The wind at Oberon Bay howled all night at 25 kts, gusting to 30, but we managed a reasonable sleep. We got up at 5:15 and set off in the dawn light with the intention of stopping at San Remo, on the eastern side of Westernport Bay.
The easterly wind soon died and we motored on for half the day before a light northerly let us motor-sail.
By mid-afternoon we were nearing Westernport Bay and Alex pulled out the cruising guide and paper chart to plan our entrance to San Remo – there is a public pontoon with a very tricky approach that we used in 2013 on our previous boat, a Jeanneau 36, so we had planned our entry for the beginning of a flood tide. Alex suddenly noticed there is a powerline only 18m above the water at highest tides before you get to the pontoon.
Our mast is 18m above the water (plus some antennas)! With not much time to do the detailed tidal height calculations and rather than risk electrocution, we decided to press on directly to Hastings, 35nm away.
Westernport Bay has two narrow entrances, with Phillip Island in the middle. That makes for some powerful tidal currents. Fortunately, Alex had already calculated when the favourable current would be and we were able to get to the entrance in time for the flood tide. We had a great ride up the Bay, on 3.5kt current!
Hastings Marina is up a narrow side channel, with mudflats on either side. We pulled into our berth about 7:15pm – more than 12 hrs and our longest passage so far on this trip. It was lovely to be greeted by Alex’s daughter and grandson! Soon we were home with them enjoying a well earned beer and fish & chips!
Hasting Marina and some of the local sights!
We’ll be here for a week or so, enjoying the company of friends, family and the delights of the Mornington Peninsula. I’ll start posting the blog again once we get underway again.
