Position: 37 50.56 S 144 55.13 E
At anchor Hobsons Bay
Wind: West, F6-7 Strong breeze to near gale
Weather: Mostly cloudy, occasional showers, cool

This morning when I awoke the front had not yet come through. I stuck my head out the companionway, looked around, smelt the air, umm'd and aah'd a bit, and eventually decided that it would be wise to move over to the western side of the Bay while the breeze was still in the north and before the westerly change came through. After a quick tidy up below, I had the anchor up and Sylph reaching out to the west under a double reefed mainsail and a partially furled jib making a surprisingly quick six knots. As I looked about, while my initial intention was to make for Altona Bay about six miles away, I thought why not Hobsons Bay which was less than two miles and should provide excellent shelter from the forecast winds. So I hardened up on to the wind and less than an hour later we had anchored in five meters of water about 300 meters off the beach, thence repaired below for breakfast.

And not a few moments later, or so it seemed, while I was enjoying vegemite on toasted crumpets and a hot cup of tea, the change came through, the wind picked up to about 25 knots and shifted into the west accompanied by a few spots of rain. I congratulated myself on my good timing, though had to admit I was lucky that the front had not come through a few hours earlier while it was still dark. Undoubtedly we would have been OK back at St Kilda but it certainly would be a lot less comfortable.

We haven't been making many miles over the past couple of weeks but I am exploring the nooks and coves of Port Phillip more thoroughly than ever before. While the beach is only 300 meters away, with the wind as it is I reckon I will leave going ashore until tomorrow when the wind is expected to moderate. But it is also supposed to shift to the southeast so we may as well head back over to St Kilda.

I finished reading Virginia Woolf's “A Room of One's Own” yesterday. One of her criticisms of masculine writing is how it overshadowed by the word “I”. Hmm. Oh well, I guess it is all just a bit of fun.

All is well.