Position: 33 52.13 S 151 14.0 E
Moored Rushcutters Bay, Port Jackson
Wind: WNW, F3 slight breeze
Sea: slight Swell: nil
Weather: sunny, mild
Day's run: 78 nm sailed, 45 nm made good

Things went pretty much as expected for the last short leg into Sydney. The wind remained in the NE for a little longer and was a little fresher than I was hoping, which made for an uncomfortable beat to windward for most of last night and even required a reef in the main late in the evening, just as I was expecting conditions to improve. So by midnight I was feeling somewhat frustrated, no doubt exacerbated by lack of sleep.

As usual the transition from the NE wind to the Westerly had a period of confused seas as the waves from the north took a while to follow the wind, made worse I suspect by the East Australia Current. The residual sea, short and square, had Sylph pitching and hobby-horsing, occasionally coming to an almost abrupt standstill as she encountered a particularly blockish wall of water, but by 0100 the seas had settled, the wind was steady from the west, and we started to have a nice late night sail along the steep cliffs that mark Port Jackson's eastern bastion to the ocean. Unfortunately, as we were closing the entrance I noticed a police vessel coming out of the Heads on AIS remaining very close to the cliffs and then loitering around "The Gap", followed a short while later by a couple of helicopters with searchlights playing along the cliffs and adjacent waters. Clearly someone had met with an accident, most likely an unhappy soul who thought they had nothing to live for - very sad. I kept an eye and ear open just in case, but perhaps gratefully heard and saw nothing. I reflected momentarily on the difficulties many of us face, and felt grateful for my own good fortune.

At 0300 we were tacking our way into the Heads. Half an hour later the wind was dying and we were going nowhere fast. I was tired and keen to have a rest. I started the engine, handed sail, and we motored for another twenty minutes into Chowder Bay where we picked up a public mooring for what remained of the night.

This morning, after breakfast and a quick call to my sailing club, we got underway at 1020 and motored in the light breeze to Rushcutters Bay, where at 1050 we picked up a fortuitously vacant club mooring.

The main job while in Sydney is to replace the injection pump which a phone call to the Beta agent revealed was still in transit from Melbourne but expected to be here in the next day or two (fingers crossed). As for the mainsail batten cars, they gave me no trouble from Twofold Bay, however I will buy some more Torlon ball bearings and try to source some spare cars while we are in Sydney.

The next and final leg of our voyage to Michael's wedding is from here to Southport, a passage of 390 nm, a four day sail in reasonable conditions. We will be in Sydney effecting repairs and doing general domestics (particularly a backlog of two weeks of laundry) until at least Monday. Then Monday's forecast has fresh N'lies blowing until late Wednesday when some strong W'lies prevail for a few days before turning south. So, if all goes well, Thursday looks like a good departure date to aim for.

All is well.