The entrance to Port Philip Bay is know as either “The Heads” or “The Rip”.
It is a narrow waterway that connects the Bay with the Bass Strait. The large tidal flow of water, into and then out of the bay create substantial water pressure through the narrow channel, and the shallow water over the rocky seabed are is quite dangerous for maritime vessels. The area has claimed numerous ships down through the years.
EE and I had planned to visit the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse on the western side of “The Rip”, at sunset to catch the last glimpses of the sun setting over the water.
Just as we arrived, a Pilot Boat, that takes out a Pilot to guide in large ships, was returning into the bay.
To say the windy weather was blustery would be an understatement, to say the run of the waves was treacherous would be fool hardy.
As I watched the Pilot Boat rise and fall through the waves, I was rather glad that the sea-faring gene had bypassed me. There are some jobs that need to be done, and traversing that boiling water was not one that I was cut out to do.
As I watched I gained a great respect for the danger these folk put themselves through every day.
A little later as the sun had set the large vessel they were shepherding came into view.
The following day we saw a Pilot Boat going out for another run. In the calm of the harbour and the lovely afternoon light, things seemed much more sedate.
Some quotes from a poem ‘Those Who Go Down to the Sea in Ships’ by James A. Tweedie, a poetic paraphrase of Psalm 107:23-30
Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER - --doesn't mean I'm LOST 