Port Lincoln’s harbour offers a multitude of great rows. There are three main lobes to the harbour; Boston Bay, Porter Bay and Proper Bay. The city’s central business district, wharf and bulk handling facilities overlook Boston Bay. The latter facilities provide a prominant land mark as the loading wharf (Brennans Wharf) thrusts some 800 meters seaward from the silo blocks which have  a combined capacity just shy of 400,000 tons!

Rowing  from the Lincoln Cove Marina, which is situated in the head of Porter Bay, to Boston Bay is a row that I’ve done often and it’s about  2.5 nautical miles from the marina to the end of the bulk handling wharf. I’ve mentioned in past blogs the wisdom of planning a row to ensure that the homeward leg is the easiest – well the following tale is of a row done in defiance of such insight!

South Easterlies are common summer fare in Port lincoln’s weather menu and sometimes super-sized versions can hang  around  making life uncomfortable for the various fisheries and building choppy sea conditions around the city’s shores. This was one such day – wind was south easterly at 18 to 25 knots and, with a fetch of six or so miles from Spalding Cove, the seas were significant for rowing and surely a good day to put the new all fibreglass Whitehall through its paces!

The first stretch from the marina to Kirton Point was side on to the sea and wind – not comfortable but manageable and slightly easier to work up to windward somewhat, thus taking the conditions more head on.  Off of the Marine Science Centre (where the coast runs nor-west into Boston Bay) I made rendezvous with a mate who had launched his Whitehall at Billy Light’s Point and from here we squared directly away to run down wind and waves to the Bulk Wharf. What a ride! The new GRP Whitehall was unleashed (shes fifteen kilos lighter than my timber skiff) and it was exhilarating to give a few good hard pulls and  surf on the faces of the bigger waves. The Brennans Wharf was abeam in sharp time.  Rob surfed on to the Stenross boat ramp where he was being met by his wife with car and trailer. As much as I would have enjoyed an extra mile of slalom, I was well aware or the slog I had to endure to return to my own car and trailer so I turned at the end of the wharf and headed back into wind and waves! And slog it was – the two and a half mile return took about an hour and all of my energy – the first three hundred meters or so were particularly tough as a grain ship was lying at the wharf presenting her significant bulk at right angles to the conditions and setting up an extremely uncomfortable reflected wave. The reflected waves combined with the driven waves to form a maddening scape of standing waves which, while not noticeable running with the wind, were certainly challenging to traverse while battling the head winds. At times the skiff launched off of the steeper pinnacles and plunged into the troughs leaving my derriere aloft rather like Wiley E Coyote going over the cliff! Once clear of this scape of standing waves the going was a little easier but there was certainly no chance to rest the stroke in these conditions. On reaching the Marine Science Centre and bearing away to starboard into Porter Bay the going became a little easier and on reaching the lee formed by the Billy Light’s Point projection it was possible to ease up on the stroke rate and wind down! This was the toughest row I had done and the new fibreglass skiff performed wonderfully. It was gratifying to know that such conditions were quite manageable and it also reinforced my, now hackneyed, comments about choosing an easy row home!