Sorrento Sunset 5:35 PM
Winter Insider · August 2026 Winter 2026
Every metadata-only ramp directory tells you the lane count and the postcode. This one tells you whether you can launch at low tide and whether you'll get a park on Saturday morning.
Tide guidance is editorial framing. Always check live conditions at Willyweather or the Bureau of Meteorology for the relevant reference station before driving with a boat on the trailer.
Port Phillip Bay
Public ramp at Mornington serving the central Peninsula bay shore. All-tide for standard trailer boats, free to launch, but parking is constrained and the precinct shares space with the pier and yacht club. Note the adjacent Schnapper Point Boat Ramp is closed for upgrade April to September 2026.
Four-lane concrete ramp at Rye, the highest-capacity public ramp on the Peninsula's bay side. Free, with jetties, fish-cleaning facilities, and approximately 127 trailer spaces. Tide-affected at low water (dredging history); plan launches around mid-to-high tide.
Three-lane concrete ramp on the mid-Peninsula bay shore at Safety Beach. Tide-dependent (high-tide access only), free to launch, ample trailer parking, and one of the better-provisioned family-side ramps with picnic facilities adjacent. Not suitable for low-tide arrivals.
Three-lane concrete ramp at Sorrento, the southern bay's all-tide launching point. Breakwater-sheltered approach, jetties either side, modern facilities, free to launch. Shortest transit on the bay side to the southern snapper grounds and the Heads.
Western Port
Four-lane all-tide concrete ramp at Hastings, the busiest and best-equipped public ramp in Western Port. Recently upgraded (2024) with new pontoons including an all-abilities Hansa hoist on the southern pontoon. Adjacent to Westernport Marina; the primary departure point for Western Port charter operations.
Two-lane concrete ramp with central pontoon at Warneet on Western Port's eastern shore. Tide-sensitive - launch on the upper half of the tidal cycle. Smaller and quieter than Hastings, primary access to the productive whiting and flathead grounds of the northern Western Port arm.
The Insider Note
One pick, one weather-proof backup, one thing to skip. Written on the Peninsula, sent when there is something worth knowing.
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