ALIESHA     

 Part 2—The Voyage Home

Chapter 6 - Sydney Highlights

Christmas in Cammeray

Finding somewhere to keep the boat in Sydney Harbour at a price that our cruising budget could stand was not easy.  We were fortunate in being recommended by some cruisers in Noumea to try a small, family-run marina at Cammeray which is in a very sheltered and pretty spot at the end of Long Bay on Middle Harbour.  It wasn't exactly in the centre of Sydney but a climb up 105 steps, a 10-minute walk to the bus stop and a 15-minute bus ride took us right into the heart of the city.  The Rabbitts family consists of Dad and Mum (Bunny & Fran) and son and daughter-in-law (Kelvin and Barbara) and their two young daughters.  Kel, Barbara and the two girls had just returned from a 4-year circumnavigation themselves so this Christmas was going to be a very special one for them.  It was therefore  very kind of them to open their doors  (Bunny & Fran live over the shop as it were) to all of us cruisers for a champagne breakfast on Christmas morning.  And what a spread we had!  There was fresh fruit and a large selection of side dishes to keep us going while Barbara barbequed jumbo prawns and baby octopus.  We have to admit we were a little wary of such a delicacy, especially at that time of the morning, but they were really delicious.  Heaven knows how our digestive systems coped but we were then tempted with some of Bunny's home-made scones complete with jam and cream, all washed down with copious amounts of bucks fizz.  What a start to Christmas day!

But Christmas really began for us the day before with our  traditional mulled-wine and mince pies party on board Aliesha.  Making and baking mince pies in 35 C (and that's not the oven temperature either!) is no mean feat but by the end of the day I had produced four dozen.  Fortunately the temperature dropped in the evening to something more bearable.  Our American cruising friends, Doug, Kyle and their two girls, Eliza and Abigail, off ESTRELA and Canadian friends, Marv and Donna off ENDLESS joined us for the evening.  As always, the mulled wine slipped down a treat and the mince pies were a great success.  Kyle and the two girls did a wonderful job in leading the carol singing and provided descants as well.  Kyle has a beautiful trained voice (she was accepted for a part on Broadway), and the rest of us tried not to make too much of a hash of it.

Australians celebrate Boxing Day and for those living on Sydney Harbour it means only one thing: the start of the Sydney Hobart Race.  We decided to risk taking ALIESHA out to watch, although we were warned that it can be quite dangerous. Coming with us were Marv and Donna and our long-time friend, Mike Ingham. He and Jill spend every British winter in Sydney but Jill is no sailor and so opted out of this trip.  A great armada of boats of every conceivable shape, size and type was streaming out of every nook and cranny within Sydney Harbour.  We joined the throng which was like being carried along in a rush-hour stampede.  Turning up in to the main harbour, we were met by what seemed to us a solid wall of boats coming down.  Marv and Donna hadn't yet seen the Opera House or Sydney Harbour Bridge so, with a couple of hours to kill before the start, we braved the crush and motored on up to Athol Bay so they could see the sights of Sydney.  Then, feeling in need of some refreshment, we turned back and found a spot to anchor in Obelisk Bay. 

We had a perfect vantage point for the race boats coming down the harbour and out through the Heads into the bay but we wouldn't be able to see the start.  No matter!  We were relatively safe tucked up in the bay and we could hear the starting guns.  The sight that unfolded before our eyes was quite amazing.  The maxi-yachts with their rather sinister-looking black sails hove into view first on a close fetch to the harbour entrance followed by the smaller racing yachts.  On either side of the racecourse, huge powerboats, sports fishing boats, old sailing ships, large yachts, the fire tug and various other Sydney Harbour boats were charging down the harbour at something like 12kts to keep abreast with the leaders.  Thank God we had decided to stay put!  On a good day, we may get 7kts out of the engine, but in that melee we would have fallen behind or got mown down in the rush long since.  As it was, we could see the entire race making its way out through the Heads and turning south for Hobart.  Above us, helicopters were each trying to get good shots for the TV  and morning papers and a light aircraft was busy writing 'SAGEM' on a bright blue backdrop which we later found out is a French mobile phone company.  And suddenly it was all over.  We had a late lunch (smoked salmon sandwiches and mince pies) and, being such a wonderful day, we went for a sail ourselves down to Bondai Beach and back again.  We later learnt that the race was won by WILD OATS who took just over 42 hours, beating the record by over an hour.

What a day, what a Christmas and we still had New Year and Australia Day to look forward to!

New Year

We returned to Athol Bay on Aliesha, this time with our Aussie friends, Phil & Margaret Thew whom we'd met many years previously on a charter holiday in the Med, to celebrate the new year.  Already at anchor were ESTRELA and ENDLESS along with a thousand or so other boats.  We managed to anchor near by and settled down to watch the fun and enjoy the mounting excitement while fending off other boats left, right and centre as more and more came to join us.  It was all done in very good spirits and miraculously there were no serious collisions.

As the sun went down, the carnival atmosphere increased.  Dinner on board Aliesha consisted of barbequed prawns and baby octopus to start with, followed by steak, sausage, chilli-and-coconut rice and salad.  We were still eating when the first of the two firework displays started at 9 pm.  This was an 8-minute display, put on for those kids who couldn't last the course until midnight and was pretty spectacular in its own right.  This was followed by the Parade of Light, a glittering procession of harbour ferry boats and tourist boats illuminated from stem to stern.  The Bridge too was all lit up, a gigantic heart holding centre stage to represent a 'Community' theme.  This theme was repeated on many of the illuminated boats.

At last it was midnight and, to a cacophony of sirens, hooters and foghorns, the most wonderful and largest firework display we have ever seen lit up the whole harbour scene with the skyscrapers of the Central Business District and the Opera House acting as one backdrop and the Bridge as another.  For 12 minutes we oohed and aahed and exclaimed over such a thrilling display.  Then, just before the finale, the Bridge took centre stage with a fountain of light rising ever higher across the full width until it reached the top, at which point the whole sky over Sydney lit up with a truly awesome panorama of exploding patterns of light  leaving us quite bedazzled at the end of it.  As the last of the fireworks cleared from our vision, all that was left was the heart, pulsating gently, now a red, then a blue and going through all the colours of the rainbow.  It was still going strong when we retired to bed an hour later.

Australia Day

Some of you may know that 26th January is also Pam's birthday!  So what another splendid day we had around the Sydney Waterfront enjoying the many attractions.  From Mrs Macquarie's Chair we watched the 21-gun salute across Farm Bay which is surrounded by the Botanical Gardens and has the Opera House on its northern extremity.  A helicopter, flying a huge Australian flag beneath it, was zigzagging  across the Harbour, while the fire tug was vying for attention with its long plumes of water reaching high into the leaden skies as it headed a grand parade. All around were families wearing Australia hats, waving flags, and many even sporting the Flag as a facial tattoo (hope they weren't permanent!). 

A long, hot walk took us through Circular Quay and into The Rocks which is our favourite part of Sydney.  Here they were celebrating the occasion with a Jazz festival and as we strolled through the cobbled streets we soaked up the carnival atmosphere.  By far the best performer was Jan Preston with her swinging honky-tonk style on the electric keyboard and voice to match.  She had on a wonderful pair of spangled shoes with large club heels which pounded the pedals for all they were worth.  She would be a match for Elton John any day!

After a fine birthday lunch in a little courtyard restaurant we made our way gradually to Darling Harbour taking in some of the other attractions as we went.  Darling Harbour, where the day's festivities would culminate in another great firework show, was already bustling with people at 5pm.  But with some 4 hours to wait and the crowds building all the time in a relatively confined space, we agreed it wasn't worth the wait and were happy to hop on a bus back to the peace and quiet of Cammeray.

Lasting Memories 

We can't describe everything we did or places we visited in this chapter.  Briefly, other highlights included watching Sylvie Guillem and George Piper Dances perform three modern dances as part of the Sydney Festival.  We felt very privileged to have watched such stunning performances.  Towards the end of February we saw Madame Butterfly at the Opera House.  Not great opera fans ourselves, we went with open minds.  I loved it, but Dick only enjoyed the second half with all its melodrama.  It was such a memorable setting to look out over the Harbour and all the lights of Sydney from the Opera House, we hardly needed the opera!

Another mention here too for our friends Mike & Jill Ingham who took us on some great walks around the Harbour and in the City.  They also introduced us to some of their favourite restaurants, some upbeat and some down and all very enjoyable.  We shall never forget seeing our first kookaburras as we enjoyed a pre-Christmas lunch with them overlooking the waterside. 

As a break from the city, our cruising friends Rob  and Meg had us to stay for a week-end  some 70 kms north and drove us around the Hunter Valley on the Sunday.  We enjoyed the wine country but best of all was being  welcomed into their family, sons, partners and even a baby to cuddle.  We felt homesick.

 Of all the cities we have visited on this trip, Sydney is right up there with New York as being a lively, fun place to be.  We are so pleased we made the effort to come down here from Coffs Harbour, it was well worth it for the culture fix along.