Year 2 –26 January 2024 -Australia Day

We woke at a reasonable time and I decided to get out my spare 12 v battery. If you recall when I ordered a new 12 v battery when the first began to fail from the Galapagos to the Marquesas, I ordered a new one to be sent to the Marquesas from Tahiti. For some reason I ended up with 2 and kept the spare. I tried to sell it in Tahiti but no joy. It was therefore lucky that I still had it and hoped I had not left it too long f use to be of use.

I checked all the batteries for distilled water and added a bit where required. I waited until the others were up and then we changed the 12-v battery and when we connected it up it said 100% so it was full and ok. I then put the generator on to charge the 24 v and to make some hot water.  We discarded the old one.

We had banana pancakes for breakfast and then headed off to celebrate Australia Day – the day when the fleet arrived in 1788 and the Union Jack was raised. We wish all Australian’s a great national day and we decided to go into town to help them celebrate it. As we went to dock our dinghy we could see a large number of people swimming around certain sections of Rose Bay. There seemed to be no concern about sharks!!

We collected the car and drove to the airport and dropped it off. We then caught the train to Museum and decided we should visit the Australian Museum. This was free (surprisingly) and had a fantastic exhibition of wildlife with stuffed and skeletons of current and extinct animals and a great collection of Australian birds. There was an exhibition about dinosaurs and another about the dangerous creatures in Australia – snakes, spiders and crocodiles and I hope I do not come across any on my journeys. It was certainly a good museum and well worth the visit.    

We had a coffee and a sandwich and then went to St Mary’s Cathedral – a Catholic Cathedral which had its foundations laid in about 1860 as the first Cathedral burnt down. The stained-glass windows, which were very good, were actually made in Birmingham and shipped out here.

We then walked down Hyde Park and into the Botanical Gardens from where we could see the harbour full of boats, some naval, some harbour boats such as ferries and tugs and lots of motorboats and private yachts and zooming about. It was very busy and the water was all churned up. Farm Cove next to the Opera House was full of anchored boats and we could see Kiribilli, the Prime Ministers House opposite ,with a Marquee outside and inside the Botanical Gardens the Governors House, which looked like it had a garden party going on. I am not sure why we did not have an invite!!.

We walked on to the Opera House where a stage was set up for a concert this evening. The words Reflect, Respect, Celebrate were in large letters – very apt. We walked on and there were all sorts of activities going on in the Harbour.

There had been a Ferrython where all the ferries race and all sorts of events. We saw a lot of old buses which were taking people across Harbour Bridge and back. One of them was an old Red London Bus – 176 – which I used to sometimes catch when I lived in the Dulwich area.

We had a drink on the front overlooking the Harbour and listening to the commentary. We then went round to the Cruise Ship Terminal and went to the top floor and had a drink overlooking the Harbour. A marine jazz boat came past which was good. We then two tall ship boats come in and moor up in front of us. This was interesting to watch and how much more difficult it was to manoeuvre those type of boats in comparison to what we can do now.

The next step was to go to the Rocks area which had a large market and lots of bars and restaurants. There were various bands (including the Fire Band – which looked like the Salvation Army). We continued and went to the Fortune of War – the oldest pub and had another. There was a good singer who played his guitar. He sung Sweet Caroline and the Aussies loved it singing along- I smiled -did they know that this is the England Football Teams informal song!!. We stayed and listened for some time and then decided to head back to Stormbird for supper and so we could see the fireworks. This meant a tram and bus and we were soon back on board.

We had a good salad and cheese supper in the cockpit looking toward the Harbour Bridge. There were lots of boats out enjoying themselves-some with music a bit louder than they should!!.

I must say everyone was friendly and enjoying themselves  and celebrating the day. It was good to be part of it and to witness some of it ourselves.

We sat on the rear deck and watched the Harbour Bridge lit up in the Australian flag colours and watched the firework display in the Harbour from afar.

The picture of the day is the Harbour Bridge lit up with the firework display.      

Need/Opportunity Year Two

I am in need of more crew from April to September so if of interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

In year two I will be going from New Zealand to Sydney and hen up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com