Daniel met Oz and I down at the boat ramp at 10, and we were sailing by 10.30. The wind was a light South Westerly, so I started the engine as insurance, but raised the sails and we sailed majestically if very slowly round the dog leg out of the safe harbour, fortunately not meeting anyone coming in.
It was high tide, and we set off towards Kororoit Creek mouth. I keep thinking it would be a good idea to try and pick my way into there. As we got closer though, Daniel started talking about rocks in the channel. I got cold feet and we headed along the coast instead towards Williamstown.
There is a large yellow "Transit Zone No Anchoring" buoy there which seems to be the residence of at least one seal. He was home, and we sailed past at a respectful distance. It always cheers me up to see him out there. It is nice and boaty over there too, and the view as the bay round from Williamstown to Port Melbourne opens up is well worth the visit.
We turned round, and managed close hauled to just squeak by the cardinal marks off the coast there, then freed up for a nice broad reach back to Altona. I got the staysail flying. I think it will prove to be a good investment. It is perfect for a long reach when the wind is under 10 knots. It seems to add a bit of purposefulness to our progress. My new GPS ran out of batteries shortly after I switched it on so I am not sure precisely what difference the staysail makes yet.
Surprisingly, there was no one around as we approached the safe harbour, so I dropped the main, armed Daniel with a paddle, fender and boat hook, and sailed the boat back in, no engine going. It really does make for a nice arrival. The guy fishing off the end of the breakwater seemed impressed by our stately silent progress past him. The wind was almost straight along the jetty, so I let the mizzen rotate completely forward as we came along side. I was able to slow us down simply by running my hand on the jetty as we glided past, then dropped a line over the cleat and we came to a very gentle stop. One of my better landings.
It was one of the nicer sails I have had in the Core Sound. I am coming to think that this is the sort of sailing I like best.
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