From John Kelly’s statue of the ‘cow up a tree’ on the Esplanade at Docklands [Is it really a Friesian cow?] to the catamaran that promises a short, safe voyage to Portarlington, the latest adventure for members promised excitement and, once again, great companionship.Leaving port and cruising down the river past Williamstown on our starboard side and a small colony of fur seals sunning on a yellow marker buoy off the port bow, we passed the former site of the Gellibrand Light and headed across the bay towards our lunch destination. Offshore from Altona and with the You Yangs rising to the south, Kim recalled her climbing the mountains with a group of friends some decades ago while the Bellarine Peninsula loomed closer to the south.
Docking at Portarlington, some members walked the shore to the end of the camping grounds while others strolled up the hill from the port for a coffee or to hit the shops for an hour or so before we met for a drink and a very pleasant extended lunch at the historic bluestone Grand Hotel which overlooks the town from its centre.
Comfortably replete, increasingly engaged in the interests of a number of new members and without a single need to rush, we meandered back down to the wharf and, once again, shared the comfort of the voyage back to Docklands in anticipation of another outing - to historic Beleura on the equally historical Mornington Peninsula.
