Friday, 17th December 2021
After a successful Cruise to Docklands in early November, there was a desire to fit in at least one more cruise before Christmas. Fortunately, we were able to arrange berthing at QCYC for the weekend of 10 to 12 December.
Even with relatively short notice of the event, many full social calendars and Xmas shopping making everyone busy at this time of year, we had 10 boats able to join for the weekend.
Friday saw a very fresh 20 knots from the South and 1- 2 meter waves when eight of the group took to the water at 10:00am to arrive at Queenscliff mid-afternoon. For the sailors it was time to test the ‘foulies’ with a combination of some long tacks and some motor sailing through the West Channel. However, one of the sailing yachts decided to just use the Iron Jenny and took the Rhum line bashing through the waves. The Motor Yachts took different routes, two using the South Channel and one using Coles Channel. With all the chop and wind they were able to put some hours on the windshield wipers. Fortunately, it was warm and sunny on arrival, and we all quickly forgot about the tough wave and wind conditions.
Saturday saw a shift in the wind to the East with the last two of the group arriving in what was reported as Champagne sailing conditions. Everyone got together at QCYC at 5:00pm for a social activity. Two boats were berthed at Queenscliff Marina, and they came over on a tender to share nibbles and have dinner as a group. The BBQ’s were going, the wood fired pizza oven was hot and the new QCYC kitchen facilities were gleaming as dinner was prepared, and then consumed along with some liquid to wash it all down. We practically had the place to ourselves for the entire weekend and it felt a bit like SYC South.
Seven of the group left on Sunday at mid-day to take advantage of the tide and had fantastic sailing conditions back to SYC. Three of the boats decided to stay on until Tuesday; to enjoy some fantastic weather and to see a bit of Queenscliff. They departed QCYC at 9:00am making their way back to SYC with fair skies and light winds by about 1:00pm. Progress was mostly under motor, except for the last hour when the wind picked up out of the south as forecasted at 10 – 12 knots. One last chance to set the jib and enjoy the last hour of the trip on a quiet broad reach.
Check the calendar for details on a couple of our upcoming activities with a busy Cruising in Company summer planned.
- 8 Jan – Summer Raft Up – click here for more information or to register
- 4/5 Feb – “Not Australia Day” Weekend Cruise to Geelong – click here for more information or to register
