Well, the sail to our overnight destination, Cleeland Bight, was as easy as it gets. By tea time we were tucked into the sheltered anchorage while watching on weather radar a huge storm approach from the west.
Pete opted to cook a roast, but on the barbecue instead of in the oven. A mistake, it appears, as regulation of the heat on the barbie is not so simple as it is on the oven. The fishes were fed on the worst of the burnt beef. We hit the hay early, slept well and woke in the morning to the expected 20 knot SW breeze, which we knew would probably make for an uncomfortable trip SE to Wilson's Promontory.
Twelve hours after departing Cleeland Bight, we were anchoring at 8:00 pm in Refuge Cove, having taken a bit of a beating en route. Seasickness had taken a toll on some of the crew, but Refuge Cove was delightful, if a little crowded on our arrival.
Two minute movie capturing some of the journey so far:
The morning after, 02Mar15, we found that the cove had emptied of vessels and we had this magical place to ourselves. A decision made to go for a hike, we went ashore, used the pit toilets there at the campground, and hiked toward Waterloo Bay on the track. Being keen to get a weather update via the Internet, we brought our various devices along and soon found good connectivity about a forty minute hike away, on high ground. Here we found that the weather forecast was not to our liking, but true, nevertheless. A decision was made to return to Blairgowrie forthwith as delaying our departure would likely mean that we'd be stuck in Refuge Cove for an unacceptable duration.
We weighed the anchor at 2:00 pm and were off Port Phillip Heads at 7:00 am the next morning, in good time to transit The Rip at dead water.
So ended the 2015 trip.
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