sailing in Oz - pictures (slow on dial-up)

snowleopard

snowleopard

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We are back from a month in Oz and the time has come for an objective (if you believe that you'll believe anything) comparison of UK and Australian sailing.

All BrianJ's protestations to the contrary, here is a view over Port Philip Bay (Melbourne), showing all the boats out sailing...
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To be entirely truthful, we did spot one...
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Of course the changable weather may have something to do with it. We had temperatures of 35 degrees and hailstones in the same week.
A brief diversion to Sydney, the capital of yachting down under showed that some sailing does in fact take place there...
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Though the boat here is one of the Global Challenge fleet so perhaps that doesn't count.
Here however is one of the Sydney Harbour 18's doing its thing with multiple trapezes etc...
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There is an anchorage in the background just to the left of the opera house but it's not very popular as there's a shortage of places to get ashore and it's extremely choppy owing to the heavy traffic of fast ferries....
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So there's still space left for more boats. All we have to do is sail there.
 
I'm not sure if your comment about anchorage in Farm Cove is "tongue in cheek" but there are a number of anchorages around Sydney Harbour for day sailing which are not affected by passing traffic - however, at the weekend there is nowhere where you can be 'alone". The harbour is ALWAYS busy and a cruiser has the lowest priority after ships, ferries and racing boats/dinghies.

If you are a visiting cruiser there are a number of well protected areas where visiting boats can anchor such as Rozelle bay or in the upper harbour opposite Birkenhead point (a shopping centre which has marina/berthing facilities). Some are better than others for access to shops etc. If you want facilities such as showers/toilets etc you need to go to one of the commercial marinas or if you have cross affiliation, to one of the major yacht clubs such as CYC but even then berths may be hard to find.

Sydney Harbour is a fantastic recreation area - I hope many of you get to enjoy it at some time or another.

In the meantime, stay away from N. Queensland at the moment (Cairns and further N) as Cyclone Ingrid is heading to the mainland with 290km (150+ knt) winds.

Ray
 
sydney harbour is nice, but there are nicer areas to sail - Around the islands of the barrier reef immediately comes to mind, but there is also a lovely bayjust 20 miles north of Sydney with numerous estuaries and National Parks surrounding it. well worth a visit.

BTW 3 weeks should be considered the bare minimum for a visit to Aus /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
by Farm Cove I presume you mean the bay by the botanic gardens. Certainly it's not an ideal anchorage but you have to remember that it has the iconic view as far as we Europeans are concerned. I saw several monos bucking around in the washes which seem to bounce off the sea walls but was surprised what an uncomfortable time a cat had there also.

The photos by the way were taken on saturday afternoon just over a week ago. We were amazed at how few yachts were out on a late summer weekend in such a location. The biggest concentration of boats were the ones mobbing Princess Mary but even they only numbered 20 or so. (For the brits, Mary is a Tasmanian girl who has married the crown prince of Denmark and has displaced Bigears as the royalty of Australia, at least in the minds of the press).
 
Yes Sydney harbors is fantastic, the surroundings are beautiful, the weather certainly enhances things and makes sailing somewhat more pleasurable.
 
Here's one I took a few years ago...

BoxingDay2001.JPG


So it can look like the Solent, just to make you feel at home. Mind you, this was Boxing Day.

Regards, Jeff.
 
[ QUOTE ]
All we have to do is sail there

[/ QUOTE ]

Keep working on SWMBO !

Welcome back - you missed all the snow - well maybe not this w/end !

P
 
Forth pic down
That’s where we used to moor, Garden Island,
Great pics, and thanks for the memories

……………
 
Yes the bay next to the Botanic Gardens and the Opera House is Farm Cove and it certainly is iconic so I can readily understand you anchoring there. Unfortunately there is a lot of "slop" in the area just east and west of the bridge due to the water traffic and the restricted space plus the wind funnelling under the bridge. It is a terrible area to sail through when there is little breeze or too much "on the nose" and ferries coming from all directions into and out of Circular Quay.

I am surprised at the few boats about for a Saturday afternoon. Racing usually begins about 1430 and the harbour from where you were back to the heads is usually a bun fight. Maybe everyone got an invite to the Royal picnic!

Glad you enjoyed Australia. Come back again. As other posters have mentioned, just nth there is Broken Bay, the mouth of the Hawksbury River with many other waterways to explore in the area as well as the islands in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef, particulalry the Whitsundays.

Ray
 
[ QUOTE ]
So it can look like the Solent, just to make you feel at home. Mind you, this was Boxing Day.

[/ QUOTE ]
Wouldn't that be the start of the Sydney Hobart race then?
 
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