New Year’s Eve in Sydney Harbour
With friends coming from different directions to join us on Avante for New Year’s Eve, we were fortunate to find a berth at Point Piper Marina where everyone could meet us. At this Holiday time of year, lodging of any kind in Sydney is ratcheted up, and Piper Point Marina was no exception. As we were late looking for marina space, we were happy just to have found an open berth, and at least, the marina was definitely a nice one.
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This area of the harbor is steep to the shore. To our surprise, an inclinator offers us a way up to the street level above us. There is a long flight of stairs we could climb, but who wants to do that when stepping into a small box and pressing the start button takes one slowing up or down the incline. What fun!
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From on top, we get a good view of the small marina below and across the harbor to the homes on the other side.
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Who are joining us on Avante? On December 30th, Telluride friend, Jane Hardman, is flying in for a 2-week visit with us. On December 31st, Jane Minor, who has sailed with us on Avante several times is arriving by train from her home in Mooloolaba. Finally, Telluride friends, Marolyn and Greg Ritter and their friends, Vicki and Dan Hamilton are coming in from Pittwater where they have house-exchanged with the Lambles. We will have 8 celebrating the New Year’s out on Sydney Harbour with us. What fun!
We have 3 days before Jane arrives, and we use that time to familiarize ourselves with the area and to do some sightseeing of Sydney proper. From Piper Point, it is a short walk to the tony town of Rose Bay. The First Mate is delighted with the stores she finds. With a well-stocked gourmet grocery store, planning ahead for what she is going to need on board to feed 8 souls for lunch and dinner on New Year’s Eve is going to be easy.
We were in Sydney for a very short time many years ago. With time on our hands now, both of us are eager to explore. From near the marina, a bus will take us right down to Circular Quay. It proves to be a long ride, but it does give us a feel for the area around Sydney itself. Dropped off not far from the Quay, the place is an exciting throng of people on the go.
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Meandering our way through the area known as The Rocks, it takes little imagination to understand how the sheer rock walls gave their name to the place. We find an Italian restaurant, which becomes a favorite, for dinner that night before heading back to Avante.
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Sunday, December 30th – Jane Hardman arrives in the morning. She had previously been on the boat in Mexico. It takes her no time to settle in, freshen up, and declaring herself ready to go, we are soon on the Rose Bay ferry heading into the city.
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We decide to explore the city in from Circular Quay. So many of these beautiful, old buildings were built by convict labor. Our eyes are forever looking upward at the stone carvings. The fountains around St. Mary’s Cathedral are a cooling respite on a hot summer afternoon here in December.
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Queen Victoria Building is impressive on the outside, but it is the inside that must be seen. Basically, it is a multi-story shopping mall, but what an architectural wonder! Decorated for the Holidays, we wander from one level to the next. A huge Christmas tree rises several stories. We are impressed.
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Two huge clocks hang from below the domed glass ceiling. We stop to watch the action as figures rotate around the clock when the hour strikes. Alas, the two gals could spend much more time here exploring the sights (ie: stores), but The Captain is antsy. Beautiful it may be, but it is still a mall!
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Monday, December 31st – It is New Years Eve, and we are going to witness one of the world’s greatest firework’s celebrations from a from row seat in Sydney Harbour. In preparation for the rest of our friends arriving early this afternoon, we head out to Rose Bay to complete our food shopping.
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As we walk into Rose Bay, we pass by one of the most elegant police stations we have ever seen. Continuing into town, we are surprised to see the traffic blocked. It is only 10:00 in the morning. Ahead, we see lights flashing. What is going on? The Rose Bay police have set up a Random Testing stop. They are not taking any chances with New Year’s just a few hours away!
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We decide to offer a smorgasbord lunch of dips, cheeses, pâtés, sausages, shrimp and veggies. At the gourmet grocers, we buy a selection of meat and veggie lasagnes. Served with garlic bread, they will be an easy late night dinner. Elegant cookies will be our dessert, and of course, there will be champagne! Back on Avante, we set into food prep to be ready before everyone arrives.
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New Year’s on Sydney Harbour will see thousands of boats out on the water, and like us, all will be jockeying for the best viewing spot. We have been warned that it will be a real zoo out there, especially after the fireworks when all the drunks are heading to shore in their boats. After listening to these stories, we develop a plan for the day. First, we will get out on the water early to claim our spot. Second, we will pick a location that will not have a lot of other boats nearby. This has The Captain studying the charts to find the deepest spots with good views that will preclude the many small boats from anchoring near and around us. Third, we will not risk taking Avante back to the marina. After the fireworks, we will ferry our guests back to shore by dinghy and spend the night where we have anchored out in the harbor.
We are ready for our guests who begin arriving by 1:00. With 8 people onboard Avante, we depart the marina and go out into the harbor to claim our spot.
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We anchor south of Shark island in about 50 feet of water. It fits The Captain’s description of the best and safest anchorage for Avante. It has a great view across the harbor to Harbour Bridge. It is one of the deeper locations in the Sydney Harbour, and it is not far from the marina.
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Knowing that we are all going to be on the boat until well after midnight, The First Mate had decided that we would have a late lunch at 3:00. Dinner would be sometime around 9:00, and in her mind, it would hopefully serve to also keep us all awake until midnight. The wind is blowing at 20 – 25 knots which helps cool down what would have been a very hot anchorage. As expected, there are few boats near us. Into the afternoon and early evening, we talk, laugh, read a little and watch the show out on the bay.
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By sunset, a few more boats have anchored around us, but they are all bigger boats that appear to know what they were doing. We watch the lights of the city come on around us. There is a feeling of excited anticipation growing in the air.
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Sydney actually puts on two firework shows. At 9:00, a display is put on for the children. It in itself is spectacular, and it makes The First Mate wonder how any child is going to be able to sleep through the midnight extravaganza.
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After the Children’s Show, we serve dinner. With tummies full and still a good hour before the midnight show, conversation lags, and a few of us doze waiting for that midnight hour.
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11:59 – We begin a countdown. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 — Happy New Year! A champagne cork flies, and as we toast the year, the fireworks begin.
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What a fireworks display! It is the most spectacular we have ever seen.
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They launch fireworks from 5 barges in the harbor and from the tops of 7 downtown buildings. It looks like the whole harbor is ablaze in fireworks. Everywhere we look, we can see something happening. What a display! Each volley is better than the next.
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Towards the end, the Harbour Bridge becomes more the center of attention. A fantastic waterfall of lights cascades down as fireworks are set off above it.
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Is this the finale? No! There is more and then there is even more! What a great New Year’s celebration! It clearly was the most memorable we have ever seen, and the thrilling fact that we were here in Sydney Harbour on Avante sharing this evening with friends was truly special.
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Not wanting to take any chances with other boats and dinghies moving around in the dark, we remain on Avante until almost 1:00. Then, The Captain takes the Ritters and the Hamiltons into the marina by dinghy where they have a limousine service waiting to take them back to Pittwater. They are well armed with flashlights in order to be highly visible to any boats moving about out there. Jane Minor is staying with us for the night and the 3 women left onboard start clearing up from the day’s activity. When The Captain returns, we wrap up any loose ends. It is off to bed for all of us. What a long day, but what a wonderful day!