WHAT IS THIS:
Sailing Adventures ON PORT PHILIP BAY AND BEYOND. ABOARD A 40 FT Yacht.
We take crews of four PEOPLE on sailing adventures with a twist. You will enjoy the full ‘live aboard’ experience, learn some sailing fundamentals and enjoy the life aquatic whilst leaving THE SEA in better shape than we found it. ALWAYS.
This 4D project puts the ‘eco’ back in ecotourism with a strong focus on ocean ecology. We make sure that we LEARN FROM and give back more than we take from the sea. This may involve reclaiming plastics from the water or the SHORE, conducting audits of micro-plastics or other ecological research works. It’s not all work, but we think its an important part.
ABOUT THE BOAT:
SV Bolero IS A Beneteau Oceanis 393, a 40FOOT ocean going passage maker featuring many of the ergonomic and aesthetic elements of the proven BENETEAU YACHT stable and importantly A SAFE, comfortable (even luxury) design class. SHE IS a survey vessel (AMSA) meaninG she meets all the highest safety REQUIREMENTS for the PURPOSES OF THESE ADVENTURES.
HOW IT WORKs:
SeACOLOGY
We cater to a select participation group. This is not an extended booze cruise. The bookings are for a group of four people for two nights with all provisioning and accomodation included in the fee. You need to be fit and able bodied, and close friends comfortable with sharing small spaces. Nature chooses the itinerary. Mainly it will involve opportunities to visit boat access only beaches, paddling, swimming & snorkelling, eating well and a few refreshing beverages if the urge arrises.
CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
Here is an outline of itinerary durations, pick-up from Portarlington Ferry Terminal, all provisions and accomodation provided except linen (well, sleeping bags actually) and your crew. Arriving midday from Docklands on Day 1 and departing mid afternoon on Day 3. Any booking can be coupled with one provisioning option so schmooze the sustenance options and decide as a group.
WOKEBOAT ADVENTURER
This is for the crew who have a passion for adventure and conservation. Is that you? We will set aside 3hrs across the trip for field work amongst sailing and exploring. This is the mainstay of the operation, and the whole crew will bask in the warm glow of knowing that you made a positive impact. Includes all the ‘4D sailing’ package yet at a discount, ‘cos you care!
4D SAILING ADVENTURER
This is an introduction to sailing principles, passage making, and boat life in general without the field work yet plenty of ecological background to where you are and what you are seeing. It’s an adventure by sail within the Port Phillip bay. Stopping in at coastal towns and introducing navigation, safety and planning.
VOYAGES & Expeditions
We’ve done a fair bit of field work our selves and in collaboration with researchers and adventurers. Supported expeditions include visiting the Bass Strait Islands, and Wilsons Prom. These are usually much longer voyages requiring extensive planning for which either of the previous two experiences are a pre-requisite.
Where we sail
Pick ups
Lately we’ve been connecting with our crew (that’s you) on the pier at Portarlington. The ferry from Docklands in the Melbourne CBD leaves mid morning most days. Then, depending on the prevailing weather we will head out from there.
The boat sleeps 4 crew, the master and the mate, in three double berth cabins and a saloon berth, therefore our trips cater for 4 participants at a time. Unfortunately its really an adult affair as we can’t assume the risk of having children active and aboard given the amount of moving parts on a passage.
WHAT HAPPENS WITH FIELD WORK OPERATIONS
Getting amongst it…
We’ll sail from the safety of any number of sheltered anchorages to the days ‘blind spot’ venue, anchoring then taking a tender (inflatable dingy) to shore and get to work. Ample consideration of the weather and tide dictate the venue for the day. Pace yourself, there’s no such thing a competitive plastics collection. Slow and steady wins the race. Obviously hazardous materials may be encountered (although rarely) and we have an established hazchem protocol for dealing with such an eventuality. At the end of the operation depending on the location, we will either ship the load or cache for later retrieval, auditing and then either disposal or recycle.
Program and Availability
In recent years demand has exceeded the availability, perhaps it has been suggested we should charge more, do more… but really we are in it for the plastics and happy to share the experience. Minimum group size is 4 people. You need to be able bodied sea-peoples, sorry but that’s the deal. Minimum age is 18yrs. We usually do Wednesday to Friday as the two night option. One trip a week from February until the end of April (the ‘reclamation season’).
Life on board is not all back breaking hard work…
By mid to late season the waters we work can be around 20˚ and ample opportunities to recreate exist. Kayaking, swimming and obviously the whole ‘learn to sail’ experience is a part of the package. For the brave you can follow the crew on a ‘sea gleaning’ exercise to collect and prepare a delicious sustainable organic meal, meeting local producers and or diving for your meal from the tender.
Master
Simon Murray
Simon started sailing as a foredeck hand on ocean racing boats, not for his sailing skills but as a climber (of ropes). Over the last 10 years he’s led several chartered and private expeditions on passages and research expeditions across 3600+ nautical miles on sailing vessels varying from 30ft to 60ft. Simon holds a prof. Coxswain's qualification and is the owner of yacht Bolero 40ft, 8 berths built 2002, equipped with all communications and safety gear and "in survey" as meeting Aust. Fed. Govt. standards.
In winter he heads up the Mountain Safety Collective. It’s a community led alpine safety platform for backcountry skiers and boarders. The rest of the time he’s busy designing stuff all under the umbrella of fieldnotes.work.
MATE
Anthony Palmer
Airbnb superhost in Melbourne, extensive sailing skills and experience including long distance offshore sailing Cape Town > Madagascar > Kenya, Melbourne to Hobart, racing weekly in Port Phillip Bay, multiple trans Bass Strait crossings, yacht owner.
ACTION IN NUMBERS
It’s not all humping and dumping plastics from the beach, we also deploy trawl sieves to audit ocean micro plastics for data for the Australian Marine Debris Initiative. This uses data collected across the nation to directly lobby the ‘particular’ manufacturers. This is the upstream change that needs to take place to quench the flow from origin.
