathered from this introduction that we’re now in Melbourne. I thought I’d write about our trip from Lakes Entrance – where we had a great time exploring the Gippsland Lakes – to Melbourne, and I’ll also tell you how I killed our mint plant.
For a quick look at the route we took, check out this video and there’s music with this one! Then immediately below are some travel stats.
Travel statistics
Lakes Entrance to Refuge Cove
We left Lakes Entrance at first light and with a high tide to cross the bar. We had about a 13 hour passage to Refuge Cove, which is on the eastern side of Wilsons Promontory. During this time we took turns at being on watch so the other person could get some sleep, and we kept ourselves busy reading, knitting (me), and just enjoying the trip. Below is a short video taken after we left Lakes Entrance, and our anchorage at Refuge Cove.
Refuge Cove is a beautiful bay, protected in most conditions, and we had a great night on anchor (in locations shown on map) and enjoyed kayaking and exploring the beaches the next day. But ever mindful of the weather, we left later in the day to go to Oberon Bay. Below are some of my favourite photos.
Refuge Cove to Oberon Bay
With conditions due to change we headed around the southern end of Wilsons Promontory – the furthest south we’ve ever been in Poseidon AND the southernmost point of the mainland Australia – to Oberon Bay on the western side. The below map shows our anchorage and the video shows the conditions. In the video, I’m talking about how it’s quite windy but no swell, so it’s a good anchorage!
The winds continued for most of the evening and the following day, but that didn’t deter tourist boats from exploring the bay and heading to Skull Island. I imagine during good conditions, this will be a beautiful bay to explore.
Below are some of my favourite photos taken between Refuge Cove and Oberon Bay (no captions on these images).
Oberon to Cleeland Bight, Cobb Bluff, and Flinders
From Oberon Bay we headed to Western Port and spent the first night on anchor at Cleeland Bight, before heading under the bridge that links Phillip Island to San Remo. We explored a few possible anchorages before settling on Cobb Bluff.
Cleeland Bight anchorage.
Cobb Bluff anchorage.
After our night on anchor at Cobb Bluff, we headed over to Flinders to position ourselves for an early start to Port Phillip Bay. Because the weather rules and we could see the waves and wind would be increasing during the week, we decided to make the run up the coast early morning on Tuesday 28 November.
Our passage from Cobb Bluff took us behind Phillip Island and across the Western Channel near French Island, which was featured on the Australian TV show Back Roads, and the largest coastal island of Victoria.
It wasn’t the most comfortable crossing, as we were heading directly into waves/swell. While we adjusted our course to reduce the impact, we were also focused on positioning ourselves for an early start the following day. I might have to revisit this strategy in the future! When we arrived at Flinders, we put out one flopper stopper to help temper the swell for the remainder of the day. The below maps shows our anchorage and the video was taken when we were protected behind Phillip Island. In the video I’m talking about us being in Western Port, leaving Cobb Bluff, and we haven’t had the best weather!
Here are a few photos taken en route.
Flinders to Portsea
We set off at first light for our cruise to Port Phillip Bay. Conditions were surprisingly better than expected. We approached Rip Bank, which had some breaking waves at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay. Later, I read the following and I’m glad I read it after we traversed this area! “The entrance to Port Phillip Bay in Victoria is considered one of the world’s most treacherous sea passages, flanked by kelp lined rocky reefs and hidden pinnacles on which many ships have fallen victim to. This 2km wide entrance can be extremely wild with ripping currents and breaking swells.”
Robert brought us through this area and soon we were anchored off Police Point near Portsea.
Here are a few photos taken en route.
After we’d anchored, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and did a bit of kayaking, even going for a short walk into the township. If you look at the photos of the beach/rocks near Police Point (before the image of Poseidon) and then of the subsequent three photos, you may see that the winds are picking up.
Portsea to Clifton Springs
Tuesday afternoon/evening the winds started to pick up and we were rolling quite a bit. So on Wednesday morning after confirming the weather was getting worse, we thought Clifton Springs behind the Bellarine Peninsula would offer the best protection. Wind and waves were coming from the east-south-east so we knew the passage wouldn’t be the most comfortable but I created a route and thought we’d be OK with some protection for part of the way.
But it was this leg of our route that gave us the most grief, and without exaggeration, it was the scariest experience we’ve had to date. Weather conditions were worse than expected, with a strong wind warning being issued, and about 2m waves. After crossing through the Sorrento-Queenscliff ferry channel, we approached Popes Eye Bank.
While the charts show a shallow section in this area, our route, shown by the yellow track above, was some distance from this. However, the shoal had obviously moved and we quickly found ourselves in fast-shallowing water. In normal conditions we would have seen the water shallowing, reversed and taken time to work out a new/better route. However, visibility was poor because the water was so churned up and we were being pummelled by waves directly off the stern of the boat. Suddenly the shallow water alarm sounded and our momentum and the waves coming from our stern pushed us firmly onto the sand bank. We had previously touched bottom (in Port Stephens) but this was a totally different sensation. The boat was solid on the bottom (a very unnerving feeling of “not floating”) and the waves (mainly from the stern) were coming over the transom and pushing us further into the sand bank. Robert took the helm and I focused on looking for deeper water. The first attempts at reversing caused the port engine to alarm and stop as its propeller touched the bottom. Fortunately we were able to restart it quickly and it continued running. Although it was difficult due to the conditions, Robert managed to turn the boat towards a deeper section by using combination of port/starboard forward and reverse to try and “twist” the boat along and around. At some point, the waves then seemed to push the boat into deeper water and we felt it floating freely again. While the whole experience probably lasted for less than 5 minutes, it definitely felt like a lot longer.
Then Robert went to check the engine room. Because of waves coming over the stern, water was flowing from the lazarette through to the bilge. The bilge pump had stopped working, so he quickly swapped out the pump with another one and ensured no more water was coming in. At this time, I was motoring the boat, but had lost confidence in the route I’d planned. So we decided to stick to the shipping lane in the West Channel, which was deeper. But this meant that it would take us longer and we had waves hitting us on starboard side so while Robert was busy, I tried to zig-zag to reduce the roll.
After about 5 hours of what was a rather unpleasant passage, we anchored safely in Clifton Springs and spent considerable time checking the boat.
Taking stock, we had lost a life ring from the flybridge – it had blown off – and I actually thought I saw it at Popes Eye Bank. Robert accidentally caught his new rain jacket when in the engine room doing his checks so I’ll have to patch it. One of the flopper stopper lines that was coiled on the deck had washed into the water and was sheared off by the propeller. And my mint plant (a gift Darren when we were in Hervey Bay in July 2022) was so inundated with salt water that it subsequently died.
After some self-recrimination (me), when discussing what happened it really was one of those “sliding doors” moments. Nothing bad happened and it’s not worth obsessing about what we could have done differently. Yes, I could have taken more time to look at other options for where to go, e.g. near Martha’s Cove/Mornington, which would have also given us protection. Yes, we could have relocated the night before when we knew the change was coming through. I trust my charts, which showed plenty of depth through Popes Eye Bank, but maybe in bad conditions you should go around. I know that wave height is affected by wind speed, wind duration, and fetch (the distance over water that the wind blows in a single direction), but I didn’t appreciate the impact this would have crossing Port Phillip Bay.
Clifton Springs to Williamstown
We spent five nights at Clifton Springs waiting for the bad weather to pass. Finally, on Monday 4th December we had a good weather window to head to The Anchorage Marina in Williamstown (shown on the map below) where we stayed for 4 days and 3 nights.
When we reached Williamstown, a friend, Mark, dived under the boat to check the props and running gear. There was a bit of line from the flopper stopper caught around the starboard prop that he removed (although undetectable when motoring) and other than evidence of running the props in sand, there were no problems.
Williamstown is a great location with lots of cafes and ice-cream shops along the foreshore, and a great cycleway. We also caught up with our friend Adrian who we haven’t seen for many years.
The marina is less protected in south-easterly conditions, so we kept a close eye on the weather.
Williamstown to Docklands
Once again our travels are dictated to by the weather, so during the afternoon of Thursday 6 December we took the opportunity to head up towards Docklands before strong winds blew in.
We’re very happy here, with just two other boats on this dock, and it providing secure access. Not far away are many restaurants, shops, markets, casino, and a Spotlight store where I can get provisions for my new year sewing projects! We have parking behind the units near us and extensive cycleways along the Yarra River. I reckon this will be a great location for the next two months.
A few photos between Williamstown and Docklands.
Where to next?
We’re staying in Melbourne (and around Port Phillip Bay) until later in February when we’ll commence our journey south to Tasmania. During this time, we’ll do some sightseeing and go to a few shows. We’re also looking forward to seeing fireworks from the boat on New Year’s Eve!
15 Responses
Wow that was definitely an “Oh shit” moment,great work to get unstuck so to speak. Just shows how strong our old girls are!!
Stay safe⚓️
ps. I like this layout with the photo thumbs viewable (no idea what the techy terms are) rather than having to click through them. Enjoyed the video showing your route too
Happy New Year guys. So glad you conquered Popes Eye, that sounds scary to a landlubber like me! Wishing you safe travels and an adventurous 2024.
Thanks Pam for sharing this part of the journey. I think you and Robert have done an amazing job in your travels so don’t spend too much time in self recrimination. Glad all is well that ended well. Enjoy Melbourne!
Happy New year Pam & Robert. I am sure you are enjoying a break in Melbourne. You have had enough challenges & have fun before your next adventure toward Tasmania. Your photos are great & you have certainly seen some beautiful sites.
All ok here for the moment. All the best
😘
The rock formations are so interesting. There are some remarkable shapes and colours. xx
A bit more adventure than you would have wished for?
An interesting photo of the horse looking out. Wonder how it was got upstairs.
May
Blimey
Oh good grief – in live reading your blog Pam – but that crossing sounded awful …. And I can commiserate about the mint 😢
OMG Pam you guys are amazing. How scary was that crossing!!!! How did the cats cope with it?
I’m in awe of you both for following your dreams.
See you both in 6 weeks xx
Thanks Pam great blog and photos – video. May I take this opportunity to wish you & Robert a happy new year. Sorry I’ll not get to see you in the new year when Maxine & I travel to WA.
Thanks Pam, great story and photos.
Anyone who hasn’t run aground is either fibbing or not done it yet. Enjoy Melbourne. Never got to do it in our trailer sailer.
An epic journey!
Poseidon is looking fantastic and the kitty cats are georgeous.
Hope you had a lovely Christmas Day. Enjoy the fireworks and your stay in Melbourne.
That sounded like a scary ordeal, but great that you pulled through. This hindsight has a lot to answer for.
Enjoy NYE fireworks in Melbourne. Photos please.
Great to catch up too.
Wow. An action packed leg for sure. I’m very pleased you’re ok after getting caught out on the shifting sands in the bay. There are lots of trailer boats that speed through that area but not for me. It’s a longer and more enjoyable path in deeper waters for me! Again your calm heads prevailed, well done 👍
I know the nye fireworks will be amazing. Happy new year and you may want to consider Geelong Marina when leaving. Lots to see and do and it’s a shorter hop out the heads too.
Take care my friends