| Jubilation,
Food & Wine!
Sat 21 Jan. 0440 hrs. We quietly motor away from
a hushed and sleeping Apollo Bay aboard the yacht
“Jubilation”. The sea like a lake, the
air breathless and the shrouds gently tapping like
ice in a summer drink, we set sail for the combined
Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, the Melbourne
Festival of Sail, and the welcoming celebrations for
the ocean warriors completing the second Leg from
South Africa to Melbourne in the Volvo Round The World
Ocean Yacht Race. We are also destined to play our
part in the massive fleet of yachts to race from Melbourne
to Geelong in the traditional annual Australia Day
passage race on Thursday 26th January.
On board are skipper Peter Deppeler, navigator Chris
Holliday, able crewman Barry Birrell and rope wrangler
and scribe Neil Melville.
The log records “Jubilation” entering
Port Phillip Heads at 1400 hrs with a furled headsail
and a full main. At 1430 hrs the crew observes a massive
sail approaching the heads from the south. Radio reports
soon confirm this to be the famous seventy foot dare
devil racing machine ABN AMRO ONE. She is following
us into Port Phillip Bay!
We sail the shorter Western Channel, ABN AMRO ONE
being compelled to sail the longer and windless Southern
Channel. We may catch another glimpse of her as the
channels converge further to the north. At 1600 hrs
conditions allow us to hoist our black spinnaker and
manage a very exuberant 8 knots. But it seems ABN
AMRO ONE has left us in her wake.
At 1900 hrs we approach Brighton Yacht Club, lower
sails and secure “Jubilation” in her temporary
home. At approximately 1930 hrs the huge mainsail
of AMRO ONE looms into view on her way to Docklands
and the finish of her epic leg across the Southern
Ocean from Cape Town.
Attended by a flotilla of official craft and a scrum
of throbbing media helicopters the parade passes by
leaving us to toast our skipper’s humble unsung
heroism. He may have led the final charge across Port
Phillip Bay invisible to world attention, but not
to his faithful crew!
At approximately 2130 hrs a taxi delivers us to the
seething Docklands crowd and the excitedly anticipated
Melbourne Food & Wine and Sail Melbourne Festival.
From restaurant to restaurant we search in vain. Every
kitchen has closed. Tired, hungry, thirsty and hot
we endure a further gruelling forty minute wait for
a taxi to save us from this disappointing extravaganza.
2350 hrs. Across town, Fitzroy Street St Kilda presents
its usual bustling summer scene and Topolino’s
makes up for everything the Food & Wine Festival
could not deliver: food and wine.
0400 hrs. 24 hours after our departure from Apollo
Bay we return to “Jubilation” well dined
and substantially wined.
Sun 22 January 0730 Hrs. Our dehydrated bodies wake
to an angry sun. This is to be a 40° bushfire
day. Neil & Barry are to return by bus to Apollo
Bay; Chris remains unconscious until early afternoon,
while Peter arranges transportation to his land base.
We have a three day wait before race day.
0940 Hrs. Spencer Street. A mid-construction war
zone. 120 people in the baking heat, no train and
only one bus. A second bus has ripped its sump off
entering the new bus terminal and stands stranded
in a pool of engine oil reeking in the boiling heat.
Men in yellow reflector vests mutter frantically into
mobile phones. Irate passengers complain of medical
conditions and the price we have to pay for the Commonwealth
Games. Complimentary boxes of chilled water are greedily
consumed and a game of bocce is played with stones
and broken cement.
Eventually buses are found and the crowd dispatched.
Having waited patiently, Barry & I are rewarded
with a private, brand new deluxe coach and a very
friendly driver named Murray. Murray relies on Barry’s
very good directions.
Along the spectacular Great Ocean Road we travel
in our elevated, air-conditioned comfort watching
the blue haze from Victoria’s bushfires swirl
over the Otway Ranges as bullets of wind whip the
surface of the calm, still, cool green sea below.
1430 Hrs we arrive in Apollo Bay. The thermometer
reads 44°.
Thursday 26 January 0700. Race Day. The race crew
assemble: Skipper: Peter Deppeler. Crew: Ashley Cooke,
Madeline Deppeler, Chris Holliday, 14 yr old Tom (Chris’
enthusiastic nephew), and Melville.
With a fresh northerly reaching 30 knots we make
our way across the Bay to Williamstown for the 0935
race start. We merge into a swarm of yachts of all
sizes and conditions with the famous maxis gob smacking
us with their rigs and speed. The former “Nokia”
bears down on us cutting a path through the fleet
as she quickly disappears through the haze of smoke
and heat.
With over 400 odd boats in the event it is an extraordinary
sight.
A neck & neck duel emerges with Sandringham Boat
“Good Question”. “Jubilation”
takes the final victory after both yachts correct
a failed rounding of a starboard mark entering Corio
Bay.
Some fine spinnaker work was observed with the brace
inadvertently being threaded through Melville’s
crutch strap before a swift recovery by acting bowman
Holliday and excellent helm work by a focused Madeleine
Deppeler. A potentially very embarrassing hoist is
avoided.
On the final leg yachts are tested by fierce bullets
of oven hot winds as bushfire smoke billows above
the western shore. This can truly be called Australia
Day!
By 1400 hrs The Festival of sail has reached Geelong
in a splendid spectacle where over two and a half
thousand sailors and spectators join in a frenzy of
thirst, rum, music and celebration.
Moored and refreshed by a spontaneous leap into the
water we are ferried ashore by club inflatables. The
only hiccup, apart from those of inebriated sailors,
is the fact that water taxis cease operation before
the party ends. Chris and Neil manage a friendly ride
home from an exhausted official at approximately 0100
hrs, Capt Deppeler remains ashore until daylight,
while the rest of the crew wisely choose an early
retirement in the safe bosom of home and family.
Friday 27 Jan. A sluggish morning of absolutions,
ablutions and weather checks before a reduced crew
of three (Deppeler, Holliday & Melville) depart
Geelong at approx 1300 hrs. Results of the passage
race remain unknown but it seems confusion reigns
at race headquarters and the letters DNC appear after
“Jubilation”? Confident after all our
efforts that this could not possibly mean “did
not complete”, our skipper will dutifully pursue
the highest authority on the matter!
Through a fleet of racing yachts including Hugo Boss
and Skandia we make our way back up the channel with
radio reports of severe thunderstorms. A wall of grey
to the west and 10 knots of southerly have us hauling
towards the entrance to the Western Channel. Thunder,
lightning and rain overtake before we settle in to
Queenscliff to await the midnight tide.
1930 hrs. The Queenscliff Cruising Yacht Club, of
which Chris is a member, offers the perfect shelter.
We spend a few hours on the club verandah in delightful
company as Peter serves generous bowls of tomato and
olive spaghetti with a bottle of red he has especially
chosen from the captain’s cellar. The atmosphere
is peaceful and serene.
2100 we snatch a few hours sleep to rise in the still
quiet at 0130 hrs to make a slack water exit through
the notorious ‘Rip’.
Sat 28 Jan 0200. Done with military precision and
in ideal conditions we motor sail past the Lonsdale
Light at 0234 hrs under a perfectly clear and starry
sky with the Southern Cross above us to port and the
stars of Orion above us to starboard. Two miles out
to sea we turn to the right and head south-west for
Apollo Bay leaving the penultimate night of a slither
of moon 45deg above our transom. Perfection followed
by perfection.
Dawn sees a spectacular orange disc rise from the
ocean shortly after 0630 hrs promising light and warmth.
Over breakfast the stars fade, the planets present
their brief soliloquy and the sun soon dominates the
stage. 0800 hrs Clouds streak the lower sky and wind
gently fills our willing sails. Now making a comfortable
6 knots under sail we head for Cape Patton before
our final leg to Apollo Bay. Under present conditions
and with the ability to return to motor sail if required
we estimate our time of arrival will allow us to participate
in the Apollo Bay Sailing Club’s afternoon race.
Past the Split Point Lighthouse the mighty Otway
Ranges rise from the ocean like a sleeping monster
with the little towns of Lorne, Wye and Kennet Rivers
neatly tucked into its mighty folds. We keep a safe
distance of 4 miles from the shore waiting for the
tip of Cape Patton to emerge from the distant fog
before adjusting our heading to 260deg to make the
final assault on Apollo Bay.
As we leave the steep cliffs of Cape Patton behind
we begin to identify the homes and buildings of people
we know. The familiar, friendly face of Apollo Bay
settles off our starboard beam.
As we approach our destination we see bright orange
racing buoys bobbing in the open sea before our attention
is drawn to a small cluster of masts and flapping
sails beyond the harbour wall. Our focus and intent
swiftly switch to racing mode. With sails taught and
pressure on we are soon amongst the little fleet we
know so well, all racing toward the windward mark.
By 1700 hrs we are back in our pen, sails packed
and all ship shape. Greasy from sunscreen, unshowered
and jubilant we make our way to the sailing club for
a cold beer. We are home among friends. And to cap
it all “Jubilation” has won the afternoon’s
race!
2400 hrs. A superb dinner of succulent duck with
Swan Bay wine masterfully prepared by chef Paul Ivelja
at The Bend Café before I take to my own comfortable
bed to enjoy the best nights sleep I have had in a
long time.
Ahhh Jubilation, Food & Wine!
Neil Melville 2006
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