After staying in Geelong for 2 weeks it
was time to move on so we returned to Queenscliff to wait for a
window to exit the Bay. The sail from Geelong was in excellent
conditions, 10 – 15 knots of breeze, we enjoyed it enormously. A
good sail at last the first one since we crossed Bass Strait. We
planned to wait the night and then go out the next day . . . but . .
.
As always with sailing things don't
always go according to plan. As we entered “the Cut” we were
pushed by the unexpected strong current against the canal wall and Lupi's rudder was bent as a result of a collision with the wall. We
were very upset! But fortunately the slip there was available and in a day
we were able to remove the rudder and straighten it,
with the help of some tools borrowed form an engineer working on the
next door fishing boat. It did not look as bad as we thought. There
were only a few scrapes in the paint on the rudder after we straightened it. The rest of the
underneath of the boat was in excellent condition, thankfully.
The fun continued and what was meant to
be an overnight stay ended up taking a week. We explored Queenscliff
and learnt a lot about its history while we were waiting for the
right weather to leave.
To this point our journey had been very
slow. We had been in Port Phillip almost as long as we were at E
berth in Geilston Bay. (6 weeks)
Leaving Melbourne
Well we did it!!!!! We finally left
Port Phillip Bay on the 3rd July. Passing through the
“Rip” was a bit hairy and sloppy – the last of the ebb before
slack water. Another stressful part of our adventure was behind us.
The only casualties were the microwave
which dropped out of its hole and onto the kettle, and the kettle
which lost its handle when the microwave landed on it. There was no
damage to the microwave fortunately.
Once we were through the “Rip” we
cut the motor and put up the sails, although there was very little
wind at that stage. At times we were actually going nowhere. Our very
slow course took us toward Cape Schanck, but as night fell we were close to the shipping channel from Westernport Bay we
decided to head out to sea and get away from the coast as well. The
wind was, as usual, on the nose and as we were heading out to sea we
were actually starting to head west of south which meant we were
effectively going backwards slowly. During the night though, the wind
gradually started to swing more easterly and freshen and we could
sail more southerly and then toward the east. The seas became bigger
in the dark and Lupari started to romp and frolic through 2 metre
seas in 15 knots of wind. We kept on sailing into the wind because we
know that was the way we had to go and it was safe while we were
having difficulties with some of the instruments. At daylight we
turned on the computer to find out exactly where we were. We were 20
nm south of Cape Liptrap – a long way out to sea. By now the wind
had veered to the north east so that we could sail an easterly course
which would get us close to land at South East Point on Wilson's Prom.
This took all day and by the time we were 10 miles from our
destination of Waterloo Bay the wind was beginning to calm down again
and we started the motor and motored the last few miles into Waterloo
Bay – our quiet little anchorage from the trip to Victoria. We
sailed 128 miles in 29 hours.
We were very tired – not much sleep
at sea – so we ate and went to sleep. During the night the wind
freshened again from the north-west which put us on a lee shore and
when we got up in the morning we were very close to that shore
– the anchor alarm had failed to go off. Fortunately the water was
deep and so we rushed to start the motor and leave the bay. The wind
was now blowing 35 knots.
Refuge Cove
We headed around to Refuge Cove which
is only 5 miles away from Waterloo which would offer more shelter in
the strong winds. It was a rough trip but close to shore we
were sheltered from the wind and waves.
Refuge Cove is the only coastal retreat
we have heard Victorian boaties talk about. It is as if it is the
only place to go. It nearly is! Tasmanians, particularly Southern
Tasmanians, are so lucky to have the cruising waters we do.
Refuge Cove is a lovely spot with 3
sheltered beaches, 2 little coves, one of which is a bit more open to
the sea. There are campsites for backpackers and boaties and we have
seen people on the beach nearly every day. I can imagine it would be
very busy in the summer!!
We had planned to stay here a couple of
days, wait for the wind to ease and the seas to ease and then head to
Eden, but after the first blow there was more . . . One night the
wind roared through the bay and our windometer read 56 knots on one
gust. There were many that were nearly as strong. A scary night but
the anchor held and we stayed safe.
We became part of yachting legend at Refuge Cove. There is a wall where numerous boats have attached name plates. Ours in now one of them.
It was difficult communicating
from there – no VHF reception or mobile phone. We worried that
our family would be anxious after we had been out of contact for over
a week and likely to be for a bit longer. Tascoast Radio came to the
rescue on our HF radio. The radio operator was great, and kind enough to let our
family know we were OK. It was a good feeling to know that someone
knew where we were. There is not a service in Victoria that we have
found like we have in Hobart where boats can report their positions.
It makes us realise how easy and safe sailing is in Tasmania and how
great the service is that Tascoast and Hobart Coast Radio provide.
While we were at Refuge we had the
company of a pair of Pacific Gulls. They were very entertaining. They
talked to each other and to us. One in particular, landed on the boat or
dinghy and expected to be fed. I think they were used to people and
boats. They were our constant companions..
It was very quiet here so a
different sound in the environment gets noticed at 2am. One night there was a
strange sound in the water that sounded like a motor. It was and a
big one too. An ocean-going tug had come in to shelter from the weather. It stayed
about 24 hours and left in the middle of the night too. There were no other
boats to share our haven with us.
The last few days we were there became
progressively uncomfortable when easterly weather brought a swell into the bay and
had us rocking more than gently for a couple of nights. It was chilly
and drizzly too. By Sunday there looked like a break in the weather
and we decided that we would “definitely maybe” go. This is a
term that we picked up when we read a book by Clare Francis about
sailing.We thought it was a very apt term and have used it such a lot
since. And on Monday, when there was a strong wind warning in the
area, supposedly abating we decided to leave.