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"The Rip" is a dangerous streach of water in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)

File:Map Victoria Aboriginal tribes .jpgVictoria is a States and territories of Australia located in the southeastern corner of Australia. It is the smallest mainland state in area but the most Population density and urbanised....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 connecting Port Phillip
Port Phillip

Port Phillip is a large Headlands and bays in southern Victoria , Australia. Geographically, Port Phillip is a large marine bay 1,930 km? in area which has a coastline length of 264 km ....
 and Bass Strait
Bass Strait

Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland specifically the state of Victoria ....
. Due to large tidal flows through the relatively narrow channel from the bay to the ocean, and a high rocky seabed, The Rip has claimed many ships and lives. Geographically, it is roughly the triangular area of water between the land points of Point Nepean, Shortlands Bluff
Queenscliff, Victoria

Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula at the entrance to Port Phillip in southern Victoria, Australia and is bounded on its north side by the environmentally important Swan Bay ....
 and Point Lonsdale
Point Lonsdale, Victoria

Point Lonsdale is a coastal township on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Queenscliff, Victoria, Victoria, Australia, Australia, and included in the Borough of Queenscliffe....
, known as the heads. It is the only entrance for shipping into Port Phillip and hence into Melbourne
Melbourne

Melbourne is the more common name for the geographic region and Census in Australia of the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area. It is the second List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million and serves as the List of Australian capital cities of Victoria ....
.

rip is generally considered to be located in the triangular area of water between the land points of Point Nepean, Shortlands Bluff
Queenscliff, Victoria

Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula at the entrance to Port Phillip in southern Victoria, Australia and is bounded on its north side by the environmentally important Swan Bay ....
 and Point Lonsdale
Point Lonsdale, Victoria

Point Lonsdale is a coastal township on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Queenscliff, Victoria, Victoria, Australia, Australia, and included in the Borough of Queenscliffe....
.






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"The Rip" is a dangerous streach of water in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)

File:Map Victoria Aboriginal tribes .jpgVictoria is a States and territories of Australia located in the southeastern corner of Australia. It is the smallest mainland state in area but the most Population density and urbanised....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 connecting Port Phillip
Port Phillip

Port Phillip is a large Headlands and bays in southern Victoria , Australia. Geographically, Port Phillip is a large marine bay 1,930 km? in area which has a coastline length of 264 km ....
 and Bass Strait
Bass Strait

Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland specifically the state of Victoria ....
. Due to large tidal flows through the relatively narrow channel from the bay to the ocean, and a high rocky seabed, The Rip has claimed many ships and lives. Geographically, it is roughly the triangular area of water between the land points of Point Nepean, Shortlands Bluff
Queenscliff, Victoria

Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula at the entrance to Port Phillip in southern Victoria, Australia and is bounded on its north side by the environmentally important Swan Bay ....
 and Point Lonsdale
Point Lonsdale, Victoria

Point Lonsdale is a coastal township on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Queenscliff, Victoria, Victoria, Australia, Australia, and included in the Borough of Queenscliffe....
, known as the heads. It is the only entrance for shipping into Port Phillip and hence into Melbourne
Melbourne

Melbourne is the more common name for the geographic region and Census in Australia of the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area. It is the second List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million and serves as the List of Australian capital cities of Victoria ....
.

Geography

The rip is generally considered to be located in the triangular area of water between the land points of Point Nepean, Shortlands Bluff
Queenscliff, Victoria

Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula at the entrance to Port Phillip in southern Victoria, Australia and is bounded on its north side by the environmentally important Swan Bay ....
 and Point Lonsdale
Point Lonsdale, Victoria

Point Lonsdale is a coastal township on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Queenscliff, Victoria, Victoria, Australia, Australia, and included in the Borough of Queenscliffe....
. 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. Large ships may only enter Port Phillip with a qualified pilot
Maritime pilot

A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. Legally the master remains in command of the ship....
 aboard to help them navigate through the heads. The heads are very narrow, having a width of approximately two kilometres. When entering, large ships have to follow a precise S-shaped course through the heads.

Before the availability of Global Positioning System
Global Positioning System

The Global Positioning System is a global navigation satellite system developed by the United States Department of Defense and managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing....
, many sailors used the two historical lighthouse
Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens or, in older times, from a fire and used as an aid to navigation and to Maritime pilot at sea....
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

  • at Port of Melbourne