Sydney Harbour – Part Two

And so it was that on a Monday morning in May, after a leisurely brunch of French toast and bacon eaten in the cockpit while gazing across at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, we found ourselves sailing slowly underneath the famous arches.

It was a gorgeous sunny day with a light breeze, just enough for a gentle sail…. perfect! We were both pretty excited, because as Matt says, ‘how much more Australian can you get, than sailing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. And we get to do it in our own yacht.’

After our sail, we secured Cool Change to one of the public moorings in Athol Bay, with an amazing view right across to the city, the Bridge and the Opera House. The view was especially magical at night, with the twinkling skyline of coloured lights. We even had a perfect view of the city skyline through our bedroom window!

Athol Bay is directly outside Taronga Zoo, and we could hear some of the animals from the boat, although I’m not sure which ones. There is a ferry wharf outside the Zoo and we caught the ferry from here across to Circular Quay. Then it was time for a little bit of regular sight-seeing around the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens, as Matt had never been there before. There was quite a strange vibe about, with the area fairly deserted. It was very different from all the other times I’d visited, when it was usually bustling with people and energy. It felt quite wrong and really sad. Hopefully things will be returning back to normal sooner rather than later.

Returning to Athol Bay on the ferry at dusk, we were again treated to some amazing sunset colours in the sky and a brilliant view of the city lights. Matt’s camera got another work-out.

From Athol Bay we also walked around to Bradley Head through the Sydney Harbour National Park and up in to Mosman for a grocery shop. We met several curious brush turkeys along the way; whilst commonplace to the people of NSW and QLD, they are quite unusual and exotic to us Victorians.

Our friend Arvi, who lives in Sydney, met us here at Athol Bay with his wife Aruna and daughter Aditi. Matt ferried them across to Cool Change in the tender. It was a perfect morning to be out on the water; sunny skies, calm water and light winds. We did manage to get the sails up for a bit, and Arvi, Aruna and Aditi enjoyed sailing under the bridge and seeing the harbour from a different perspective. It was lovely to have visitors onboard. Thanks for coming guys!

After dropping Arvi and his family back, we waved goodbye and headed for Manly Cove where we spent four of the next five nights. During our time in Manly, Matt went surfing at Manly Beach, I swam in the Ocean Pool at Manly Cove and we hopped back on the ferry to Circular Quay and then caught the river ferry up the Parramatta River, just exploring and being tourists. On the return journey on the ferry we were treated to an incredible sunset again. It sure was an instance of right time, right place.

We had more visitors. Pete, a Manly local, came onboard one afternoon for Mexican and a few ciders. It was a perfect afternoon to be lazing in the cockpit with a few drinks, as Pete filled us in on local information. Including the existence of the very mooring we were tied to. Turns out, several years ago, Pete was part of a group of people who campaigned to have the public moorings at Manly Cove installed. There is seagrass in the area, an important habitat for marine life, and when boats drop their anchors they risk seriously damaging the fragile seagrass. Hence, the idea of public moorings; a win-win for boaters and the marine life. Thanks Pete!

Alex also came out for a day on the boat; we anchored at Quarantine Bay for a BBQ and snorkel, and then sailed out through the Heads. This particular day was about as idyllic as you can get; warm and sunny, flat water and nice winds for getting the sails up. A perfect day on Sydney Harbour. Once again, Matt and I thoroughly enjoyed having company onboard. Thanks so much for coming Coxy, and thanks for the very thoughtful gift of toilet paper!

One evening Matt packed up his telescope and camera and we headed across the corso to Manly Beach. There was a bright, full moon and Matt wanted to have another try at photographing the moon. The aim was to take several photos and then lay them over the top of each other using a computer program to bring out a clearer, more detailed image. Success alluded him on this occasion, and to paraphrase Thomas Edison, ‘I haven’t failed, I’ve just found more ways that don’t quite work.’

During this time we moved to Quarantine Bay for a night, which we thought would be calmer than Manly Cove, but surprisingly it wasn’t. The plan was to walk from here across the headland to Shelly Beach where we were to meet Arvi for a snorkel. The beach we were moored at borders the North Head Quarantine Station, which was all locked up due to the current restrictions. We discretely squeezed through a gate and jumped a fence to get out onto the road.

Many years ago, Harj, Shelley and I went on a ghost tour of the Quarantine Station, learning about its history and its ghosts. Although we were looking over our shoulders as we quickly walked through the complex, it wasn’t ghosts we were looking out for this time, just a possibly irate security guard!

We made it through without being challenged, and arrived at Shelly Beach to find it absolutely bustling with people. It was a gorgeous Sunday morning and Sydneysiders were making the most of it. There were people swimming, snorkelling and diving as well as plenty just standing around having a coffee and a chat. It was a lovely atmosphere.

We perched on the seawall to have our coffees, while Arvi explained a bit about the area. The entire bay, rocky shores and beaches from the southern end of Manly Beach to the northern end of Shelly Beach is known as Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve, about twenty hectares in total. Because the marine vegetation and fish are protected in this area, there is a huge range of marine life and fish species living in the bay. He promised us we would definitely see some cool fish.

And he wasn’t wrong. It was absolutely incredible! We saw an amazing array of fish, including some huge blue gropers, a fiddler ray and a pipe fish. Annoyingly, we forgot to take our underwater cameras, so no photos. After about an hour of slow snorkelling and swimming, despite my wetsuit, my hands and feet were frozen, so I reluctantly hopped out to try and warm up. Thanks so much for showing us this little piece of underwater paradise, Arvi!

As well as the water being a bit cold, it has started to get chilly in the evenings. Our spare doona has come out, as well as jumpers and trackies after dusk. I’m not quite sure why this surprises me. It is May after all, and winter is coming! We have decided to make a concerted effort to head north into the warmer weather a little faster. Time to put the hammer down. Well, as fast as the weather gods will allow us, that is.

Next stop is Pittwater, Broken Bay, where we bought Cool Change from almost exactly a year ago. What an adventure she has had so far! And hopefully lots more to come!

A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.

John Augustus Shedd