'Twas a stormy afternoon that our noble mariners completed the crossing from Lord Howe Island and passed beneath North Head.
All those island adventures behind them, and so many more ahead! Sydney Harbour; Port Jackson, Pinchgut Island and the Rocks; relics from the convict days. We followed in the footsteps of the great explorers, although what we found was very different to the scenes that had greeted them back in the 18th and 19th centuries.
We made landfall at the Middle Harbour Yacht Club, of which George and I had been members in past years, and who gratifyingly actually remembered us! They allowed us to tie up to the end jetty for a very reasonable price, and enjoy all the club's facilities.
The weather was not the best; storms rolled across Sydney ahead of a series of cold fronts. Fortunately, Sydney Harbour has many inlets and bays in which to shelter. The maritime service has laid courtesy moorings; first come, first served; to which you can tie up for 24 hours at a time. We found moorings all around the place, and except for Saturday nights, when everyone with a boat comes out to play, we found moorings almost every time we needed one (the location and number of moorings are shown in the black circles below).
We discovered that the moorings were regularly maintained, as well as being situated in some of the most beautiful parts of the harbour.
Sugarloaf bay was especially useful; very sheltered in even the strongest winds, and a great place to hole up for a couple of days while the rain poured down.
Although it did entail numerous trips back and forth through the Spit Bridge. Having waited in traffic so many times while the Spit Bridge opened and closed, it was gratifying to be the one for whom it opened!
Jess loved her fashionable life jacket and even took to sleeping in it. |
We all tried our hand at fishing, in the front yard of some of Sydney's most exclusive real estate.
When Jess caught her first fish, she didn't know whether to laugh or scream! |
We were hosted by Ron and Cecily at The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron (see Alchemy 1 in the background), where we also met up with Sonia and Lucy.
No fish in there, boys. |
Deckhand David. |
Tom was the flathead specialist. He had the "knowin'", you see. No sooner than he threw his line in the water, the flatties would leap upon it.
William, too, was also a fine and dedicated fisherman. He always weighed and measured the catch.
Fair weather and foul, William wielded the rod. But it was with the crabs that he found his fame. For Will had no need of lines and nets. William caught blue swimmers with his fingers! One look at those nippers would make Batman quail, and a pinch would make Superman cry, but not our William.
My best friend from school, Sue, and her husband, Zol joined us for an afternoon.
Tom left us with a poem.
Our next visitors were Simon and Carina, and we demonstrated how arduous life is on the high seas.
Carina, a natural skipper. |
A colourful end to a wonderful stay in the most beautiful harbour on earth.