The Rip at Port Phillip Heads

The Rip is the gateway to Port Phillip and Melbourne, and it's a Designated Hazardous Area under Victorian rules. The Heads are nearly 2 miles apart, but reefs leave only about 0.6 mile of navigable water, the whole of Port Phillip's tide pours through it, and ships use it day and night. Get the timing and weather right and it's straightforward. Get them wrong, especially with a south-westerly blowing, and it's dangerous.

At a glance

Crossing the Rip

Why it's rough. NGA says Rip Bank, a rocky flat with 8.8 to 18 m, runs across the entrance just outside the Heads, and on its inner side Entrance Deep drops to 47 to 94 m. That step in depth plus the tidal stream makes the race called the Rip. During or straight after a south-west gale it breaks so heavily that it's dangerous to small vessels. At springs the outgoing stream runs 7 to 8 kn and throws up a high, short, confused sea, and in south or west gales the sea breaks right across the entrance.

Timing. The Bureau of Meteorology explains that the stream at the Heads doesn't turn at high and low water. It runs strongest around high and low water in the entrance, and slack water comes about 3 hours before and 3 hours after high water, when the levels inside and outside the bay are equal. The ingoing stream runs from about 3 hours before to about 3 hours after high water, and the outgoing stream the rest of the time. Plan your crossing round slack water, and don't go in against the ebb (NGA).

Wind and pressure. West to south-west winds raise the sea level outside the bay, making the ingoing stream stronger and longer. When the wind drops, the outgoing stream runs harder and longer until the levels even out. Barometric pressure has an effect too (BoM). So the published slack times are a guide, not a promise.

Set across the channel. BoM says the ingoing stream sets at about 038° straight through the fairway, with strong drifts across the reefs towards Shortland Bluff. The outgoing stream sets out at about 200°, partly across the channel, then south-east along the coast towards Cape Schanck. NGA warns that boats using Clarkes Channel on the flood get an onshore set.

Night and the ebb. NGA says a vessel shouldn't try to enter the Heads at night without a pilot, or against the outgoing stream. Parks Victoria's advice to recreational boaters is to get quality advice before attempting the Heads at all.

Dangers at the Heads

• Corsair Rock. 2.4 m, about 0.3 mile west of the Nepean Rock beacon. It has an eddy on the flood and a short breaking sea on the ebb, with tide spume streaming about 1 mile SE (NGA).
• Nepean Reef. Dries, and runs about 0.2 mile WNW of Point Nepean, with a beacon near its outer end.
• Point Lonsdale Reef and Lonsdale Rock. The reef dries in places, about 0.3 mile SE of the point. Lonsdale Rock (6.1 m) is about 0.6 mile SE, often shown by kelp on the surface.
• Victory Shoal. 3 m, in the middle of the bight between Point Lonsdale and Shortland Bluff.
• Point Nepean. Landing is prohibited at Point Nepean, inside the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park (Parks Victoria).

Ships, VTS and signals

• VTS. NGA says Lonsdale VTS, at the Point Lonsdale signal station, works on VHF 12, as do Melbourne VTS and the Port Phillip Sea Pilots. Listen on 12 while you're in the entrance so you know what the ships are doing, and keep out of their way.
• Signal station. NGA lists day signals at Point Lonsdale: a black cone point up for the flood, a black ball for the ebb, a black cylinder for slack water, and a cone point up between two balls for port closed.
• Lights. At night ships make for the white sector of the Point Lonsdale light, then pick up the Shortland Bluff range lights for the Great Ship Channel (NGA).
• Hovercraft may not enter the Heads (Parks Victoria).

The rules

Port Phillip Heads is a Designated Hazardous Area: all the water between a line from Shortland Bluff to Point Nepean and a 3 nm arc centred on Point Lonsdale. Boating there on a vessel up to 12 m counts as a time of heightened risk under the Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook, with tighter lifejacket rules. Read the handbook before you go.

Victorian rules in brief

• Heightened risk. On vessels up to 12 m underway, the Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook counts these among the times of heightened risk: crossing an ocean bar, boating in a Designated Hazardous Area (Port Phillip Heads is one), boating from an hour after sunset to an hour before sunrise, in restricted visibility, or where a gale, storm force or severe weather warning is current. Lifejacket rules are tighter then; check the handbook's tables for your boat.
• Warnings. The Bureau of Meteorology issues strong wind (26 to 33 kn), gale (34 to 47 kn) and storm force (48 kn and over) warnings. Safe Transport Victoria strongly advises small craft not to go out when one is current.
• Radio. Marine Radio Victoria monitors VHF 16 (67 alternative) 24/7 out to 20 nm, gives forecasts twice daily, and broadcasts current warnings on VHF 67 at 48 minutes past every even hour (the first at 00:47), eastern standard time (handbook).

Ashore

This page is about the entrance itself. For places to eat and shop nearby, see the Queenscliff and Sorrento pages.

About this page

These are free planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, the current notices to mariners from the Victorian port managers, official tide tables and local advice. Spotted something out of date? Please use Report a correction below.

Official links

Check these before you go. They beat anything on this page.

• Bureau of Meteorology: about the Port Phillip Heads tidal streams
• Ports Victoria notices to mariners (Melbourne, Geelong, Hastings)
• Parks Victoria notices to mariners (Port Phillip & Western Port)
• Parks Victoria Port Phillip Recreational Boating Guide, 7th ed. (PDF)
• Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook (Safe Transport Victoria, PDF)
• Bureau of Meteorology: coastal waters forecasts
• Bureau of Meteorology: warnings (incl. marine wind warnings)
• Bureau of Meteorology: tide predictions
• Marine Search and Rescue unit locations (vic.gov.au)

Sources & credits

Need a delivery skipper for this coast? Get a quote from Capt. Garry Hartshorne, AMSA Master <45.