2016-05 - MONTHLY LOG STATISTICS

2016-05-06 - FROM Wynyard TO Cat Bay, Phillip Island

Strong wind warnings kept us pinned down in Wynyard until the sixth, but eventually it calmed down enough for us to contemplate moving on. We threw off the lines nice and early, but quickly returned when the port engine did not prime it’s cooling-water pump. David is becoming quite skilled in pulling off these pumps so he quickly had it on the table and added some lube and it was soon pumping well again and we were off. Happily the tide was rising so we had even more clearance with the delay and the trip over the bar was uneventful.

Heading west to Stanley the wind was flukey as the weather system passed, meaning a slowish trip. We approached Stanley mid-afternoon, but as we contemplated where to drop the anchor the wind strengthened from the west so the decision was made to head across Bass Strait there and then.

We had reasonable winds until mid-morning the next day when they turned more northerly. We chose to turn on the engines and head north towards Phillip Island, and passed Seal Rocks in darkness. We dropped anchor in Cat Bay hopefully well out of the swell, and did in fact spend a comfortable night.

2016-05-08 - FROM Cat Bay TO Wyndham VIA Wyndham Marina

Up at sparrow-fart (very early) in order to get through the Heads on a flooding tide, we had a great run and actually made it most of the way through before dropping sail. With lots of daylight left, we kept moving and started north, raising sails again as soon as the wind allowed.

We passed Lauren Marie (Seawind 1250) and La Marionette (Seawind 1000) as they headed south to have some work done at Queenscliff. We exchanged greetings on the VHF in passing.

We soon arrived at the entry to the new Wyndham Marina and decided to pop in for a look. There weren’t a lot of boats in there, but they certainly had a lot of vacant pens. We took the opportunity to give Colleen a bit of practice parking the boat, so she grabbed the helm and performed a couple of tight turns and a docking maneuver. We then left the harbor and anchored just around the corner.

2016-05-11 - FROM Wyndham TO Docklands

A quick run up the Bay to Docklands, we took advantage of the four hour visitor’s berth on Harbour Esplanade just behind the Cow up the Tree sculpture. The price is right, but the TV signal there is hopeless!

Early next morning we motored across to d’Alboro Marina and tied up for a week’s visit.

2016-05-21 - FROM Docklands TO Wyndham VIA Fuel Dock

Intending to spend the winter in the Gippsland Lakes, we had spent a few days stocking up with food and making XTsea ready for the trip. David finally got around to installing ball valves on the Yanmar SD20 saildrives replacing the original long-jammed taps, and put a new Grundig television in the saloon. New oil and fuel filters and a change of oil had both engines ready for another season.

We had an easier time at the fuel dock on the way down the Yarra than last trip, and with tanks brimming we were quickly moving again. We headed back to Wyndham.

2016-05-24 - FROM Wyndham TO Flinders VIA Portsea

A nice sail south saw us arrive a bit early, so we dropped anchor off Portsea for lunch to wait for the ebbing tide. We probably jumped the gun a bit when we eventually headed off, as we had to runs the motors hard to get through the heads.

We turned the corner and sailed to Flinders. Motoring from Cape Schanck, we arrived off Flinders in darkness so dropped anchor well off as we couldn’t see what we were doing.

2016-05-25 - FROM Flinders TO Flinders Pier

A quick trip in to the Pier, we grabbed a mooring and spent a couple of days in Flinders. We tendered over to the pier and visited the township for some groceries, but sat on the mooring and enjoyed the rain for the most part.

A job offer for David turned up on email, and after a phone call to firm up the details we decided to flip our plans and winter in Melbourne. Another trip through the heads beckoned.

2016-05-27 - FROM Flinders Pier TO Sorrento

Becoming quite expert at traversing the Heads, we timed our departure accordingly. An uneventful, if quick passage through at the peak of the flooding tide had us dropping anchor off Sorrento mid-afternoon.

2016-05-28 - FROM Sorrento TO Docklands

We enjoyed a nice sail north with periods of drizzle and some gusts. Again we took advantage of the visitor’s berth to save ourselves a night. XTsea was soon tucked away for the winter period.