March 22, 2006

February 16, 2006

We set off from Yamba shortly after 0900h and travelled for 32 hours non-stop to Port Stephens. With three people aboard it makes the watches a lot easier, however, Mary was feeling quite seasick in the evening and ended up taking a Gravol and sleeping most of the night (thanks Jeremy and Paul!). We mostly motor sailed down the coast as the winds were light, and with a bit of rain but no storms. We arrived at Port Stephens in the late afternoon and enjoyed a quiet night at anchor.

February 18, 2006

At 0900h we left Port Stephens only to discover immediately that the electronic compass was not functioning and the little boat picture on our electronic charts was pointing backward. Not a life and death situation but a “head-scratcher” as this feature had never failed before. Jeremy and Mary were able to set the autohelm and plot a course, however, could not track the course on the chart plotter. After much searching through the manuals and lots of trial and error, Paul was able to realign the compass and all was well again with the electronics.

We travelled all day and made it into Pittwater in Broken Bay just ahead of some black clouds which eventually headed off to the west instead of dumping on us. Pittwater is a place where we spent many days at anchor last year in January and February when we were getting to know the boat. Just 15 miles north of Sydney, it is a favourite weekend cruising area for Sydney sailors. It was a pleasure for us to be able to share this spot with Jeremy. Alas, we could only stay for one night as the northerly winds were only predicted to be around for one more day and we needed to get to Sydney soon.

February 19, 2006

We sailed through the impressive Sydney Heads at mid-day, much to Jeremy’s delight. The north and south heads really are quite impressive.

Only a small part of the impressive Sydney Heads.

Click on Pics to enlarge

We spent the night at one of our favourite places in Sydney Harbour – Store Beach at Manly. As it was a Sunday afternoon, the anchorage was very crowded with weekend boaters and, as always, the anchoring antics of everyone were very entertaining. By evening, we were one of only a few boats staying the night.

We decided to stay at Store Beach for a couple of days and enjoy the surf beach and the thriving beach community of Manly with Jeremy.

February 21 – March 2, 2006

On Tuesday, February 21, we moved to Birkenhead Point to await the arrival of friends from Windsor on Thursday, Jan and Rod Peturson. They were finishing a two-week tour of Australia with nine days aboard our boat.

Jan and Rod arrived at Birkenhead at about 1000h on Thursday and, after a joyful reunion, we headed to a calm anchorage at Ball’s Head Bay for the night. Jeremy had asked if he could stay aboard for a few more days so that he could visit with his “Aunt Jan and Uncle Rod”. Of course, we said yes.

For the next few days we explored several anchorages throughout Sydney Harbour that were new to us – ones that we had always wanted to try, and this was our chance. We spent several days in Blackwattle Bay in Darling Harbour, anchored just off of the famous Sydney Fish Market. This is a good location from which to do some sightseeing and we went ashore several times.

Here we are with Jan and Rod and Jeremy outside of the Maritime Museum.

While at Darling Harbour we were able to reconnect with Jen Martyniuk and Dom, who were excited to see Jan and Rod and us again.

Jeremy left the boat on Monday, February 27 for a few days of travel on his own. He would be back for a few more days after Jan and Rod left for Windsor.

We travelled with Jan and Rod to an area called Middle Harbour near Sydney Heads. A scheduled opening of the Spit Bridge allowed us access to a delightful part of Sydney, free of the hustle and bustle of this large metropolis. A 30-minute ride up through an area of large homes built up the hillsides (we felt like we were in an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous) brought us to uninhabited national park and a choice of quiet anchorages. We enjoyed a restful stay and were able to show Jan and Rod what “life on the hook” is really all about.

We enjoyed the sight of these pelicans at our quiet anchorage in Middle Harbour, surrounded by national park.

March 2 - 9, 2006

Alas, our visit with Jan and Rod had to come to an end on March 2. After a tearful good-bye at Birkenhead, we headed over to Blackwattle Bay for a few days of boat washing, provisioning, and laundry.

Jeremy arrived back at the boat on March 4 and helped us prepare for another visitor – a geologist friend of his from Canada, Jenn Sobean, who was travelling back to her home in Perth after 5 months visiting family in Canada. She and Jeremy would be aboard for 4 days and then would continue their travels to Perth.

On Tuesday, March 7, we left in early morning for Broken Bay. We had a good sail there and settled at anchor near a small waterfall close to the Brooklyn Bridge. There should be a picture here of Paul having fresh water shower under the waterfall, but no one thought to bring a camera. The anchorage was a little too close to the bridge as it turns out because we heard a loud rumble every time the passenger trains to and from Sydney went over the bridge. Still, it was a delightful spot.

We left Broken Bay on Thursday right after breakfast and headed back to Store Beach in Sydney as Jeremy and Jenn were due to leave the boat that day. They delayed departure as long as possible and finally we had to say good-bye. Not easily done as we usually only see Jeremy once a year and we so enjoyed these past four weeks with our son.

March 10 – 18, 2006

We headed back to Blackwattle Bay to prepare for a visit from two former work colleagues of Mary’s – Shirley Grondin and Erica Froome, who were finishing a two-week tour of Australia with a stay aboard.

We picked up Shirley and Erica on Sunday at the fish market dock and settled them aboard. Neither Shirley nor Erica had spent much time on boats in the past so we spent the week looking for calm anchorages, definitely easier on the stomach. We spent our time at Manly (where we enjoyed a walk to the surf beach and a wonderful restaurant lunch), Blackwattle Bay, and most enjoyable – our stay in Middle harbour at the national park anchorage. We had good conversation, great laughs, and quiet times.

Shirley and Erica left the boat on Saturday, March 18, and after another tearful goodbye, we headed back to the boat to relax for the remainder of the day.

March 19 – 22, 2006

We spent two nights back at Ball’s Head Bay and were fortunate to be there on the third Sunday of the month as the Sydney Jazz Club was having a concert in the park. We joined about 100 other people in the woods of the park, sitting around on blankets or chairs, and enjoyed the music. It was a delightful afternoon.

We headed back to Birkenhead Point Marina where we are currently at the Seawind berth for the remainder of the warranty work.



MARCH 22 , 2006