Our third week of our Bass Strait trip did not go as originally planned. With unrelenting westerly gales, we have run out of time and opportunity to get to the Bass Strait Islands and have gone from Sealers Cove at Wilson’s Promontory directly to the Gippsland Lakes.
Hiding at Sealers Cove
In many ways, cruising is about relinquishing control – control over conditions, weather, plans, time… and we have been reminded of this on this escapade. Some trips you enjoy, others you endure. At this stage, this trip belongs in the ‘endure’ category!
We spent 6 days at Sealers Cove which in strong Westerly conditions offers great protection. For most of this time we had roaring gale force winds and intermittent rain. Wade remarked that this was possibly the most sustained, violent gale we experienced in our 25 years of sailing. It certainly has not been the cruise we were hoping for!
We did manage to get ashore at low tide on a couple of occasions to stretch our legs and keep our sanity. A juvenile Pacific Gull was our only visitor. It came aboard, and we also saw it and its mum on the beach.
But on the windier and rainier days, we were boat bound. At the height of the storm, we sat through 66 knot Westerlies, while at the Prom and Hogan Island they reached 74! Anui yanked at the chain and it was incredibly noisy. Imagine roaring winds, curtains of rain bouncing off the water, sounding like hail as they hit the boat, and whistling through the rigging. But we were tucked in at the southern end of the beach, with 50m of chain out in 4m of water. The anchor held, nothing flew off or tore, neither did we have any leaks! And it was not scary, just remarkable to experience. This is what we call safety at anchor in wild winds. These photos will give you an idea of the conditions. You had to hang on tight to even get these shots. And it was cold… our diesel heater has been working on and off during the day to take the chill off and we have been rugged up in fleece and blankets to stay warm.
Most of the time though, we were sitting comfortably with 40 knot gusts, so much more sedate! And we did not have to worry about anybody else. We knew that four other vessels were inside nearby Refuge Cove… We spotted them as we went past last week, and two of them were on AIS. They could have it; we are not interested in the wild swinging and dragging behaviour of boats in swirling winds in there, no matter how beautiful the anchorage is. So we were glad to be on our own at Sealers.
We kept a sharp eye on the forecasts as you can imagine! The BOM and PredictWind did not show a break from the strong westerlies, which of course are even fiercer in the middle of Bass Strait than along the coast. We had to conclude that our foray among the Bass Strait Islands would have to be deferred… either for our return trip after our galley revamp, or more likely for another escape later in the year.
Straight to the Gippsland Lakes
So… might as well use the Westerlies to go 100nm East… at great speed!
We wanted to leave Sealers Cove in manageable wind and swell. To us, it looked like Wednesday was the day: 15-20 WNW, 1.5m swell if you hugged the coast. We wanted to be in front of The Entrance between 4 and 5pm to cross the bar in daylight with an incoming tide, which meant a 3.00am departure in pitch dark conditions – no moon, no stars, just heavy cloud cover and some rain.
And it all went to plan, except for the bit about the wind dropping altogether, even coming on our nose for the last two hours, and us having to motor most of the way! After a week of gale force wind, a very disappointing, not to mention expensive exercise with the current fuel situation. Had we left on Tuesday, we would have had boisterous conditions but would have sailed all the way. Aarrgh!
We got in as planned just after 4pm and picked up a public mooring for the night, making our way to Paynesville the next day. Being back at the Gippsland Lakes always feels like coming home.
This morning as we post this, we are floating in the protected waters of the Lakes on a mooring in front of town. We have topped up our diesel tanks, replenished the supplies and are settled for the weekend. We have contacted our shipwright/cabinet maker Tim Heaney to let him know we have arrived and he is ready to start next week. Of course, given we won’t have a kitchen for a while and the boat will be a work site, we are not inviting visitors on board, but there are coffee shops to frequent!
Sv-Anui 
Oh my… and ’40 knot gusts, so much more sedate!’? My reaction was half chuckle to the comment, and half cringe to the conditions. Glad you made it to the Lakes ok. Not missing those winds! xT
Hi Trish, it’s been crazy. From violent winds to nothing for a couple of days, back to high 30s today. But we are ok. Seeing Tim today for a chat then he starts on Monday. At least here there’s stuff to do and we can get off the boat.
Wow, I’m so glad that you guys found great shelter from the powerful wind and rain!! Those photos tell the story well. Be safe!
Hi John, yes, not what we were hoping for. Back to our old home port now, so a bit easier!
Ah, familiar is always good! 👍🏻😂
Oh no… that was not on the agenda for your trip… At least you were safely tucked up without having to worry about other vessels around you.
Hopefully some lovely settled autumn weather is heading your way now!
Morning Helene, we got two quiet and sunny days and now it’s back to two days of gale! Next week looks kinder. Always feels like home here, so focusing on the positives!
Glad to hear you are safe & sound & enjoying being back to a great spot. Sounds like a trip to remember for sure & a reminder yet again our weather systems are so unpredictable. Wild wild photos
Keep well x
Thanks Lindy… the unpredictability is hard felt when you are not afloat full-time, in a way we had not thought through. We live and learn!
Welcome back to Cruising guys !
Hope the lakes offer a few more pleasantries than the coastline.
House on Coochie progressing well but not game to predict a finish time.
Only a short trip this time, Simon, we’ll be heading back to Melbourne in May. Unlikely to sail north this year!
Having been a ‘weather nut’ all my life (inherited from my father, who was the Estonian army’s meteorologist back in the 1920s ere he decided to go back to uni to study law!) I have looked and watched and wondered and worried all week – looking at your rather dramatic photos it truly has been a case of ‘putting up’ rather than enjoying a chance to be back on the water. And now, even Bengie’s ashes could not be taken to their permanent home . . . do hope the work on the Anui can start and that they make decent coffee plus plus in town . . . let us know . . .
Morning Eha, so nice finding out more about you and your family! You have such an interesting background…
Yes, dramatic is a good way of describing the photos and the weather has been so changeable and unpredictable! We are holding on to Bengie’s ashes… we will have another attempt later in the year when the weather is kinder and we can get to our special bay.
The work on Anui starts on Monday. We are meeting up with Tim today to talk through the plan of attack.
I love your term ‘plan of attack’ 🙂 ! Enjoy the progress – in better weather with a few big ‘High’s surrounding you! (Dad – a quiet but very definite man – by the beginning of WWII he was the Prosecutor of the Higher Military Court of Estonia just a tad too young to become Minister of Defense of the country – well, the Russkies stopped all that . . . and look where we ended up! Oh, Estonian law is Napoleonic and Dad’s favourite language was French 🙂 !!!)
Fascinating history. We are hoping to take a car trip north in June/July. We’ll keep in touch… might be able to visit you on the way for a real chat and hug!
Welcome back to southern climates I suppose this will help in your decision making on relocating north. We still getting cyclones up north. At least you can maybe relax a little in Paynesville.
Take Care
Mick & Lyn
Hi Mick & Lyn, yes the next few months will make things clear. It’s not even winter and it’s cold already. We are intending to stay in VIC for the winter months to see how we feel. No sail north this year but likely a car trip to check out the feel of a few places in northern NSW and end up on the Gold Coast in July for cancer follow ups!