NORDLYS - Christmas and New Year

Christmas and New Year

NORDLYS

David and Annette Ridout

Wed 4 Jan 2006 05:51

Christmas Eve 2005 until early January 2006

Careel Bay

January 4th 2006

A mass of experiences has been crammed into the last few days. Christmas day with friends Libby and Andrew Greig, Boxing Day on the harbour watching the start of the Sydney to Hobart race, New Year's Eve anchored off Taronga Zoo watching one of the most exciting firework displays I have ever seen while surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of moored boats and finally some very extreme weather.

The first of January 2006 was the second hottest day since records began in Sydney. 44C in the city, 40C in the shade of the cockpit awning and 38C in the cabin. It was sixty seven years ago that this was equalled. As the day wore on we had the interesting experience of seeing the thermometer mercury yo yo between 30C and 40C as either the land or sea breezes prevailed. The evening of the 1st found us anchored in Rushcutters bay and just as if a huge fan had been turned on the wind went from NE 10 knots to South 40-50 knots. The highest we saw was 52 knots and the gusts were well over forty for some two hours. Darkness had fallen as it was 2200hrs when this happened. Nordlys did not drag but for an hour I had the engine going slow ahead to take some of the strain. A good start to 2006, hopefully a trend that will not continue. When we went ashore in the morning we were met with leaves, small branches and scattered rubbish bins everywhere.

The start of the Sydney to Hobart race is a real spectacle. Electing to keep away from the start itself we anchored just to the south of the entrance to Middle Harbour. The police had laid small yellow buoys to show where the spectator boats had to keep behind. This action, taken as I chickened out of trying to get near the start proved to be a winner. We were near enough the course to get a good view and also to see the hundreds of spectators as they streamed past. It also meant that I could relax and enjoy myself. The big boys were going past less than ten minutes after the start which was nearly two miles from us!

Sydney is proud of its New Year's Eve celebrations and rightly so. All afternoon the sky was full of helicopters towing huge flags, sky writers and their clever vapour trails, Pitt Special aircraft doing aerobatics and as dusk fell the children's fireworks started at 2100hrs. At midnight the real show began and across Sydney there were four firework sites each doing the same show in synchronised displays. We had a good view of three and could see all four. We were told that several million dollars worth of fireworks were used. Our anchorage was in itself an entertainment and Nordlys herself attracted several peoples attention. One yacht moored next to us commented on the Royal Lymington letter on the stern and it turned out that Heather Slade's sister was on board. I was at school with Michael and he and Heather live in Sway near Lymington. One beautiful old wooden yacht came and tied alongside for a bit as they were keen to see an 'old Swan'. They were S&S admirers. One of them it turned out was also the local rear commodore of the Ocean Cruising Club to which we also belong.

So as you can see the festive season has been just that with the added benefit of a lot of interesting first time experiences. Probably too much has been eaten and drunk but so what. As I write this Annabelle is unpacking their things as tomorrow morning the four of us are off to Tasmania. The skies are grey and it is drizzling but the winds are due to be from the East which should suit us and enable the 220nm passage down to Eden to be done with just one night at sea. Time will tell if I am right! We awoke this am to the news that a yacht had been abandoned in the Bass Straight yesterday and its crew rescued but the yacht lost. They were returning from the race to Hobart.

Happy times

David and Annette