Port Phillip Heads 

Transiting Port Phillip Heads requires preparation and a well-prepared boat & crew with knowledge of:

• Life jackets are required to be worn by law in the Port Phillip Heads designated hazardous area. See Safe Transport Victoria definition below.
• The weather                                            )
• The sea state                                          ) Refer to QR Codes on ORCV Rip Tour Guide
• The tidal flow/streams, Slack Water   ) 
• Knowledge and experience transiting of the Rip
• Shipping movements: Refer to QR Code on ORCV Rip Tour Guide and Radio Call to Lonsdale VTS on VHF 12 prior to entry or exit
• How to keep clear of shipping 
• Navigation aids and their Light Characteristics (See below)
• A route on an electronic navigational tool, preferably on the boat laptop, plotter, tablet or a phone (see examples below)
• It is recommended that you use the same Exclusion Zone that the ORCV uses in its races (see below), as it will assist you to keep clear of commercial shipping

Although entering Port Phillip can be a harrowing experience at times, the entrance is one of the best signposted if one understands and studies the leads and transits. Good navigational practice, including preparing and using compass bearings, counting the interval of lights will avoid many pitfalls. From yachts and small vessels with much more motion than ships, the marks and leads may not be so evident until much closer. During ebb tide, rough water and breaking seas may extend outwards for some three to four miles to the South and Southeast. If a vessel enters this area in bad weather, it may not be safe to turn around: at best it would be a frightening experience. Therefore, vessels should approach the heads in such a manner as to be three to four miles offshore until certain of tidal conditions and commercial shipping movements, or approach from the Southwest.

The following are some common mistakes:

1. Failure to understand that High and Low water at the heads is close to the time of maximum tidal flow and is not Slack Water.  Slack water at the Heads occurs briefly during the transition between opposing flood and ebb tides, when tidal currents are minimal.  Local radio stations and publications seem to only give High and Low Water at the Heads.  The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) Tital Streams at The Rip website page http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/tides/#!/vic-the-rip provides the most accurate times for Slack Water (and Maximum Flow times).  The ORCV Rip Tour Guide includes a QR Code for the BoM Tidal Streams at The Rip website page.  If only Tide Tables that provide High and Low Water are available, Slack Water at the Heads is about (+ or - 30 minutes or so) the time time of High and Low water at Williamstown and about (+ or - 30 minutes or so) 3 hours before and after High Water at Point Lonsdale.
2. Approaching from the South or Southeast towards Lonsdale light during ebb tide without keeping some three miles offshore until west of the leads, those being caught in the disturbed sea area which extends further South than on charts. Make for a position to Southwest of the Heads and three to four miles offshore. Use a clearance bearing from the Lonsdale light.
3. The leads are not visible when approaching from the Southeast until much further West than one expects. Prepare your approach plan and observe a clearance bearing of Lonsdale light in order to raise the leads correctly.
4. On exceptionally clear nights the tide indicator lights on Lonsdale light (red or green) can be confused as leads (white over red or green), especially from the Southeast. If the advice in 3 is followed, and if the time characteristics of the lead lights are observed, this confusion will be avoided.
5. In very heavy weather, four fingers west of Fortwest directional beacon is not as good as entrance through the main shipping channel during flood tide. Seas behave as a shelving shore.
6. In Southeasterly weather, common in Summer, the ebb tide flows against the sea towards Cape Schanck and can be very uncomfortable unless further offshore.
7. Failure to examine the range of high to low water as an indicator of tidal current flow strength.
8. Finally, use a “learning experience” approach. Stick with the Slack Water exit or Flood Tide entrance until good conditions allow safer experimentation with other channels.

Acknowledgement: ORCV wishes to acknowledge Robin Hewitt OAM as the founding developer and instructor of the ORCV Rip Tour and material made available by Richard Hawkins, author of Creeks and Harbours of Port Phillip and recommends this publication to those requiring more information about Port Phillip.

Safe Transport Victoria

Port Phillip Heads means all the waters between an imaginary line drawn between Shortland Bluff and Point Nepean, and the seaward limits of an imaginary line consisting the arc of a circle with a radius of 3 nautical miles centred on Point Lonsdale. It is a designated hazardous area and comes within the definition of heightened risk. Lifejackets must be worn on all vessels under 12 metres in length.

Image courtesy of Safe Transport Victoria

For more details:

Know the Law before you leave Shore https://safetransport.vic.gov.au/on-the-water/wear-a-lifejacket/

Safety Alert: New definition of Port Phillip Heads effective 23 December 2015 https://safetransport.vic.gov.au/news/safety-alert-new-definition-of-port-phillip-heads/

Light Characteristics

A full description of light characteristics is available here.

ORCV Exclusion Zone 

C-MAP Electronic Chart

C-MAP electronic charts are available for use with navigation software, chart plotters and the C-MAP App (iOS and Android).

The triangular-shaped red area is the ORCV Exclusion Zone and the red shaded line to the west keeps you out of the shallow area which have been overlayed on the C-MAP chart in Expedition Navigation software using the Race Notes feature in Expedition.

Australian Electronic Navigational Chart (AusENC)

AusENC is a local, official vector Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) produced by the Australian Hydrographic Office and are replacements for the Australian Paper Nautical Charts (PNC) they once produced.

The triangular-shaped red area is the ORCV Exclusion Zone and the red shaded line to the west keeps you out of the shallow area which have been overlayed on the C-MAP chart in Expedition Navigation software using the Race Notes feature in Expedition.

Electronic Navigation Tools

Clearing Bearing

This image gives a magnetic clearing line if your instruments fail while exiting the Heads.

Routes 

Exit Port Philip Bay via the West Channel

Download this file to use on your Navigation App or Chart Plotter:

HeadsExit-via-WestChannel (1).gpx

Disclaimer and Risk Warning

This file is intended as a guide only and is NOT to be used for navigation unless you have personally satisfied yourself as to its validity and that it is right for you and your vessel. The route, once confirmed by you, can be reversed for the return passage. The southern channel route does cross the South Channel – which is the main shipping route for Port Phillip, and the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs) must be observed. 

Shipping advice can be obtained for the South Channel and Heads movements from Lonsdale VTS by calling on VHF Channel 12.

Exit Port Phliip Bay via the South Channel

Download this file to use on your app or chart Plotter:

HeadsExit-via-SouthChannel.gpx

Disclaimer and Risk Warning

This file is intended as a guide only and is NOT to be used for navigation unless you have personally satisfied yourself as to its validity and that it is right for you and your vessel. The route, once confirmed by you, can be reversed for the return passage. The southern channel route does cross the South Channel – which is the main shipping route for Port Phillip, and the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs) must be observed. 

Shipping advice can be obtained for the South Channel and Heads movements from Lonsdale VTS by calling on VHF Channel 12.

Instructions on How to Import GPX Files with the Navionics Boating App: