New Year on the Yarra
John and Heather Barbieri and Mark and I took off on Silver Cloud bound for Yarra’s Edge Marina at 10.30am on New Year’s Eve with a forecast of strong northerly winds. The forecast did not lie – if anything it was a bit light on!
It was blowing a good 20 – 25 knots when we left Mordi and in wanting to make the ride as comfortable as possible (seeing we were cruising and not racing), we elected to go with a reefed mainsail only. We made it across the bay with just a small tack to clear Rickett’s Point and tacked towards Point Gellibrand from about 2 km off the shore at Altona. The wind by this time had reached 30-35 knots with gusts around 40. As we turned down the Yarra with the wind straight on the nose and the motor flat chat we only managed to make about 3 knots. It made for very slow going. Funnily enough, we encountered very little traffic both on the river and out on the bay.
We were met at the designated mooring at the Yarra’s Edge Marina by marina staff in an area sheltered from the severe wind for which we were grateful. It had taken us about 5 hrs to get from mooring to mooring and lunch followed by a cool shower was in order before John and Heather’s guests arrived.
With glasses full and visitors clad in the Cloud’s meagre supply of wet weather gear we watched a fantastic display of fireworks to cheer in the New Year.
The mood in the morning was fabulous. Everyone was full of good cheer and the very busy waterside restaurants were doing a roaring trade for breakfast. We thought it only fitting to join them before heading back home. Our trip home was much cooler and took a short 2 ½ hrs in company with several other yachts and motor boats.
Thanks to John and Heather for allowing us to join their party. We could not get a booking ourselves and with the weather forecast as it was it was decided to go together on the Cloud. It was a great way to get to know our newer club members a lot better. John’s regular crew - brother Mario as we now know, along with his wife Lorraine were among John’s guests and we felt like family too by the end of the night.
For future reference, Yarra’s Edge Marina was a great place to stay. I believe it is normally $35 a night and you are met at your designated mooring by staff to assist your arrival. When you check in you receive a pack including towels, bath mat, soap, shampoo, 2 wine glasses and information on the attractions of the area etc. along with a key to the marina and shower block. The office is well attended and the staff very obliging. Should you need somewhere to stay I could highly recommend it. It's a short walk away from Crown Casino and then Etihad Stadium and Docklands are a 10 min walk across the river.
So the question is - When and where is the next cruise? A long weekend would probably be best.
Any takers for Labour Day weekend in March?
