From the sea, looking back at the coastline, it looked remarkably like its namesake. With the tide racing past the rocky headland, you could have been forgiven for thinking we were off the coast of Portland in Dorset. We were, however, 10,000 miles away off the coast of Portland in Victoria on the south-east coast of Australia. The only giveaway at this point was the swell which, although mild on the day, was pretty huge by UK standards and a reminder that there was nothing between us and Antarctica but a few thousand miles of stormy Southern Ocean.
I had a day spare on a brief 10-day visit to Victoria and had been put in touch with local, Hugh Johnstone, whose brother runs Portland Bait & Tackle in the town. Hugh had kindly offered to take me out for the day
