Ulladulla - Sydney Thurs 29/4 to Friday 30/4

Ulladulla Boat Harbour, Calista centre left.

One of the destinations that we dreamt of on our voyage was the day that we entered Sydney Harbour. You can catch a cheap flight from home or drive it in a (long) day, but to enter the harbour through the heads after having sailed there on our own boat was to be for us, sooooo good. Whether it would be like this in practice, we were about to find out, because on Wednesday 28th April at Ulladulla, an inspection of the weather suggested that finally winds would shift out of the NW, courtesy of the cold fronts that had swept the ocean to the south of the continent, and thrown up huge seas at Port Elliot according to our online correspondents. We had spared many a thought for Jessica Watson, slugging it out in mountainous conditions west of Tasmania. Southern seas can be cruel and relentless, and we just hoped that she would be ok and would get through this incredible trial. Fill the Harbour with boats when she gets in, and any boss who sacks someone because they were out there to see her home .... is a mug! What an inspiration she is. Go kid, go.

For us it was time to head north out of the cosy confines of Ulladulla. We thought that if we left in the afternoon, the 16-20 hour passage would see us in Sydney Harbour on Friday morning. We doubted that there would be much of a media pack there when we went through the heads (!), but for us to actually get there would be enough. At 2.05pm we slid out of a tranquil harbour, cleared with Marine Rescue Ulladulla (who informed MR Sydney of our projected eta in Sydney for reporting in as per our Offshore Tracking Sheet), and set a course for Point Perpendicular, off Jervis Bay. We had always hoped to overnight in Jervis Bay, but trip planning on a yacht is nothing like the predictability of camping or caravaning. With the winds as they had been, JB would have to be missed. At sea, one needs a sense of humour, and for us, once we got going we needed it, because instead of us sailing on winds to the W of NW, the wind had backed to the NE and was on our nose again. It was light enough though, and we started the motor.

Sailing at last off Jervis Bay!

By nightfall we had a triple treat: we watched in awe as a full moon rose rose over the Tasman sea, we saw it shed its soft hue on the vertical walls of Point Perpendicular, and as a Cookie vegie pasta gained momentum in the oven the wind finally softened, moved to the NW, and became the westerly that the forecast had predicted. We hoisted sail and settled into the night. Off Jervis Bay our VHF Radio crackled to life with the Navy informing all ships that a high velocity firing at a parachute flate would take place near our area. We seemed to be the only other "ship" in the area, so we settled back to watch, hoping that a myopic gunner would not mistake our nav lights atop our mast as a flare falling to sea. In the end we saw and heard nothing, until later the outline of a frigate stole past us to the East, silhouetted against the moonlight on the horizon. They do not come up on AIS.

By mid evening the wind shifted to our port quarter, and stiffened significantly. Off Crookhaven, and Shoalhaven we were forced to reduce sail, and as it filled in to 30knots - possibly due to some funnelling through the hills to the west - we were reduced to hand steering under headsail alone, in a sea confused by wind against the south setting current. Our trip to Sydney had become a tiring and uncomfortable slog. Adding to the challenge was an accumulation of ship traffic that occurred off Port Kembla, a port that is illuminated by fires from the steelworks, that became a beacon for us all along the Illawarra coast.

Surfing our way to Sydney in a kaleidoscope of colours!

In the grey light of the new day our much anticipated sighting of the famous surfing beaches of Cronulla, Wanda, Tamarama, and Bondi, the fabled mecca of those who do sand between the toes, was shrouded in gloom as rain showers swept in from the south. No sign through the glass, of the 'Bra Boys strutting their stuff and marking their territory at Maroubra. No sign of golden bodied backpackers either. So much for the vision that we had of a glorious run along Sydney's beaches of surf folklore. For us it was a final dodge of a tanker out of Botany Bay before the Gap and South head were upon us. A deluge of biblical dimensions could not have dampened our spirits as once abeam of South Head at 0915 EST the vista of the great harbour was laid out before us. It was time to go below and put in a call on Channel 16 - "Marine Rescue Sydney, Marine Rescue Sydney, Marine Rescue Sydney, this is Calista, Calista, Calista on Channel 16 and abeam of South Head, do you receive me?". "Calista, Calista Calista, this is Marine Rescue Sydney, we have been expecting you, welcome to Sydney" !!!!

Sydney at last!