Sydney New Year 2008

After arriving in Sydney a couple of weeks before New year we've spent all our time exploring and taking in all the sights and sounds a major city has to offer. We sailed into the harbour early in the morning as we were determined to sail the whole way past the Opera house and Under the Harbour Bridge without starting the engine. Luckily we had just enough wind to keep us at a steady pace to avoid the constant stream of ferry boats, pleasure cruisers and other sail boats that pack the inner harbour. We fulfilled many cruisers dream that day; sailing past the famous land marks and having our picture taken by all the tourists along the way! Our friends on Helen Kate had already found a great anchorage in Black wattle Bay, just off Darling harbour and right in the heart of the city making everything was accessible by foot.

We spent the next few days finding our bearings and walking more than we probably had in the whole pacific crossing so lots of blisters and sore feet. I'd been here around seven years ago on my last visit and was really keen to see all the things I had missed the first time. Poor Jimmy was dragged around the Botanical Gardens, The Rocks (the oldest part of Sydney), Kings Cross and numerous department stores and that was just our first day!


Christmas morning we spent opening presents and preparing for a cruisers BBQ in the park for lunch along with two Norwegian, two swedish, one Dutch and one American boat. Quite a European event which of course consisted of the traditional way too much food but of course it wouldn't be christmas with out that.

For New Year we decided to move out to the main harbour with a view of the Opera house and Bridge to watch the famous fireworks. Our friends on Antares were having problems with their engine so we towed them out into the harbour so they didn't miss out on all the fun. We anchored up the day before and really glad we did as there must have been over a thousand boats anchored around us by New Years eve night. We got a great spot and Helen Kate and Antares came over for dinner and drinks to watch the Finale of 2007. At midnight the fireworks started and lasted for over fifteen minutes. With four identicle sets being fired off from Barges all along the harbour and the bridge covered by an almost constant set of explosions. There were even fireworks going off the top of the tallest building in the downtown area, all syncronised perfectly.