Sydney, a sailor’s life between two bridges

My dear readers, I am very sorry for the silence the last 2 months. I left you with my last blog about Saba, sailing and diving on the “Infinity”. I promised you in my last blog more sailing adventures and surprises. Here we go.....

Sydney skyline

Again we had a change of course in our sailing adventure. For several reasons we decided to sail on different ships the last two months. Billy got a position as 2^nd engineer on the Picton Castle, sailing the Cook Islands with local passengers and cargo and I went back to the Soren Larsen to sail the Sydney harbour tours and prepare the ship for the Tall Ships event. I got the position of crew mate to organize a bunch of sailors in a smooth, customer oriented sailing team.


 Challenges for us both and although it was not the plan to be separated in our sailing adventure and a little scratch on our romantic sailing souls, it gave us both the sailing experience we wanted. The separation was a little easier knowing that we would sail together again on the Soren Larsen from the end of August to sail the Tall Ships event from Sydney-Melbourne-Hobart and back to Sydney for the centenarary of the Austrian navy. This means this blog is all about me and Sydney sailing. Billy’s stories are probably told dear readers, one of these days, because he didn’t find the time yet to write his blog.

I received a warm welcome from the Soren Larsen crew, with whom we sailed earlier this year in February. A couple of new people and Jess and Mikey from the “old gang”.

I was excited to go back to Sydney, a city I really adore, and to go back to the wonderful Soren Larsen. A famous brigantine and she was one of the last cargo carrying sailing ships. Build in 1949 in oak in Northern Denmark. Also the famous star in the TV series “The Onedin line”, which I watched as a little girl absolutely impressed by the adventures of Capt. James Onedin.

Check out the website of Sydney Harbour Tall Ships and the Soren Larsen

http://www.sydneytallships.com.au

Sydney harbour tours, the Opera house 3x times a day

Of course I had to change my mindset from off shore sailing to be in the harbour for 2 months and doing day sails with passing the opera house 3x times a day.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Actually I lived between the two famous bridges of Sydney; The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Anzac bridge. The Soren Larsen is moored in White Bay next to the Anzac bridge and in all our harbour tours we sailed multiple times under the Harbour Bridge.

This is the story about the Sydney Harbour Bridge, told in an exhibition in the Museum of Sydney; “The Sydney harbour Bridge, so long a dream, and is to-day a bold and practical reality. 

A triumphant arch of steel, humanizing our landscape, in the ideal of all true Australians. Its success lies in the loyalty of all engineers and workmen “.

Anzac Bridge

The ANZAC Bridge, opened in December 1995, made a spectacular back drop to the 2000 Sydney Olympics Marathon.

Climbing the rigging to unfurl the sails

View from aloft

How is the sailing on a brigantine in the harbour? In this season (winter) we sail around 4 days a week and mainly around the weekend. Day sails of 2,5 hours named a lunch or dinner cruise and special charters as birthday parties, weddings and rugby beer drinking team building. We always set the square sails and actually sail in the harbour.

Unfurling the sails

You climb the rigging to unfurl the sails, what is always exciting. For the highest square sail, the t’gallant, you climb to the yard around 25 meters above the deck. You do wear a safety harness, but it is just a belt with a line & hook to clip on when laying out on a yard (stepping out onto the footropes of the yard). So best is “to hold on”!  The view is marvellous and I feel like a bird to work so high up in the sky.

Setting sails with the help of guests

 

Clew and bunt lines of the squares

You set the square sails from the deck, often helped by enthusiastic guests. Lots of lines to handle, each line belayed on her own pin. This is the art of square rig sailing and sometimes confusing which line to pull when. As leading deckhand you call the sails; “throw off the buntlines, slack off your clew lines and haul away on the sheets”. And see the lower and upper topsails are set.

Lower and upper topsails are set

Taking in the slack of the mooring line

Throwing the heaving line

Arriving at the dock, you throw a heaving line (little line with monkey fist on the end), to get
 the mooring line across. It is still an art for me to get the heaving line across the first time! Mooring lines are heavy and for sure make
my arm muscles grow and I become more and more like “Popeye the sailor man”.

 



Bow watch is to make sure that in this busy harbour, no little boat is unseen. You have the most fantastic view of the harbour and especially the dinner cruises gave me some unforgettable views.

Yoga on the roof of the deckhouse

Capt. Marty Woods

What about my crew mates? We work and live with 10 people together on board the Soren Larsen. It is a sharing & caring community of sailors,backpackers and adventurers who love to sail the ship and to give guests a good time on board. Different nationalities, age groups and lifestyles so the only solution to get some “ ME private time” is to hide with a book and an i-pod in your bunk (bed).

Crew mate Mikey and me

Host Brendan and Mark

Crew dinner with Hisaki, Jess and Mikey

Donny, refit Wangi Queen

Jackson. refit Wangi Queen

It was not only sailing, but also maintenance needed for the Soren Larsen and the Wangi Queen, another boat belonging to the Sydney Harbour Tall Ships, mainly used as ferry for the Goat Island tours and the Saturday Bucks parties. The refit of the Wangi Queen was a big one and in the last week we all helped to get her ready for the launch. With the paint still wet, she left the dock for her first Goat Island tour after 4 months refit. I now know how to use a sander and have painted some m2 in off white, grey and red.

Painting of the Soren

Sanding till your arms are numb

Sailmaker Brian

The last weeks we worked on Soren Larsen to get her ready for the sail to Melbourne and Hobart. More painting and sail maker Brian came to repair the sails needed for the trip. No sail loft but the parking lot in the sun worked as well (sore knees though the end of the day!).

Yuka, Jess & me

Game of beer pong

Famous are the leaving parties on Soren. It is a nice reason to throw on a party when a crew member is leaving. The tradition is lot’s of beers, beer games, dressing up and the final is a swim for the leaving person, most of the times forced by fellow crew mates,  in the harbour (lots of phones and camera’s were unfortunately lost !) . Checking out strange bars is another cool thing to do. What about the Absinth bar ! It is an art to drink absinth and the bar tender knows exactly how much water and suger to add for the perfect taste. By the way you are only allowed to drink maximum 3 absinths, what is wise knowing that the alcohol% goed up from 40% to 75% !

Jimmy & Yuka

Absinth tasting with crew mate Pip

Frankie and me on the road

It was not only working and sailing. I had a 5 day working week so 2 days a week to explore Sydney and discover the area around Sydney. One of the most special trips was with my friend Frankie who is the host on the Soren Larsen. She has loads of interesting stories for the guests on board about the Soren and Sydney Harbour and makes sure that everyone has a splendid time. No better mate to discover the area of greater Sydney also because of her superb Mercedes sports car!

Cape Solander

We did a cool road trip from Cronulla,
 where Frankie lives, to Cape Solander.
 During the whale watching season, 
Cape Solander is the site of a long-running
 volunteer program, where enthusiasts have
 been counting whales for a couple of
 months each year for more than a decade.

 



June/July is the best time to see humpback whales as they migrate to warmer waters. If you’re lucky you won’t even need to look far – whales swim as close as 200m from the coast!

Next stop was Botany Bay. Captain James Cook first landed on the southern banks of Botany Bay, on 28 April 1770, when navigating his way around Australia on his ship, HMS Endeavour. Cook's landing marked the beginning of Britain's interest in Australia and in the colonisation of this new ‘southern continent’. Governor Arthur Phillip sailed the armed tender HMS Supply into the bay on 18 January 1788. Two days later the remaining ships of the First Fleet arrived to found the planned penal colony.

Further to Sydney’s heritage-listed Royal National Park. Established in 1879, it’s the world's second-oldest national park. It features unique heritage attractions, along with fascinating plants, birds and animals. The 16,000ha Royal National Park is like a big beautiful backyard.

We drove the Grand Pacific Drive from Stanwell to  Wollongong, cliff hugging roads, hanging above the ocean, with the stunning 665 metre Sea Cliff Bridge.

http://www.grandpacificdrive.com.au/routes-and-maps/45/stanwell-park-to-thirroul

Wine tasting team Frankie, Adam and me

Vineyards in winter in Hunter Valley

The week after we headed for the Hunter Valley, Australia’s best known wine regions. The region has played a pivotal role in the Australian history of wine as one of the first wine regions planted in the early 19^th century. The logic behind the promotion of winemaking was that men tend to become more drunk and disorderly when under the influence of highly alcoholic spirits. If enough wine was provided, it was believed, it could be a moderate influence that could tame the “savagery”.

Frankie and I met up with friend Adam, who lives in the Hunter valley and he knows all the fantastic wineries and off we went for our tasting tour. We did several tastings in the valley, but the most outstanding was Robyn Drayton Wines, producing a white port and serving this with fresh lime! We took some home for an evening at Adam’s home of dining & wining and finished off with Australian cheeses & the white port!

Leaving Sydney harbour

With my old crew mate Hannah, I went whale watching on the boat she works on now. Amazing experience, leaving the Heads of Sydney and just 10 minutes out we saw the first breaching and humpback whales tails slapping in the water.

View from the ocean to Sydney skyline

Hannah & me

From April to mid August the Humpbacks are heading north to give birth and mate in the waters of the Coral Sea. At this time of year they tend to swim constantly north at 4-5 knots (5–9 km/h) and will have regular surface intervals. At this time the whales are utilizing the Inshore Northern current to assist them on the way north.

Today, whales, dolphins and porpoises are protected in Australian waters, and thanks to conservation measures, whale populations have steadily increased since the late 1970s. 3000 whales migrate every year North.

View of the Heads of Sydney

 













Some other really cool  was the Manly Scenic daytripWalkway. One of the more famous and scenic routes, encompassing panoramic views of the majestic entrance to Sydney Harbour and swathes of bush land. The walkway passes through Sydney Harbour National Park, Council bush land reserves, local harbour-side streets and paved paths. A 10 km walk from Manly to Spit on a stunning sunny day and I brought a picnic to relax on the beach.

  
 Just for you travelers, my favourites on my days off:

 

 

Opera House

   The customs house for internet  and lounging  with news papers (ground floor even open till  midnight)

Royal Botanical Gardens to read a book and admire the opera house (never seen a building with so many different perspectives because of the light

Cockatoo Island: Retaining all its character and heritage from decades of human endeavour by convicts and shipbuilders alike. Now a place to escape the everyday, a canvas for creative’s and cultural events.

 

 

The lunch concerts with classic music in the city recital hall (only $ 15,-). A lot of grey haired ladies and a couple of travellers like me

The art Gallery of New South Wales, with a great Wednesday evening opening and events and free entrance













 
Sydney has been a fantastic time, sailing in stunning Sydney harbour and living in the most wonderful city (nr 2 after Amsterdam) of the world.

 

 Exciting times to come. First of all, Billy and I are just reunited in Auckland. I had to fly to Auckland to renew my Australian VISA (I can only stay 3 months at the time) and Billy stopped here on his way from the Cook Islands. It is wonderful after two months to be together again and we enjoy every minute of our little dining, drinking and love holiday in Auckland.

Next is the Tall Ships event on the Soren Larsen. We will leave Sydney on 31th of August with destination Melbourne-Hobart and back to Sydney for the centenary of the Australian navy on 3th of October. Challenging stretches of sea with the most famous of all Bass Strait to cross. Check out the website of the Tall hips event.

http://www.tallshipfestival2013.com

Next blog, salty sea stories.

Ahoy Charlotte