Western Port is the tidal counterpart to Port Phillip: a shallow bay with a range of up to 3 m, extensive mud flats that dry for miles, deep channels that carry streams of 2 to 4 knots, and two islands, French and Phillip, that create a loop of tidal water. Hastings, Yaringa and Warneet on the northern shore have the marinas; Cowes on Phillip Island has the moorings and the summer crowds; the western entrance past the Nobbies takes the full Bass Strait swell. The bay is the natural next step for a Port Phillip sailor: the same weather, twice the tide, and channels that must be navigated on the chart rather than by eye. It is also the departure point for Wilsons Promontory and Bass Strait.
The waters
The North Arm: Hastings, Yaringa and Warneet
Marinas in dredged channels through the flats; the naval base at HMAS Cerberus; the industrial jetties at Long Island Point. Everything is tide-dependent.
Cowes and the Phillip Island shore
Moorings off Cowes, the ferry to Stony Point, and Rhyll’s shallow inlet. Sheltered in southerlies; exposed to the north.
The Western Entrance
Between Point Nepean’s eastern coast and the Nobbies at the western tip of Phillip Island: deep, wide, swell-exposed, with the ebb running hard against a south-westerly sea.
The Eastern Entrance and San Remo
A narrow, shallow, fast-running passage under the San Remo bridge; local knowledge and slack water.
French Island and the channels
The tidal loop around French Island with drying banks and marked channels; pilotage by chart, compass and depth.
Training here
Courses based at Hastings and Yaringa use the bay for tidal pilotage, anchoring with a big range, channel navigation and the western entrance for open-water conditions. Passages run to Port Phillip via Cape Schanck and east to the Prom.
What an exam here looks like
Passages for the logbook
| Passage | Miles | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hastings to Queenscliff | 65 | Out the western entrance, round Cape Schanck and through The Rip; qualifying passage. |
| Hastings to Refuge Cove | 75 | East along the exposed Gippsland coast to Wilsons Promontory; qualifying passage. |
| Western Port to Flinders Island | 160 | A Bass Strait crossing. |
Conditions
| Tides | Semi-diurnal, range up to 3 m at the head of the bay. Streams of 2 to 4 knots in the channels and entrances; huge areas dry at low water. |
|---|---|
| Weather | As for Port Phillip: sea breezes, fronts and sudden south-westerly changes. The western entrance and the coast to Cape Schanck are exposed to the full Southern Ocean swell. |
| Facilities and rescue | Marinas at Hastings, Yaringa and Warneet; moorings at Cowes and Rhyll; Volunteer Marine Rescue at Hastings and Phillip Island. |
Boat licence
Questions about Western Port and Phillip Island
Is Western Port suitable for beginners?
Yes, with instruction: the sheltered northern reaches are calm and the tidal complexity is exactly what beginners should learn early. Solo sailing here without tidal understanding is not advisable.