In and around Sydney - March/April 2009

Seventy two sea hours later (and a three day stop in Port Macquarie) we arrive into the Hawkesby River, near Sydney. For a week or so we soak up the surroundings and enjoy time catching up with friends -Chris, Showcat and family plus Sue, Steve and family, both friends who live in the area and go back a long way.





Then it’s time to hit the big smoke. A picturesque sail down and funnily enough when we got to Sydney Heads Daryl said he’d go and recheck the charts, as the charts indicated that this was the entrance, but it didn’t look developed or busy enough to be the right place. Sure enough we had the right entrance and further in the city rose to meet us. Who could remain unimpressed sailing up Sydney Harbour on this gorgeous autumn day? We anchored ourselves in Blackwattle Bay and had downtown city on our doorstep.






We spent days wandering the city, admiring the architecture, visiting the sights and sampling the cuisine. I even managed to coax Daryl to two shows – ‘The Buddy Holly Show’ and ‘Guys and Dolls’.



After Daryl’s tolerance for city life hit max we headed again for the Hawksby River for some quiet time. Daryl watched the weather and Tuesday was to be the departure day.





Showcat cooked us a beautiful farewell curry dinner and we said our goodbyes.
The weather hadn’t given us any decent southerlies for some time so when finally some boisterous southerlies surrounding a low system came up we decided to hop on the side and see how far north we could get.



Two nights and three days later we were safely tucked up at Morton Island for the night, not wanting to attempt the Mooloolaba bar entrance in the dark. A brisk trip but we were pleased.
We got a fabulous warm welcome back into the marina and it was like coming home. We kept the stay to four days – polishing, cleaning, shopping and socialising. Excitement grew as we finalised plans to begin our trip north to the Whitsundays.



The first day out sees us in light winds and little swell. Daryl is keen to get the spinnaker up and it gives us a leisurely sail up to Wide Bay. Next morning we, along with eight other boats, cross the notorious Wide Bay bar –piece of cake in these mild conditions. In true cruising style we come up to the next intersection and ‘will we go left or right?’. I win the toss and we turn left and up the channel into Tin Can Bay. After checking out the local area, we sample the local barramundi fish for lunch and take back some local prawns for dinner. We were up early the next morning to go and check out the advertised dolphin feeding at the shore – one dolphin, a bit of a let down, but ‘you never know unless you go!!!’
Onward to Bundaberg.



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