Port Phillip Bay Heads - Navigating The Rip Port Phillip Bay

[@Cammo-vp1gl]

I’ve been navigating the RIP for many decades. One suggestion if you happen to find yourself outside when the conditions become foul is to wait for an inbound ship or pilot cutter and tuck in behind and follow in. They have a great way of flattening out the rough stuff. Also, outgoing tide with southerly winds will give you very sharp, tall standing surf, it’s not fun. If wind and tide are in the same direction she’s usually pretty safe to navigate, when they oppose she can be nasty. The RIP gets her name from tidal flows ripping through at over 8 knots. There are holes about 100 meters deep and in very short distance they shallow to around 15 meters so you get some crazy water movement. To put some perspective, Port Philip Bay is about 755 square miles, the heads are 1.6 miles across, think of the volume of water passing through such a narrow gap, it’s like emptying you bath down the plug hole. Oh, it takes 7 years for PPB to fully flush.

[@GG-rj4oj]

Thanks for taking the time to make a informative video. I requested a vid on crossing the rip and you delivered. Very much appreciated.

[@findingjoe]

Cheers. Probably doing a few more videos like this while we can't fish.

[@fumynamewascool7610]

There's so many videos out there on this kind of stuff for navigating different waters around the world, but barely anything for PPB. Finally something that relates to me! We're getting our first yacht soon, learning sailing, and plan to head out up the coast when we get more confident! This is very helpful!

[@findingjoe]

Oh cheers mate. When I did this video I reached out to a few yacht clubs in the area and they sent me the info I featured in the video. Another good source is Luke from RedBoats.com.au

[@stevegeorgiou5401]

Thanks a lot my friend .You may a life saver of some careless people out there .I saw them and I know them.Thanks again.Steve.

[@findingjoe]

Glad to help

[@MustafaMuhammed1981]

We fish the RIP. And we stayed there when it went off slack tide. 100% never EVER EVER EVER turn your motor off. Because when your fishing, and having fun, all of a sudden a 1 meter wave, develops into a 3 meter freak wave, and lucky for us our motor was left on even though we were on drift, and as we were all "shocked and pale" seeing this wave about to swamp us, we managed to quickly jump on accelerate and the wave just manage to go beneath us, and we speeded out of it. 1 or 2 seconds late, that wave was inside our boat. So Rule number 1: Alwayse and alwayse have someone driving the boat in the RIP, take turns if you have to so everyone else gets a shot to fish. Never turn your motor off leave in idle on drift, in case you need to quickly accelerate, lucky for us we lear'nt it the hard way, so I'm sharing the message with use, so you never make that mistake. Also I do not recommend going out there if you have a boat under 5 meters. #TightLines

[@findingjoe]

You were fishing on an Eb tide, as the tide starts to go out and the swell comes in it starts to get a little nasty outside the heads. What can happen is the tide and swell cause a void which makes the wave a lot bigger than it appears. If you stay inside the heads you're fine but yes keep the engine running and always be careful.

[@mcintyreaerialphotography9982]

Great video my daughter and I will be at point Lonsdale on the 13th Feb for the Memorial of the 1960 Rip disaster.Thanks 👍

[@findingjoe]

Ah right. Might look into that myself and come down.

[@frankjin8224]

Thanks so much show me such a thing. I got nearly no experience. However, I bought a second hand boat today. Lots of things to learn and homework. Thanks again.

[@findingjoe]

Plenty to learn, we're all still learning.

[@z3ak999]

I'm not going to bother reading through ALL the comments to check if its been touched on, but, for those that don't want to get stuck in the SHIT, do not cross the PORT PHILLIP RIP on an outgoing tide, the tidal passage is very narrow and very deep and its not just trickling out, its pouring out like an open tap, outgoing tide will push up against the incoming ocean swells, factoring in wind direction can make this worse, this combination causes an absolute mess of waves and increase swell size and direction dramatically, basically becoming an enormous top end loading washing machine, but on an massive scale. Flood tide or slack tide are the best options, unless you've got a dominant vessel and a good skipper.

[@folktronic]

Great work - thanks for posting this. I was thinking it would have also been cool to see what the actual beacons look like from the boat when you are lining them up on the way out/in. And also to see when you guys go all the way out and on the way back in.

[@findingjoe]

I was going g to film the beacons with the drone and have them line up in the shot but that didn't happen. They're actually hard to see from the boat. During slack tide on a calm day you can go in any part of the rip you don't really need the beacons.

[@ilyasilyas9704]

Best video explaining the rip on KZbin. 👌

[@findingjoe]

Thanks Buddy.

[@robbiewales3007]

I've been fishing just inside the heads (the Rip) and the waves were picking up, when I looked outside the Rip, Bass Straight was producing fairly big waves even though the weather was nice, there must have been a storm in Tasmania

[@glenn5977]

Thanks for a great video - doing a trip soon through the Rip sailing boat

[@findingjoe]

I've seen quite a few sailing boats go out through the Rip in way worse weather than I would temp.

[@nunziogiudice6403]

Very informative however would have liked a explanation for the return trip how, when and what to do if I need to return outside of these times ;Emergency

[@findingjoe]

Exactly the same for your return, just in reverse. If you go out at slack tide at 10am then come back at 4pm. Once you've done it for yourself a few times you can come back in outside of slack tide on a calm day, on a flood tide which is in coming tide. Much easier, you just follow the swell in.

[@maipenraionyourthai1943]

Great video. Probably the most comprehensive video of crossing The Rip I've seen. Well done! New sub here!

[@findingjoe]

Thanks for that Jess. Was thinking about doing one where we go through it from the boat.

[@AVportau]

yep get your boat in the water and approach at the very last of an out going tide and go through at slackwater. or return in on the very last of an incoming tide and slackwater. you'll be in Bass Strait for near 6hrs so you will need a capable craft. not a 'bay' craft, something safer coz if you run into bad weather and need to return outside of slackwater, say mid-tide, then you're gonna have a lot less mess in your pants. i've been through this when it's a 3ft+ wall of water with eddys and whirlpools. was aboard an ex-coastguard vessel with a pro fisherman at the helm. looking into the water from the deck of the boat was unbelievable. the rip is a deadly washing machine and warrants respect... Bass Strait too.

[@findingjoe]

Exactly what you said. We've been out there a few times mid tide and it has been a bit hairy. The last time we came back in was mid tide, crosses the heads into 2m chop, once we made it across to the Lonsdale side it wasn't as bad and made it through safely.

[@AVportau]

@@findingjoe yep mid tide can be nasty depending on direction. going with the tide you can jump the tidal wall and power away but going against it is only for the more experienced with a decent boat. i've also been through the rip under sail and that was at near slackwater. crazy just hearing water slapping and no motor. worst experience was that damned bay chop. from werribee/avalon into limeburners at geelong. had to endure going across a big swell all the way to the ramp. i don't like it when the nose nearly gets stoved or rear swamped on virtually every wave, but you cant back off either. it's hairy in the ocean but in the bay those troughs are so close together. the feeling of relief at the ramp was memorable.... i love the area but weather can be so unpredictable even with forecasts.

[@graemecouch5010]

Thank You ! True Always wear a Lifejacket !

[@mattquinn8022]

Excellent video, thanks mate

[@findingjoe]

Cheers.

[@micknoname6466]

Nice work Muffin Man ✌️ Even though I’m in a different state, there’s still tips to be had 🤓

[@findingjoe]

That's it. No fishing at the moment, so may as well do something.

[@adelekempton8289]

Your wife stayed at my house i while ago love your Chanel

[@findingjoe]

Thanks Adele, yeah she loved it up there.

[@adelekempton8289]

Finding Joe it is bryce Adele’s son

[@findingjoe]

@@adelekempton8289 Hey Bryce thanks for watching.

[@adelekempton8289]

Finding Joe thanks for making vids hopefully we could go fishing together some time

[@darrendwyer9981]

Yes definitely a thought provoking video so "THANK". I am still a bit puzzled as to why LOW tide is important. I have gone through the rip maybe 20 times so still very inexperienced. I was more focused on the position of the tide at the rip be it high or low. Am I doing something wrong? Again..thanks

[@cbmhuntinfishin9593]

Very good video. Thanks

[@findingjoe]

Glad you liked it!

[@rickheaney474]

Excellent video.

[@findingjoe]

Thanks

[@gregdunken4254]

Was thinking to my self you guys must know what your doing because the captain seems to cruise out and in the rip with ease every time. Great informative vid and I agree with other comment I don't understand why you guys don't have more sub. Ps where the he'll is Joe

[@findingjoe]

Thanks, a lot good fishing shows out there. We'll keep doing what we're doing and see what happens.

[@micknoname6466]

Yeah, there ARE a lot of fishing / adventure channels out there but shit, you guy still deserve to have followers in the tens of thousands AT LEAST!

[@nidzdotnet76]

You used to be able to drive to the point but now you gotta bus or walk from the carpark in PNNP to the lookout..

[@findingjoe]

Yeah I ended up getting the bus back.

[@modernwarfaretrickshotsand6800]

He we went out there 2 days ago hooked onto a barrel / 100kg Tuna for abt 6hrs and 30mins

[@findingjoe]

Have to send me some photo's.

[@modernwarfaretrickshotsand6800]

Finding Joe we got vids and the rod broke and lost it I think I forgot to d Say that I’ll send vids photo of rod but yea very sad we saw the lures leader and the fish was to heavy for the rod to handle to pop and we lost it it was on a purple skurt and it took us abt took us 15km and hooked near cape Schack we won’t ever be fishing with 40 pond rods ever just pen 50s but yeah very fun and exiting only if we hooked on a penn 50

[@StevenXu211]

Sounds very excited! Were there many birds doing diving?

[@modernwarfaretrickshotsand6800]

DivePRO surprisingly no

[@Pallogaming96pro]

That was really helpful! Thanks

[@findingjoe]

Glad to help.

[@geoffcohen613]

Imagine building a port to a major world city, that has a big demand for shipping freight, in a bay which is very shallow and where only one ship at a time can pass through, and requires special navigation pilots to help even the biggest ships navigate the difficult waters. Why would you ever build a port in such a location....?

[@adriankortus4986]

Well said. good info.

[@findingjoe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@leemccullough558]

Thank you my friend from tassie has been through here many times and taken boats through this way..the rip and i cannot imagine how it would be we have a similar one in n.s.w called the same name in a place called booker bay on the centralcoast n.s.w. but im told yours is much more treachearousgood video well done regards lee 😊😊😊😊😊

[@findingjoe]

Cheers buddy, I believe it's the most dangerous stretch of water in the southern hemisphere. Can be absolutely like glass on a calm day and deadly the next.

[@leemccullough558]

Thank you for your reply is it any good to fish or has any one tried it on the right day i wonder if you could drift it engine running of course just a thought regards lee 😊😊😊😊😆

[@findingjoe]

@@leemccullough558 Yeah mate, heaps of boats fish it during slack tide and or slow running tide. During summer it is quite a popular spot for Kingfish it's also a popular dive site for scuba divers.

[@leemccullough558]

@@findingjoei wonder then if the divers could get some underwater footage of structure etc and what its like under there as there seems to be a trend towards this u tube presentation e.g noosa under water tweed under water are 2ive seen i think it would be a first if no one else has done it if the divers are already there anyway how long is it between change of tide and another how does it compare to the devils gates in tassie i am told it was the ocean entrance to mcquarie harbour correct me if im wrong regards lee 😊😊😊😊

[@findingjoe]

@@leemccullough558 I Actually filmed a documentary style video of divers in the rip last Thursday. Got plenty of underwater footage. Pretty cool.

[@WeLoveWave]

I recommend using Willy Weather. Much better visual charts.

[@woofna1948]

Very cool and informative video. If you don't mind my asking, what program did you use to label the lighthouses?

[@findingjoe]

If you use FCPX as your editor I used a callout plugin for that program.

[@stevepincus8158]

HI Muffin man what is the minimum boat and engine size you would recommend should attempt the rip even in good conditions?

[@findingjoe]

It's not about the size of the boat, all though a bigger boat is very advantageous. You should never go through on your own or if you have no experience. The Rip is extremely dangerous and change in an instant. In good conditions and during slack tide you can get out in most boats. You would also need to come back in during slack tide as well so you would need to know the tide times. Make sure you respect the water and stay safe. If you have anymore questions you can hit us up on insta.

[@stevepincus8158]

@@findingjoe thanks for the very rapid reply. i would only try with an experienced person on board at slack. but interested if you would even consider it at all in 5,2m boat with a 115 hp motor

[@findingjoe]

@@stevepincus8158 I've seen people out there in tinnies so yeah you should be ok out there on a calm day. As always male sure your boat is reliable and stay safe. Never try it on your own.

[@chippyjohn1]

In 91 a pilot boat was flipped and crew died due to 30 metre waves, so make sure your boat is a good 100 metres long and 10,000KW for all conditions.

[@strata114]

Trajectory for going out thru the RIP in diagram is at ..... 6:50 ......

[@petebiro3597]

my limited experience suggests outgoing tides are mostly rougher, whereas incoming tide can often be just fine, even when its really moving. but, if it is wind against tide i can image it gets rough as! thoughts or experiences on incoming?

[@findingjoe]

Outgoing tide with an incoming swell is pretty bad. Incoming tide with swell is definitely a lot better however can still be very dangerous depending on weather. We've been outside the heads coming in and missed slack tide and getting back in was pretty scary on the east side. We had to cross over the front of the rip to the west side where we were able to get back in following the safe routes in the video. I would only suggest going out on slack tide on a calm day.

[@richiehoyt8487]

I live clear on the other side of the world (Ireland) and I don't have a boat... what am I doing here?!! Interesting, though...

[@davidford8122]

Great informative video, 👍👍what's your view on going boating/ fishing atm?

[@findingjoe]

I think all the boat ramps are closed now anyway.

[@mchaves7663]

Joe, thanks for the video. I played a bit with Navionics and the software doesnt have this info. Have you tried to share this knowledge with the Navionics team by chance? Any route I create through the rip, the app takes shipping channel as the safest route.

[@findingjoe]

You can quite honestly navigate any part of the rip safely during slack tide and low swell. If you stick to the shipping channel you'll be fine just give right away to any ships in the channel.

[@mcintyreaerialphotography9982]

Hey Joe Just found out that the memorial is on the 21st not the 14th sorry I got the weekend .

[@findingjoe]

Cheers thanks

[@littlegreedy3038]

That was grouse but I still am not game enough.

[@findingjoe]

If we could fish I'd say get out there now, as it's the perfect weather to try at the moment.

[@skoll_2024]

First video and have to say thanks mate. (Don’t even one a boat yet). Was wondering what you do throttle wise? (Complete novice but have been in a boat escaping now wave before. The captain would play with the throttle depending on where the wave was. Is there any need for this kinda action through the rip or is it just a steady pace etc? Really interesting ;)

[@findingjoe]

The Rip at the right time is pretty safe and rather calm to navigate. Pretty much just a steady pace all the way through.

[@JimmyLLL]

How much fishing time do you get if only navigating through on a slack tide?

[@findingjoe]

Slack tide is around an hour. On a reasonable day you can fish all day you just have to move back with the tide.

[@henrysammut9104]

You mentioned a reef or shallow water in the RIP. Where is it located? Port Nepean side or Port Lonsdale side? Is it shallow enough to be a hazard? PS. Like the other comments, keep up the good work and hopefully the subscribers will come.

[@findingjoe]

There is reef on both sides of the heads, if you stick to the right hand side of the shipping channel you will be fine. Your GPS on your boat will show you the reefs and shipping channel clearly marked.

[@ChrisHallam08]

Sorry but there is a detail regarding high and low tide times being different to slack water times that wasn't clarified in this video and this misunderstanding could cost someone their life. SLACK WATER IS APROX HALFWAY BETWEEN HIGH AND LOW TIDE TIMES AT PORT PHILLIP HEADS. So if HIGH TIDE at the rip is 4 am, SLACK WATER will be aprox 7am. As a rule of thumb high tide at Williamstown is slack water at the rip.

[@findingjoe]

I don't mention High and Low tide times because they're not the safe times to navigate the Rip. I also don't recommend traveling through the heads outside of slack water.

[@mchaves7663]

@@findingjoe Do you recommend any point near the rip to wait for the moment to run and cross it?

[@ChrisHallam08]

​@@findingjoe Ok joe, you want to be defensive? Here is the reality. Its important for those who are unfamiliar with the rip to understand that hi and low tide time is not slack water time. If you are going to promote a video about navigating the rip people assume you are an authority on the subject and trust your advise. The rip being what it is this can be a life and death situation. You omitted an essential detail regarding navigating the rip. I suggest you make a note of this in you video notes or re edit your video before someone goes there at high tide to find wind against tide instead of slack water, and gets a nasty surprise as I suspect you did in your video when you arrived finding it was not slack water! How about it Joe ? Looks like to me you didn't even know this detail yourself. Just another internet expert who couldn't give a shit? ..... or someone who takes responsibility for the info they provide making sure people won't be put in danger? Which one are you Joe? Have you ever pulled a dead fisherman out of the sea?

[@excpta2273]

@@ChrisHallam08 oh please, he did a good job. I only just got my first boat and understood what he was talking about completely and I'm a complete noob. Make your own video regarding it Chris and address the issues yourself dont beat down a bloke for trying his best to educate people like me. I like the video and I hope he makes more like it.

[@mikhailkoslovskiy7860]

@@ChrisHallam08 You need to relax a little bud. Not everyone has trouble understanding things like you

[@alexghw]

You saying the seas below 1m is good, what bout the swell? 2-3m is OK?

[@findingjoe]

I would recommend around 10 knots, seas below 1m and swell around 1m till you have experience and always at slack tide no other time. I went out on wednesday the 24th feb and the seas were 1m wind 10 to 15 knots and swell was 2 to 3m. Going out was fine but coming in was extremely turbulent as it wasn't slack tide.

[@graemecouch5010]

Did you have your life jacket on ?

[@ewansalvage6550]

How do they do it in sail boats

[@findingjoe]

Exactly the same way. Most of the information in this video was provided to me by a sail club. I think the pilot boats take a very similar route as well.

[@dragginmedown]

In the other hand if your not sure don’t go

[@findingjoe]

Agreed, can be quite a dangerous place.

[@jamesdonohue114]

this wrong you don't want to go out in the middle of the rip because the deep lets the wave maintain speed and stay large you want to go just on the west side of the fishermans channel as the current does run there as hard so no pressure waves but be cautious of swell closer inshore that can break on the reef and beach and you head out around the reef and your out of the rip into open ocean of bass straight

[@findingjoe]

Exactly. Although that's only for experienced people that need to go out in rougher weather. My advice is to go out only when it's safe.

[@andrewwian4921]

DAH You Rip Do Ya???