- The Rip
"The Rip" is a dangerous streach of water in Victoria,
Australia connecting Port Phillip Bay andBass Strait . Due to large tidal differences between the bay and the ocean, and a high rocky seabed, The Rip has claimed many ships and the lives of people through its seafaring history. Geographically, it is roughly the triangular area of water between the land points ofPoint Nepean , Shortlands Bluff and Point Lonsdale. It is the main entrance for all shipping into Port Phillip and subsequently intoMelbourne .Geography
The rip is generally considered to be located in the triangular area of water between the land points of
Point Nepean , Shortlands Bluff and Point Lonsdale. The entrance between Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean is 3.5km wide but the reefs projecting from these points reduce the navigable width to about 1km. Within 800m outside the Heads, there is a shallow rocky flat known as the Rip Bank. The water deepens outside this flat to 30m and inside the Heads to as much as 90 m. This inequality of depth combined with tidal streams running up to 6 knots, causes the world-renowned dangerous conditions. The variation in seafloor depth within the rip itself can be anywhere from 50m to less than 5m amongst the rocky reefs and shoals.Navigation
Entering the heads of Port Phillip is a risky and dangerous procedure. Many sailors regard it as one of the most dangerous shipping paths in the world. Sometimes the water height difference between Port Phillip and Bass Strait can be as much as five metres, so it is common to see massive amount of water flow from one side to the other side. Large ships are banned from entering Port Phillip until they have a qualified 'pilot' onboard to help them navigate through the heads. The heads are very narrow, having a width of approximately two kilometres. When entering, large container ships have to follow a precise pre-determined path through the heads because the path is not a straight line but rather an S shape path.
Before the availability of
Global Positioning System , many sailors used the two historicallighthouse s on Queenscliff as a guide to get into the bay without hitting bedrock. A feature of the pair of lighthouses is that one is black and the other is white. The idea behind this is so that sailors, when using the lighthouses as a guide to get into the heads, can tell the two lighthouses apart and avoid confusion that could lead to disaster.External links
* [http://www.portofmelbourne.com/shipping/webcams/ptlon_cam.asp Web cam of "The Rip"] at Port of Melbourne
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