Arrived Lakes Entrance

Arrived Lakes Entrance after a voyage with more motoring than sailing.

I was able to rest and prepare for the entrance.  This entrance has had a very bad reputation as a very dangerous river bar however thankfully the Victorian Government has stationed a large dredge at the entrance and it dredges the bar almost every day.

However every bar must be taken seriously and this one in particular because it is the mouth of a large river and lake system which means that the catchment area for rain is vast.  If it rains in the upper reaches the water has to flow out to the sea and therefore the outflow over the bar can be very swift.  In fact it can reach more than 7 knots.  Malua at full speed under power can match that speed but the speed over the ground is very modest and the directional stability is very very critical.  One can land up on the rocks before you have time to turn the wheel.

The port authority knows the dangers.  The large fishing fleet also know the danger not on the way out to sea but on the way back into port when the vessel is loaded and the gunwales are close to the water. 

There is a very good web sit that tells you the real time flow speed of the water and when the tide turns and if the predicted flow will turn with the tide. 

The local weather forecast was for a strong wind warning for South West to South East winds to arrive before I was across the bar.  This would have made the swell to build and the waves to increase so I took the decision to cross the bar on arrival with a fast flowing outgoing tide.

Not a prudent seamanship decision.

The bar is deep but as you can see from the photo the outflow can run at 4 to 5 knots and cause standing waves.  These standing waves as opposed to waves from a swell are not as dangerous as a breaking swell wave but can dump a large volume of water in the cockpit.  I always close the companion way opening with washboards and secure them when crossing a bar and ensure I am secured to Malua having experienced a massive wave over the stern on the way into Tonga. 

As is always the case one must get the timing right.  In my youth I have spend many a day watching the wave for the next big set to surf to the shore.  Located outside the channel - offshore I watched the sets and positioned Malua ready for the entrance.  The leads at this entrance are good but they change just at the rock-wall entrance so one has to choose either up the middle or some other path against the outgoing current.

With the the right timing I put the throttle down and Malua started for the entrance with white water breaking on the starboard side and the potential for a shore break on the port and ahead breaking standing waves.  As you get closer to the rock-wall opening the standing waves look even larger than from afar but they were not that steep and not that dangerous but let me tell you even for the most experienced seaman would not take them lightly.

Now the outgoing current question - what speed was it at and what route should I take.  It turns out that it was only 5 knots so with Malua travelling at 7 knots we actually were making 2 knots over the ground.  To travel the 600 m from entrance to the turn it seemed to take forever with my hands gripping the wheel and thinking of the many options if the engine stuttered.

Turn to starboard and one is in the quite water of the Entrance tributary and a white wharf in sight.  Out with the fenders and lines and I went astern into a pen and secured to the piles.  

Another uneventful passage completed. Now for a shower, some hot food and a good sleep

Another magical moment on Malua