Tuesday 13th September 2017
Another early start is in order, as we plan
a longish trip to Port Clinton to find a suitable anchorage for a potential
overnight strong NE breeze. The forecast for today promises a light N to NE
breeze , but not much more than 10 knots. So we have the Code Zero ready and
hope we can get some help from what is not a promising forecast.
By the time we pulled up our anchor at 6.30
am, the bay was almost empty. Most of the early departures appear to be heading
south, so we will see whom we catch up with along the way. We know that
Moonshadow, who left at 6am, is heading in the same direction as us with
similar plans, so no doubt we will catch up at some stage.
We leave Middle Percy behind after a short but enjoyable visit
The early breeze is NNE at around 7-8 knots
and we rolled out the code Zero, motor sailing and getting along nicely at
around 7 -7.5 knots, for a while. As we have come to expect the breeze is fluky
and moves by 20 degrees plus with ease.
We persisted with the code zero for over
half of the trip to Port Clinton at which stage the wind was down to around 6
knots dead behind us, and it was time to just give up and motor the rest of the
way.
The options for an anchorage in a northerly
breeze are limited along this stretch of coast. Port Clinton seems to offer the
best option, so we continue on past Island Head Creek (the preferred anchorage
for some), and on past Pearl Bay which is a pretty spot, but probably not the
best anchorage in a northerly.
The whales put on a brilliant display as we
pass through this area, opposite the entrance to Pearl Bay.
Whales off Pearl Bay
As we approach Port Clinton, we are a bit
dismayed by the 2 boats well in front of us on AIS heading deep into Port
Clinton, as we know that at least one of them , Freestyle 1, is heading to
Rosslyn Bay tomorrow, just like us. Maybe they have had a change of plan.
We opt to anchor on the northern side of
the entrance to Port Clinton, along with Moonshadow, as we want a quick exit in
the morning. The anchorage turns out to be beautiful, and a guy from a
powerboat came across in his dinghy with his young family to announce they were
going ashore for a drink and inviting the others anchored here to join them.
Getting our dinghy off the deck for a drink onshore had low appeal, so they
offered us a lift in their dinghy. The common connection was that they were
shaggers.
Before we knew it, we were on the beach,
with our new found shaggers mates, and Pip and Marg from Moonshadow joined us
in no time.
It turned out that the hosts that took us
ashore live in Melbourne, near Frankston, keep teir boat at Gladstone, and are
up here for a short break. They also have a yacht in Gladstone, a large ferro cement
job, that they need to get back to
Melbourne at some point. They were talking about the 15-20knot northerlies they
were beating into today coming up from Great Keppel Island, and were in
disbelief when we told them we had under 10 knots coming south from the same
direction.
As the discussion on the beach developed,
it seems that they run a fishing charter business, and in his previous life he
was a mooring contractor, and had a lot of advice for Pip and Marg on options
for them to get moorings for their boat when they get back South.
Another early start is planned tomorrow to maximize
the south running tidal flow
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