Gold Coast to Melbourne: Eden to Lakes Entrance

Pleasure Cruising Club Inc

We left Eden at 6:30am and headed straight to down the coast with a fresh Northly wind with a 2.5 metre swell on our tail.  Our jouney followed the coast and it was amazing to watch the sun rise against the cliffs. There were plenty of dolphins playing in our wake which was quite a site.

It was going to be a long hall as we had to beat the cold front comming through to get into lakes entrance to the Gippsland lakes. Our calculations are based on having 1/3 of a tank left for each section of the journey. The auto pilot worked like a treat, you can program a wavepoint where to go and the Riv will track saving fuel and fatique of the driver!

Our departure was 6:30am and our arrival time was just 4:00pm. Just beat the cold front comming through. Getting into Lakes Entrance is tricky and should only be tempted on a good day.

There is diesel fuel available but initially hard to find. Stop over is $30 per night.  The Lakes is a great playground for boaties! Plenty of facilities.

The weather was closing in and 8 metre swells were forecasted so we left the Riviera at the Lakes and rented the car back to Melbourne.

Next Leg is from Lakes Entrance to Port Phillip Bay the Final Day.

Gabor Island In The Distance

Gary the Boatie with Thermals On!

Lakes Entrance Ahead

Safely Through Lakes Entrance

Refuel At Lakes Entrance

 

Riviera M400 Gets Prepared For Ocean Voyage

Gary Freeman
Club President

Charles
Service Manager
Sea Tech Marine Coomera

Service by Sea Tech Marine at Coomera

The Riviera M400 acquired for the Pleasure Cruisng Club Inc members  is being prepared for  sea voyage from South Port Yacht Club Gold Coast to Melbourne. The vessel has gone through a major service by the authorised volvo dealer Sea Tech. The journey will take up to eight days with stop overs evey night. Fuel Stops have been planned on the way. A GPS Auto Plotter for the Raymarine GPS has been installed to help reduce navigation errors. The plan is to fly up to the Gold Cast Sunday the 12th at night and stay on board the vessel and depart early Monday morning. A crew of  four will cruise down the coast.

Skipper School

At the Pleasure Cruising Club we take training very seriously. To drive our sports cruisers you must attend a one on one training course with one of our Coxwain instructors. We cover topics such as :

• Parking the boat safely at the Marina
• Navigation Skills
• Rope Skills
• High Speed Boating

• Weather Foecasting

The introctory course is 5 hours on the water instruction.

Never Launch a Boat Like This

At The Pleasure Cruising Club we take training very seriously. We know of many stories that new boaties take their boat out for the 1st time and run aground or run out of fuel or have berthing accidents causing tens of thousands of dollars of damage. Before you can take one of our boats on a maiden voyage you must attend our boat school courses. On the water there is no RACV to provide waterside assistance to boat owners. We however provide fleet support and provide a number you can call if you have any questions while out on the Bay.


Quick Quiz: What is the correct fuelling procedure?

The Answer:

* Berth the Boat, have all your passengers leave the boat and stay well clear.

* Turn off all electronics

* Fuel the boat with the correct fuel in the correct cap. (Some caps are for water and its a common mistake to put water into the fuel tank)

* Fill up to the 1st click never overfill.

* Turn on the electronics

* Turn on the engine blower and remove the vapours from the engine bay for at least 4 minutes.

* Start your engines

*Invite your passengers back on board.

So attend our skipper school and join the club and enjoy safe boating.



Did you pass?



Out attached photo is an actual accident for a new boatie who had the wrong instructions to put the boat into the water!

A Nice Winter's Day on Port Phillip Bay

This morning it was a sunny day with no wind, a perfect day to go boating. I went on-line and booked a stand-by day on the http://www.pleasurecruising.com.au/ website, when its a great day you just have to be flexible and go boating. The great thing about a boat share arrangement you don't have to worry about cleaning, maintenance of the boats. You just step on and off and all is taken care of for you.

I contacted a few friends and descided to go  to Sandringham Yacht Club for drinks and lunch. On the way we had a special treat. Just off Sandringham there was a pod of dolphins swimming about. We stopped the engines and enjoyed watching the dolphins play. After the show we headed into Sandy and had a great afternoon.

There is a perception that boating is something to do in Summer, however having a boat like a Mustang Sports Cruiser allows you to go boating all year round. The canopies keep the heat in and the cold air out.

Check out the youtube video we took today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cneVU39PxHQ

Celebrating the New Year 2010

Today we celebrated the new year , 2010 and we did not have to take the Mustang Sports Cruiser anywhere, the fun was to be had at New Quay Marina at Docklands. We invited our friends to join us and organised a BBQ on the boat. It was great to share the evening with our special friends. We has the excitement of having a electrical thunderstorm arrive which brought relief from the heat come with wild winds, however Docklands provides safe anchorage for most conditions.

We partied on and enjoyed the spectacular fireworks at 9:30pm and again at midnight. The kids enjoyed themselves and all of us had a wonderful time.

http://www.pleasurecruising.com.au/