January 2013 – Sydney to Raby Bay
Tuesday, January 1st – Looking around us in the morning, we are not surprised to see many of the boats which had anchored around us for last night’s fireworks display still here at anchor. They, too, had had our same safety-minded thought. Sleepy and with perhaps too much champagne, it was smarter to stay put than to wend one’s way around the harbor in the dark of night.
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We start off the New Year of 2013 with a grand cruise through Sydney Harbour. Sailing past the Opera House and continuing under the Harbour Bridge, we retrace the path of our first entrance into the harbor. What a beautiful blue sky day, and what a fitting start to the year!
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Friends of Jane M’s are meeting us at Doyle’s On The Beach Restaurant for a New Year’s Day lunch. We have reservations, of course, because Doyle’s has been an institution for locals and visitors since 1885. It will be crowded on this first holiday of the year. Doyle’s is a seafood restaurant, and the food is supposed to live up to its reputation. We can’t wait.
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Turning around after going under the Harbour Bridge, we head to Watson’s Bay where Doyle’s is located and drop anchor in a picturesque setting.
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Doyle’s is definitely on the beach! We meet Jane’s friends and have a great seafood lunch where several of us indulge in their scrumptious, chunky seafood chowder, a touted item and well-deserving of praise.
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A festive lunch finished, we say good-bye to Jane as she goes off with her friends. The First Mate is not as dismayed as might be at this parting with her childhood friend, for she knows they will be meeting up again in Mooloolaba in the near future.
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With Jane H, we set off for a hike to nearby Hornby Lighthouse located on the tip of South Head. We passed this on our first sail into the harbor. How neat to be standing up here now looking out across the harbor.
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The Captain and The First Mate pose for a New Year’s Day photo with the entrance to Sydney Harbour in the background.
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Watson’s Bay also draws people for its long expanse of beautiful beach. Who would not want to be out on this gorgeous beach on such a beautiful day? Around the corner and much more secluded, The First Mate found nothing photogenic at the nude beach we passed.
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Back onboard Avante with plans to spend the night anchored where we are, The Captain relaxes in the late afternoon sun of New Year’s Day.
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Wednesday, January 2nd – We want to give Jane more of an adventure cruising with us than just a sailing around Sydney Harbour, as beautiful as it is. To do so, we are going to leave the harbor and sail up to Broken Bay. It is a great area to show her, and we’re eager to explore it, too. Sailing out of Sydney Harbour, we pass the Hornby Lighthouse on South Head where just yesterday we were walking.
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Arriving at the mouth of Broken Bay, we are just in time to see the beginning of the Pittwater to Coff’s Harbour annual sailboat race. What an exciting sight that is! The First Mate is positive sure that The Captain wishes he were out there. Oh, if she weren’t such a wimpy sailor!
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Once again, we tie up to the Lamble’s mooring ball and head up to their home for dinner, only it is not with the Lamble family this time. While the Lambles are staying in the Ritter’s home, skiing the fabulous slopes of Telluride, the Ritters and Hamiltons are enjoying life in New Zealand and the water view from the Lamble’s home over the bay. What a great home swap this has turned out to be! At dinner that night, we toast the Lambles, wishing they were here with us.
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Thursday, January 3th – We set off to explore Pittwater and sail to Yeoman’s Bay in Cowan Creek where we anchor with more powerboats than we can count. The Captain spends several hours in the afternoon cleaning the boat bottom and concluding that Avante is ready for new bottom paint.
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The next morning, The Captain finishes cleaning the bottom while The First Mate inflates Sharky, the disparaging name The Captain has christened the kayak.
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Soon, she and Jane are paddling around the bay like pros or as much a pro as one can be in a glorified pool toy!
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Later in the afternoon, we drop anchor off Cottage Point. Cottage Point Restaurant is another landmark establishment. Would we be able to have dinner there? Yes! Reservation made, we stroll around the area.
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A friendly Kookaburra, sitting on a railing, attracts our attention. He doesn’t laugh as the song says, but it definitely is not intimidated by our presence.
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That evening, the three of us enjoy a wonderful dinner at Cottage Point Restaurant. Though it cannot be seen in this photo, Avante is anchored just around the corner. What a great setting this is!
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Saturday, January 5th – Motoring further into Cowan’s Bay, we anchor to go on a “Top Secret Hike” to a waterfall that the Lamble’s son, Jack, had told us about. The trail is difficult to find, but we persevere. Following a dry stream bed, climbing over boulders, we come to the hidden pool.
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This spot has great potential, for given how crowded this area is at this holiday time of year, we are alone in the quiet woods. As it has not rained recently, however, the pool is a little brackish, and there is absolutely no water flowing over the falls. Even Jake would be disappointed in this secret adventure today.
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Of course, The Captain cannot resist showing off in front of the two babes he is with and dives in for a swim. “Not bad!” he tells us, but we are not enticed.
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A trip to Australia would not be complete without some sort of marsupial encounter, so we head to The Basin where we have been told that the wallabies come out in the evening to graze. The Basin is a large park area where campers can reserve spots. There is a large beach and swimming area that is super for families with young children. At this time of year, the place is full to overflowing, busy and noisy.
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Despite wall to wall tent camping just yards away, the wallabies come out to feed in the early evening. At least 20 of these small kangaroos have come down from the woods. Scavenging along the ground for tender green shoots of what look like a type of pine leaf, they are totally unconcerned about our presence.
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Though they move away if we get too near, we are surprised with how close they do allow us to venture. Chewing away on the tender shoots, they keep a watch on us as they munch their evening’s dinner.
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Looking around, we discover that we are the only ones interested in the wallabies. Even the many young children running around are not enthralled. We are definitely tourists here! To many Australians, these wallabies are green eating pests and for all Australians, they are an every day part of the landscape. Ho-hum. Undeterred, The First Mate scans the group hoping to see a mom and pouched baby, but no luck this time.
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Monday, January 7th – There is a fuel dock located at the Royal Motor Yacht Club near the southern end of Pittwater. Needing fuel, we slowly motor down the channel passing an ocean of masts on berths in the marina, on mooring balls and at anchor. Look at all those masts!
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Even getting to the fuel dock requires us to circle in and around anchored boats. It is a relief when we get this operation done and can leave this crowded area.
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Returning to the Lamble’s mooring ball, we head ashore to pick up the Ritters for an afternoon sail on Avante. The Ritters are sailors and own a sailboat in Southern California. Handing the helm over to Greg, we enjoy a great sail out the bay to Lion Island.
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Tuesday, January 8th – Dropping off the mooring ball, we head out the bay and turn south back to Sydney. Jane takes a turn at the helm as we head out the bay. In about 3 hours, we sail past North Head to enter Sydney Harbour.
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Finding a quiet place to anchor is Sydney Harbour is a tall order. Our friends, Nellie and Joseph on s/v Epiphany, had told us about a spot they had found up Lane Cove River. Already in Sydney for several weeks and after too many nights rocked at anchorages by constant ferry wakes, they had found this quiet anchorage up this river well away from the noise and motion of the main harbor. We are delighted they shared their find with us. We sail under the Harbour Bridge and turn into Lane Cove River to anchor next to Epiphany. Nellie and Joseph are a young Hungarian couple that we had first met in French Polynesia, and as happens often with cruisers, we re-connected with them in Tonga, New Zealand and New Caledonia. It is a great to see them again in Australia.
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We enjoy cocktails onboard Epiphany and swap experiences. They had anchored in the harbor for New Year’s Eve not far from the bridge. They told us that they had a front row seat but could not enjoy it, as they were constantly fending off numerous small boats that had not anchored properly, though they even questioned whether some had even bothered to anchor at all!
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Wednesday, January 9th – It is easy to get into Sydney from Lane Cove River. We take the dinghy to a small park on the shore and walk over a hill to a ferry stop. After a 15 minute ferry ride, we are downtown and walking around. We are amazed by the architecture of the beautiful old buildings. So many have statues and detailed carvings. Much too expensive and time intensive to do nowadays, it is a pleasure to look up at them around us.
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Today is our day to be tourists in Sydney. We climb the Harbour Bridge Tower where illustrated photos detail the history behind the building of the bridge.
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Who can pass up the view of the Opera House from the tower? Look at how it shines!
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We tour the Rocks enjoying lunch at a roof-top restaurant with a view of the bridge and the city. The First Mate shops for and finds an opal necklace. She’s delighted. In the evening, we meet Nellie and Joseph at a Bavarian Beer Garden transplanted to The Rocks in Sydney.
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The tour of the Opera House was illuminating. From the orange-peel construction of the flying sails to the many thousands of tiles that cover its surface, we were enthralled. That evening, dressed up as best ocean-going cruisers can be, we head in for our night at the Opera. The ambiance of our dinner setting in the Opera House restaurant was as elegant as the dinner. How perfect!
But even more perfect was seeing and hearing La Bohème there in the Sydney Opera House. Oh, how The First Mate would love to live in Sydney if only for being able to regularly attend performances at the Opera House!
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Friday, January 11th – Jane is on the phone checking on her flight home which leaves later today. Suddenly, there is an exclamation of distress from Jane. What is it? Her flight has been canceled. An international flight canceled? We cannot believe it, but it is so. They have her rescheduled on a flight in 2 days. Normally, that would be no problem. We would just hang around Sydney for 2 more days enjoying the city, but the crew on Avante is under a tight schedule. We have get back to Brisbane, clean the boat and catch our scheduled flight back to the States. We do not have the 2 extra days to spend in Sydney. What to do?
Once again, the Lambles house comes in handy. The Ritters’ flight is on the same day as Jane’s rescheduled one, so we will stop in Pittwater and drop Jane off to stay in the Lamble’s house with the Ritters. They will all head into the airport together. Problem solved. We enjoy a final night anchored quietly in Lane Cove.
Saturday, January 12th – All good things must come to an end. What a grand time we had in Sydney, but it is time for us to head north to Brisbane where we will leave Avante for a return to the States. The wind is forecast to change to the south today, and that will be good for heading up the coast. Leaving Lane Cove River and just before going under the bridge, we pass Luna Park Sydney, a heritage-listed amusement park right there on the harbor. How the child in The First Mate would love to spend an evening there!
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We are all a little sad as the iconic skyline of Sydney recedes in the distance.
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By early afternoon, we have dropped Jane off and are headed back out of Pittwater. Once again, it was a treat to have Jane on the boat with us and how special it was to experience New Year’s in Sydney Harbour! We look forward to Jane’s next adventure with us.
With wind behind us for the passage north, we make good progress until we run into the East Australian Current. This south flowing current was our friend on the trip south, but it is a real burden on the trip north. Our SOG drops to only 4 knots. By Sunday evening, we run into rain storms. This coast is famous for its lightning, and we watch an impressive lightning show to the northeast so very glad it is off to the distance and not crashing above our heads.
Monday, January 14th – It is a wet night, and we are caught by a Southerly Buster in the middle of it. The wind increases to 25 – 33 knots. Fortunately, this time it is coming from behind us, and we are flying along with just the jib. However, we are fighting the EAC and only making 6 knots of SOG. At dawn, we only have 10 knots of wind coming from behind us, and it appears that the Southerly Buster has moved on up the coast. We turn on the engine for a while, but the wind comes back. By late morning, it is raining and blowing 25 knots from S when we pass South Solitary Island. Visibility is so poor that we can barely see this fairly large island which is only 1nm away. We have wind and rain all afternoon, and the seas have become much rougher. We are rocking, and the ride is no longer comfortable.
Disaster strikes that evening when we turn on the navigation and instrument lights for the night. The entire instrument system and autopilot shut down. The First Mate steers manually while The Captain begins to troubleshoot. He finds no easy solution, as it appears to be a network problem that he cannot fix. We begin 2 hour steering watches with the off watch trying to sleep up on deck to remain close to the helmsman if needed. We are 90nm south of the Gold Coast Seaway and Southport. The wind drops off before midnight, and we just motor for the rest of the way to Southport, as that is easier than sailing at night without instruments when we are hand steering.
Tuesday, January 15th – By late morning, we are safely through the Gold Coast Seaway and anchored near Southport. The Captain tries further troubleshooting on our instruments, but he has no luck. We would like to follow the Inside Passage to Brisbane, for it is a very long way around if we have to go back out to sea, but without our instruments giving us depth information, it would be folly for us to attempt to transit this shallow waterway. We decide to get a good night’s sleep before taking on the long trip around tomorrow morning, but before we call it a night, The Captain continues to work on the instrument system. Ta-da-a! Somehow, he manages to get it working again. He knows not why it failed or what he did to get it working, but he suspects that the problem was moisture getting into the system somewhere. He can suspect whatever issue he wants, but The First Mate knows it is one of two suspects. Either it is the Gremlins, secreted away in various nooks and crannies of the boat, who love to wreck havoc on us humans or it is the diabolical workings of the instruments themselves, for she knows for sure that all inanimate objects do honestly have minds of their own just out to get us. She knows!
Wednesday, January 16th – With instruments working, we will attempt the challenging Inside Passage running between the Gold Coast and Moreton Bay. We did it once before, so we know that it can be done. Last time, however, we had a knowledgeable guide in Stephen Everett, and we had a king tide. High tide will be much lower today. The other difference is that we are doing the route in reverse, so the southern part of the route will be significantly shallower than last time, and the northern part will be deeper. We plan our trip to go through the shallows near Jacobs Well 2 hours before high tide. After that we have to cover 19nm before getting through the last shallow section, and some of that will be done on a falling tide, a time one definitely does not want to find oneself stuck in the sand waiting out the tidal cycle.
Tide is quite low when we raise anchor and start out. We may have left too early, for, very quickly, we run aground on a sandbar that had shifted. Jockeying the boat back and forth, we are soon off the sandbar and moving again, but the sandbar was a wake up call for us to stay totally focused. That sandbar, happily and fortunately, turns out to be our only mishap of the day. We go through the shallow crossover near Jacob’s Well right on schedule, and we find much more water for the remainder of the trip than we had on our trip south.
At 1530, we tie up to the Everett’s dock in Raby Bay and break out the drinks to celebrate.
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We are finished sailing for a while and have a week of maintenance and cleanup before we fly back to the States. Avante will be left on the dock of one of the Everett’s neighbors, and Stephen will check on her periodically. We also want to get some work done on the boat while it is in Brisbane, and we make arrangements for some projects. Our mainsail tore as we reached Australia. These top of the line North Sails cruising sails are only 5 years old, but the sun has really damaged the threads, so we would like to replace our sails. Also, our dinghy has been leaking ever since our crew carelessly crashed it on a reef in Vanuatu and bent the metal bottom. We are tired of having to constantly bail it, so we will try to have it professionally repaired. Finally, we want to have Avante’s bottom antifouled and to get some canvas work done.
Our plans for 2013 are still vague and consist roughly of doing some cruising in Australia. Over dinner one evening, Cyndy Everett asks if we are interested in sailing to the Louisiade Archipelago in Papua New Guinea in company with Salacia later in the year. She has always wanted to make the trip and thinks it would be fun to do it with two J/160’s. So do we. Plans are made. We will return in May to take Avante north along the Queensland coast and position her for the trip to the Louisiades.