Melbourne to Port Fairy (M2PF)

So what do Barry White, Lou Rawls, Isaac Hayes

and the Moyne River entrance at Port Fairy

have in common?

They're all deep!

Now whilst the former three were born that way, the latter has just been dredged. You'll certainly want to follow the Port Fairy Yacht Club Pilot Boat on your way in however, as the hump in the entrance is tricky and the channel not very wide.

Conditions look set to be like this and the landscape never changes at Port Fairy.

Depending on their arrival time the deepest draught boats in the fleet may not even make it in at all and those that only just get through the entrance will be alongside the small National Park quay at the end of the boardwalk, just inside, where it is always that little bit deeper thankfully. The highest tides, which should provide something around 3metres, are at 12:37hrs on 10/4/09 and 13:22hrs on 11/4/09. Please stay in touch with the ORCV Race Control and follow your local guides!!!

I'm sure you'll say "idyllic" at least once during the trip...

All of which is a lovely segue into who will do well and why. It is a bit early to be talking definitive weather, but recent indications suggest it will be delightful and we may even see a kite start out of the heads and then down the coast. In the early morning this really is something to behold.

If it goes as predicted, it should be some light Northerlies and I would not mind betting that there'll be plenty of sail changes for the foredeck to master - and tell everyone how well they did it too! So that takes care of Adventure Island.

Back in Fantasy Land however, the Navi-guessers and Skippers will have to have the smoke and mirrors out as they look at tides, currents, seabreezes and land effects. And there's another segue - the right course... The last article talked about the Victoria's famous Surf Coast and dear old Moonlight Head. If you're unsure, perhaps another read of it now is in order, together with a copy to take onboard to go with the Smoking Jacket, pipe and slippers for those that drive the desk downstairs.

A star attraction of this voyage no matter whether land or sea...

So will inshore be favoured or is out to sea the go? Will it be dead around Cape Otway and will Fantasy Land remember that there is a completely different wind as you approach the finish line and that the angles can change dramatically and somewhat quickly too? Perhaps one of the three the local Port Fairy Yacht Club boats will nail it here... The Northshore 38 ‘Afrayed Knot', Adams/Radford12 ‘Tevake' and the Sydney 40 ‘Running Wild' are part of a bigger fleet than last year, which is great to see. 18 boats will set off this Friday morning at 01:00hrs.

The venerable Farr ‘Ninety Seven' may do well if it does end up in a blow on the nose. Her crew could well be fired up, ‘Ninety Seven' thought they must have had the IRC Division of the MOC for 2008/9 in the bag with just two races to go. This is probably why ‘Extasea' were a late entrant, when they worked out they were not far enough ahead to be a no show this time. At the top of the table these two are locked in a classic battle and that alone should provide plenty of further impetus to do well. I'm told the owner, Paul Buchholz, is even onboard this time to ensure he can be there when they take line honours. Is that putting the hex on them or what?!

Yep. Sure is a nice place.

‘Isuzu Marine' may get up for Line Honours in what is possibly their last two-handed foray before Hamish heads to Europe and see what adventures he can have on the Mediterranean IRC Circuit. These two won AMS in M2KI recently, but it wasn't enough to lift them up the standings. ‘Addiction', ‘Extasea', ‘Magazan53' and ‘Alien' all have a chance here to build a little more separation from their rivals.

If Jo and Bill on ‘Chikara Outlaw' choose the right route, then they could shake the PHS division up. Presently ‘Mirrabooka', ‘Addiction', ‘Magazan53' and ORCV Commodore George Shaw's ‘The Secretary' are in for the bragging rights in this class, so two good results in M2PF and M2AB will settle the bets.

Sea crew or land crew - Who'll have the better time? Who'll get there first?

All is yet to be revealed, but at this stage I would not mind betting that being off with fairies will be an awesome time, but it just may be the land crew may have the better run of it this year, given the weather outlook. Let's drop the top in the convertible and see how we go.

Enjoy it! Happy sailing (and driving) and watch this space for more updates.

Also. Remember to be there at the Presentation on Saturday at the PFYC Club House. Gill Australia have very kindly put up an Atlantic Offshore Jacket (valued at $800). In keeping with ORCV policy, this sensational prize will be drawn from of all competitors present at the time only. So if you have to turn around and go home because you cannot get in, drive back! It will be worth it.

It never matters who gets there first - as long as the cold cans are waiting!!!

Stick around for presentations - new wets on offer and as Foxy used to say - "Yahoo Baby!"

By John Curnow