Marine autopilots the Gippsland Lakes and Bass Strait

On the lakes the water is often only two to five metres deep, so even a 15 knot breeze raises a short chop that a small pilot handles poorly if the gain is set low. The upside is that there is almost no tide inside, apart from the flow near the entrance, so a simple heading mode is all most lake sailing asks for.

The entrance is the pinch point. Tidal flow through the cut runs hard, the sea outside can stand up on the ebb, and the fishing fleet times its movements carefully for good reason. Get the current advice from the local volunteer marine rescue service, watch the entrance before you commit, and cross by hand with the crew braced and the engine warm.

Bass Strait itself is shallow, often 50 to 70 metres, which is why a strong westerly produces a sea out of proportion to its fetch. Autopilots work hard out here: continuous correction in a quartering sea, high power draw, and long hours without a break. Add the offshore oil and gas platforms with their safety zones, the strong sets around the islands, and gear failures a long way from help.

There are Australian Sailing affiliated clubs and active cruising groups at Paynesville and Metung, and they are the fastest route to local knowledge about the bar and the Strait. Formal courses and installers are mostly a Melbourne drive away, so plan commissioning around a trip to the city or a visit arranged well in advance.

Before a crossing, do the hard training rather than the comfortable kind: steering by hand in a seaway, changing a drive belt at sea, and sailing the boat with the pilot switched off. Indicative costs: half-day handover $300 to $600, private on-water tuition $90 to $150 an hour, RYA Day Skipper practical over five days $1,800 to $2,600. Confirm with the provider.