Portarlington
Where Next?
Bob Williams
Tue 30 Aug 2011 10:10
At anchor off Portarlington
Wind: West F3 Gentle Breeze
Weather: Overcast, cool
Day's run: 23 nm
This morning I decided it was high time to be abstaining from the high life and expense of marinas, and after the not unusual discussion with the marina office staff as to how 30 minus 26 in fact equals 4 days and not 5, I paid our dues and got underway at a little after 10 am. I have never yet had this discussion with a hotel or other shore based place of abode so why it is that marinas tend to have this mathematical problem is a mystery to me.
Out on the Bay there was very little wind initially so I contented myself to drift around for a while. The forecast was for west to north-west winds of 10 to 15 knots so I fully expected something would turn up with a little patience. And sure enough around midday a nice breeze filled in and with the new headsail on the foil, it having been delivered to Mark's house last Friday, we tacked into the breeze to make our way over to a sheltered shore for the night.
The time is now 7.50 pm and we have only just come to anchor off a small village of Portarlington on the the south-west side of Port Phillip (not Port Phillip Bay). It has been a pleasant sail and the new headsail looks good, and hopefully will last significantly longer than my previous two headsails. The wind is forecast to go into the south-west so hopefully we should be well sheltered here for the next couple of days. Tomorrow the plan is to do a little painting and maybe go ashore to explore the village in the afternoon.
All is well.