Last Piece of the Puzzle Falls into Place

Monday 2 August 2021

20 Miles from Westernport

If the adventure and romance of sailing from one country to another draws you into the world of cruising … then navigating the maze of red tape, compliance and bureaucracy may well give you second thoughts – maybe to buy a campervan instead.  Probably wise for me to say as little as possible at this stage – after all, I’m not yet cleared into the country. 

But what I CAN say is that “Helpful Dave”, who answered my call of desperation on Saturday afternoon at Australian Quarantine, was a breath of fresh air – and I’ve come to know and understand fresh air a little more over these past 2 weeks. 

Dave listened to my dilemma, told me what to do, immediately sent me the correct form to complete, and when I’d returned it to him, he then immediately sent it to the person – “Delegate” – in Canberra who could make a decision – quickly. (Would you believe the surname of the person who did finally sign off on the authority was someone by the name of “Seaman” … I kid you not)

And what WAS my dilemma … well, as some would know … Australian Borderforce list Westernport as a “First Port of Entry” and once you tell them you are coming, they arrange to meet you there.   Australian Quarantine, (ie Department of Agriculture Water` and the Environment) on the other hand do not. 

You instead have to arrive into the ports of Melbourne, Geelong, or Portland.  Arriving anywhere else – such as Westernport – and you require special permission.  Getting that “special permission” is not as straightforward as some might have you believe, particularly when you don’t have web-search capacity and those who are supposed to be helping you don’t seem to understand your position.

Just like the airport, I thought Borderforce and Quarantine – plus Immigration, as well – came as a “package”.  You proceed from one to the next, checking passports, identity, eligibility to enter the country, plus whether you’re carrying undeclared salami, lizards, cheese, illicit drugs, or a food-hamper from grandma … I think we’ve all seen the TV show.

So, after considerable anxiety, plus more emails, to more people than I’d care to remember – AND less than a day to spare – I finally received confirmation late today of “Permission to arrive at a Non-First Point of Entry – Westernport”, effective between 2-4 August 2021.

To say there was a collective sigh of relief on board, (not to mention CHEER) when the news was received, would be an understatement.  Having rounded Wilson’s Prom and already set our course for home, we were bracing for the possibility that if approval was not granted, then we’d be required to sail on to the Port of Melbourne – another day away.

Right now, we are closing on Westernport, whose entrance is guarded by Phillip Island’s “The Nobbies” (and Seal Rocks) on the eastern side and Flinders to the west.  We plan to arrive at the harbour entrance at approximately 3:00am tomorrow morning (in just 2-3 hours’ time) , when the incoming tide (or “flood”) really gets running.  It’s a well-marked shipping channel, and of course we have the chart plotter,  but special care is needed – in fact all along this coast – because of boats and ships of all types.  And whilst we are close to our finish line, we won’t cross it until we are safely tied up at the end of “A Row” at the Westernport Marina (I might have said D Row earlier, but I really meant “A”)

Tonight’s blog is later than I’d hoped.  I started typing a few hours ago, got a couple of paragraphs in, then couldn’t fight back sleep any longer.  I put my head down and stayed that way for over an hour.

Just prior to that, I received a phone call … “who could that be?” I thought??    “Linda Latimer” … oh, yes, my wife … Linda … “Hello darling” … I said … and so did she.  That’s a good sign.  Forty years of marriage has taught me that?!     Anyway, we chatted away … organising and planning this and that … while in the background I was also confirming the occasional matter about the boat with Matt, by use of hand signals and a few spoken words. 

Then, all of a sudden, the idling engine that was chugging away in the background, went very quiet.  “Did someone turn off the engine?” I asked, holding my head away from the phone.  “No”, I heard from inside. 

It was at that point I felt it might be time to wind up the conversation … and NOT by saying, “… darling, the engine has just cut out, I don’t know why, we are just a few hours from docking, and  I’ve got to race … seeya … darling”   

The phone safely turned off, we all looked at each other, wondering the same thing … “why, all of a sudden, did the engine stop?”  Knowing that, whilst we can sail the boat to the Westernport channel, even sail up the channel and most way to the marina … an operational engine will be really handy when we come to making our way the final part of the windy Hastings channel and then to actually dock.

Pretty soon we had the floor panels up to expose our beloved, blue Perkins … looking and poking this and that … all the while seeking inspiration.  “It has to be the fuel”  … “yep, has to be the fuel” … “air in the lines somehow” …

I’ve seen others bleed the fuel lines, even thinking each time, “this’d be a useful thing to remember if ever the engine stopped all of a sudden and I needed to bleed the lines…”  Mmmmmm

Channelling my darling wife, I said … “I’ll dig out the manual” … and what would you know, there was a whole section devoted to … “To remove air from the fuel system” … meanwhile Harm was looking for a “hand priming lever”, his arm and torch reaching deep down into the bilge. 

To cut a long story short … after releasing four separate nuts, turning the engine over a few times by means of the key and then closing up each nut – in the correct order – good ol Perky sprung back into life and hasn’t missed a beat since.    

Earlier in the day … after making our way past the oil platforms south of Corner Inlet, and heading as far south as we dared, another tack had us aiming back to the coast and in time able to lay a course directly for Wilson’s Prom.  This was about 2:00am this morning and from then on it was a solid, smooth ride, like we were stuck on rails.  So much so that I even managed to get about 6 hours sleep in the end

With a small amount of time to kill, we made a slight diversion into and then out of the aptly named Refuge Cove – primarily to show Harm, who after years of sailing and hearing about Refuge, still hadn’t had the opportunity to visit the place all yachties rave about.  And if anyone asks, no, Sam and Harm didn’t jump off the stern for a  quick swim – and a drag behind Chimere on a long rope – as we did a circle in and out of the place.  The main thing is that no one went ashore, or touched land … your Honour…

The weather was brilliantly sunny and as we glided along, I said out loud “where are all the dolphins?? We haven’t seen any dolphins”

A few minutes later, what should we see but three very large Bottlenose Dolphins, playing and darting at the bow.  They didn’t stay long but soon after, another group turned up, which included a very cute little baby dolphin, moving faster than the rest to keep up.

Lunch consisted of the remains of the enormous Shepherd’s Pie that Harm made last night.  At the time, the boat was rocking about and Harm declared … “would anyone eat a Shepherd’s Pie if I made one?”    Now, what sort of question is that?? Certainly, at the time, it seemed a courageous gesture, if not practical, given we were likely to lose all meat and other goods to Quarantine the next day – so we might as well cook it up.  It was around that time I fell asleep last night, at least the first time, waking to Harm’s delicious creation – which definitely hit the spot.

As we get close to the finale of this wee adventure … a four-month trip that’s taken more than 18 month, it’s been great to experience everyone’s encouragement, prayers and interest.  I’ll keep the blog going for the next few days as things come to a natural conclusion – after all, I’m also keen to see how things transpire with Borderforce and Quarantine tomorrow morning (actually, this morning around 8:00am as it turns out) – again, it’s not quite like arriving by plane from another country, if you can remember back to when that was a common day thing, but in many ways it’s the same.        

I’m looking forward to uploading photos for each day of the voyage – and even developing my multi-media skills enough to compile a series of short videos covering each of the 10-or-more stages of this trip, dating back to January 2020

Again, thank you to friends and supporters – and most especially to my crew, Harm, Matt and Sam.  In some ways we are the most unlikely of companions, but in other ways not.  Our range of differing skills and experiences have contributed greatly to the success of the voyage – and who would have thought you could put 4 blokes in a space barely half the size of an average lounge room, for 15 days, and for them to still be talking to each other at the end.  It would no doubt make for an interesting TV series?!   Along the lines of Survivor or Big Brother …     

Smooth seas, fair breeze and last piece of the puzzle falls into place

Rob Latimer