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08 January 2019 | Manly Cove
Helen
After dinner, we again watched a few episodes of Justified. The water was nice and flat with little boat traffic around us. Slept well. We got up just after 7. I woke up earlier but must have fallen back asleep. The sun was shining for the first time in days. Our salon temperature was 77 degrees. The sun is heating up our boat. Mark started both engines at 7:30. We dropped our mooring lines and motored out the channel, along with fast moving ferry boats, on our way to the ocean. Helped Mark raise the main sail in the channel. Then added the jib. We were close hauled to begin with. Then went off the wind for a more comfortable sail. Made some phone calls. Headed offshore around 4 miles and then back into the Sydney Harbour. We checked out Quarantine Bay but there were too many boats there, plus there was little protection from the ferry boat wake. We dropped the main & jib and motored back to Manly Bay. This time all the free mooring balls were taken. It was a sunny day but the water was still cold. Motored around to Manly Bay. Anchored just off the mooring balls. Then Mark checked the weather and decided we needed to be back further in the anchorage. The wind was supposed to change to the opposite direction. We didn't want to be right on top of the moorings. We circled around and dropped the anchor a little further away. We are beside a catamaran from Montreal, Canada. Decided to take a shower off the back steps. Sat up on deck to dry off. There was a great breeze, but I was cold. Got changed while Mark launched the dinghy. Then headed to the beach. Stopped and chatted with Natalie & her daughter, Coralea, the Canadians on Papillon de Mer. They invited us over for happy hour, as her husband and other daughter took a ferry to downtown Sydney. We dinghied to the beach. I was able to get onto dry sand, as I was wearing my running shoes. Then helped Mark drag the dinghy up to the shark fence. He attached our line, plus the lock line. Then we walked over to the ferry terminal. We had lunch at Betty's Burgers. We sat outside at one of their tables and waited for our order. I didn't take my phone this time as it was not charged up. Then we walked the two blocks over to Manly Beach. We noticed the hotel and sports bars were playing the Alabama-Clemson championship football game. Decided to check out the beach and come back as it was almost half time. Alabama was losing. There were lots of people on the beach as well as in the water. Some surfers, but many swimmers in the designated area. Mark noticed a few young ladies sunning on the beach without tops. I didn't know this was a topless beach! We took a short walk on the sandy beach. I really love this picturesque beach. The water is such a beautiful color. Lots of breaking waves. We then decided to head back to one of the hotels to watch the game. We played some slots at the first hotel. Not much luck for either of us. I did get my money back. Then we walked up further and picked a hotel with a sports bar. Mark had a coffee and we sat at their counter and watched the game. Clemson ended up winning by a score of 44-16. Could not believe that Alabama lost. Then we headed back to the Manly Ferry Terminal for a quick stop at Aldis. Took our purchases and walked back to the beach where our dinghy was safely waiting for us. Mark unlocked the security line. Then tried to turn the dinghy around but it ran over my foot and took off a layer of skin in a couple of places. No bleeding but it sure did burn. Headed back to the boat. Mark checked the final score of the football game. No score in the final quarter. Mark said he had a headache and decided to take a nap. He slept for about half an hour. I did some reading. Packed up a few things to take to Papillon de Mer. Then dinghied over. Met Eric & their other daughter. Eric & Natalie were gracious hosts. Many thanks to you for your hospitality! They spent 12 years building a very beautiful catamaran. We talked about so many of our sailing experiences and theirs as well. Loved their pictures and videos. They are planning to head south to Tasmania. That is one place we are not going to see on our sailing adventure. We didn't get back to the boat until 8 pm. It was just getting dark. Good thing that Mark left our anchor light on. The sea air and our ocean sail tired out us. I am ready to think about bed. It just started raining lightly. Not anything that was predicted in the forecast. The winds did shift and we are facing the opposite direction. Thanks to everyone who sent us emails or messages. The weather is supposed to change tomorrow and be favorable for a sail north to Pittwater.