Hi
I planning on getting a 14' beach cat. It'll be my first boat
Where abouts can I launch it from in Melbourne.
I live on the east side of the bay
Hi Chris
Great move i am sure you will have a ball.
With no experience i would think getting involved with a local off the beach Yacht club would be a good way to start.
i am sure you could find a club only to happy to help you get on the water with some tuition and safeguards to make sure your experience is a positive one.
You may find they sail a class with active association that would suit you and by doing so preserve the value of any small boat you may purchase.
some clubs may also have club boats you could try before you buy type arrangements i dont think it really matters whether it is a monohull or a cat its all sailing and the principles are the same
Its a long time since i sailed off the beach cats and my connections to yacht clubs are all on the bellarine peninsula but hopefully this comment may be useful in some way.
I do shift work so my time is scattered, joining a club just doesnt seem to ever work very well.
The course will be like 5 sessions each weekend, but I can only attend 3, that kinda thing.
I also dont fancy paying fees just to find out where to launch only to find out later there is a better spot down the road that another club uses. All the time when I'll mostly be sailing by myself and during the week
I have briefly sailed 2 different boats before and know the bare basics
Usually not a good idea to sail by yourself during the week. You will possibly be the only person on the water and if/when it badly goes wrong there will be no one to see you let alone come to your aid. I found out the hard way but learned a very important lesson as I started to drift to New Zealand one Wednesday afternoon on an upturned cat. If you insist on sailing this way, carry flares, a signal mirror and maybe even a PLB. Port Phillip Bay is a very large hostile body of water to try and search. I used to be a SAR crewie for many years and like most people when the shyte hits the fan thought it would never happen to me.
I dont rally have much choice, when to sail. weekdays is extremely convenient for me
I am going to start off sailing on the inland lakes to get my skills back again
I have a PLB I use for hikiing which is suitable, I also have floatable waterproof handheld marine radio
Hi Chris , having experience sailing in Port Philip and Westernport. Positively would be better option start in
Westernport . Somers or Balnarring would by my option. East of the bay gets choppy in no time. Not much fun than.
I was going to suggest, "what about western port bay?" as I do live on the east side.
I plan to learn how to sail at lysterfield lake.
Could I launch from tooradin?
I finally found a good starting boat, a H14 turbo for reasonable price, Ill be collecting it this week
Good luck with your boat. Would be good if the owner show you launch and mast set up.
Launching from top of the W. Port, check for yourself first. The best option would be Blind Bight,
because Warneet and Tooradin can be a bit crowded .
Always make sure you far from low tide, 70% is dry and mud, also half way to French Island,
current is very strong.
Positively get a marine chart and learn navigation, if you master Westernport, you'll be master
anywhere else.
Owner showed my how to setup and derig everything.
I can navigate, When I chartered a 45' cat the plotter broke and I had to navigate manually with a chart for several days.
Got a question, keep in mind solo sailing: parking car, beach trolley, boat?
How do I stop the boat floating away while I put the beach trolley back into the car?
or How does the process work
Do I roll the cat into the water with the beach trolley?
