A change for Spring

Winter has been wet and cold this year and the opportunities for cruising on Manookatoo have been few and far between. With warmer weather promising to appear soon, it was decided that a change of location would be fun - the chance to be "Inner-City dwellers" for a few months was very appealing

Cape Schanck 

As the First Mate was work-bound, The Captain found a "stand in' First Mate for the two-day cruise from Yaringa Marina, Westernport Bay, to Marina YE - Yarra's Edge. On Thursday morning, they set off at first light on an outgoing tide, leaving Yaringa at 7.45am and passing Sandy Point at 9.20. They enjoyed a good run down the bay and sighted West Head at 11.00 before passing Cape Schanck and heading west at midday.

Entering Port Phillip Heads

Manookatoo reached Port Phillip Heads and The Rip at 3.00 - apart from a few small eddies it was smooth cruising through the heads, where they turned to port to spend the night at Queenscliff Marina, tying up at 3.45 - travelling a total of 82.4 nautical miles that day. After tidying the boat, they headed into town for a couple of cleansing ales and a meal in the Pub, returning to the boat for an early, well earned, sleep for the night.
Next morning they woke before sunrise and hove to at 6.40am for their trip north to the city. They passed the Western channel beacon at 7.32


West Channel Beacon 

and passed the Fawkner Beacon at 10.05, reaching the start of the Yarra River at 11.05. The friendly folk at Marina YE met them on arrival and guided them into their berth, where they tied up at 11.50, having travelled 49.7 nautical miles on the second day, using 93.2 litres of diesel for the whole trip.
Manookatoo will spend the next three months calling the Yarra River home - with such a central location we look forward to exploring the many sights and sounds of the city....and sharing our new experiences via this blog!

Marina YE