Tuesday 6th March
We took ourselves off to Rushcutters Bay where the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia is based, and where there is a big marina and chandlery which had some bits we needed. We also bought some waterproofing for Susie's jacket. In the past we've tried spray on waterproofing with limited or rather no success, this product requires full immersion, so we will see how it goes.
Wednesday 7th March
Today is Susie's last day at work. She has enjoyed working, especially with a group of like-minded people. Big corporate organisations loose much of the family feel and while doctors may see their own patients, the nurses see the lot.
While Susie was at work, I had visitors on board, Greg Sneyd and Doug Kedacic from Watpac. It was good to catch up with the guys and hear about some of the projects which I had been involved with prior to retirement.
When I went to pick Susie up from the ferry dock, Max tried to jump out of the dinghy and did not make it! I am not sure whether he was more insulted by the water or the fact that I grabbed him by the throat to haul him in, or the chill he got getting back to the boat, or the warm shower he was given. It has been quite cool with rain periods.
After all the excitement died down we met Karen and Greg at a very nice Turkish restaurant called "Efendy" for dinner. Greg, Karen's husband is one of the principals at the Leichhardt General Practice. We decided to have the banquet, far too much food but extremely good, most definitely the haute cuisine of Turkish food.
Thursday 8th March
What a night! An east coast low dumped 120mm in the last 24hrs. Sydney traffic was grid locked and Susie had to get to the airport to fly to Melbourne for an APNA F2F board meeting. While the ferry may take a little longer to get to town on a normal day it was the vehicle of choice as there were no traffic jams on the harbour and Susie also saw the Queen Mary 2 which was moored at Circular Quay. The train from Circular Quay to the airport was delayed because of water at another station which lapped at the platform. Just as well they use overhead cables and not live tracks like the London Underground. Susie returned on Sunday after a successful visit spending an extra night to see a concert with one of her friends.
Monday 12th March
Bob & Joan Kershaw arrived having visited family in Canberra. They made the detour to see us, which was really nice. They also brought our mail and beer in cans which are harder to get in NSW. They had hardly settled on board when we dropped the mooring and gave our guests a little tour of Sydney. We motored around to Blackwattle Bay, dropped the hook and caught the bus into the city to visit the Queen Victoria Building locally known as the "QVB". Amazing building!
Tuesday 13th March
After a morning visit to the Fish Markets, we sailed towards Middle Harbour, catching the Spit Bridge opening, picking up a mooring in Sugarloaf Bay. Fresh prawns & bread rolls for lunch- tough life!
Wednesday 14th March
Back out through the Spit Bridge at 10 15, we motored over to Spring Cove for lunch, then sailed up Sydney Harbour to the Harbour Bridge and then motored to our mooring.
Thursday 15th March
Susie went to Canberra for the day doing some advisory work for DVA and Bob & Joan left for the long drive back to the Gold Coast. They had a busy and enjoyable couple of days with us and were great to have aboard.
Friday 16th March
Susie gave her Croc thongs to Joan as she just could not get used to the them, which gave her the excuse to acquire new pair of Crocs in a sandal style. Paid the mooring fees then decided to stay another night so we could go to dinner at Sofie's in Balmain. It's a Greek restaurant, I enjoyed the the Kleftiko (slow cooked lamb), while Susie's Exohiko (Greek version of a Beef Wellington) was a bit chewy.
Saturday 17th March
A front was due to arrive with strong southerly winds so we set off at 6am to get to Middle Harbour before the wind and rain. Sydney Harbour in the dark with all the traffic including the Sun Princess cruise ship coming in to dock at Circular Quay, some rain and a fresh breeze was an interesting experience. We were both happy to pick up a mooring and have a late breakfast in Sugarloaf Bay.
Sunday 18th March
We arranged to meet the owners of "Kachina", a sister ship built 3yrs later, in Pearl Bay. We found out about "Kachina" from the crew of another boat who have been in the Sydney area for a couple of years, but before that they kept their boat on the same finger as our berth at SYC. "Water Music" is hull number 5 and "Kachina" number 57. Trevor and Lena came aboard for coffee and over a couple of hours we compared our boats.
Monday 19th March
David & Christine from "L'Evasion" arrived. They had volunteered to sail with us from Sydney to Pittwater. We passed through the Spit Bridge at 10:30 and headed out towards the heads. It was interesting as the 2-3mt (humph 3-4mt) swell built into a short sea as we crossed the shallower waters opposite North Head. Max was down below in his cage by this time, the 2.5mgs Valium he had been given was not enough to keep him calm in such conditions. I am glad I secured the anchor as we buried the bow a couple of times and had water rushing over the decks. Everything steadied as we turned north and unfurled the genoa for a broad reach northwards. After rounding Cape Barrenjoey we entered Broken Bay and turned south into Pittwater. David & Christina had arranged a berth for us at the same marina that they have been in for the last 5 months. He lent me his Karcher/gerny to clean down the boat, while Chris took Susie to the shops. And to top the day off, they provided us with dinner, fine people!
Tuesday 20th
Susie said she couldn't sleep, it was too quiet and calm in the marina!
We both spent a couple of hours adding extra straps to things which shifted in yesterday's bouncy conditions. The big red tool box left its usual home on the shelf in the workroom, amazingly with no apparent damage. It now has a tie down strap!
Wednesday 21st to Friday 23rd March
The next few days we spent in Newport Marina, with the luxury of shore power, mains water and showers ashore in a nice clean shower!
Saturday 24th March
Heading North! Wind 15-18 knots from the west, very cold, very unusual and very flukey in amongst the hills and valleys of Pittwater. Once out in the open sea it settled down but after several hours slowly faded. We sailed most of the 42 miles but had to motor the last couple of hours. Susie caught a small tuna, enough for dinner for us. We rounded Moon Island and approached the bar at the entrance to the Swansea channel. This was a good bar crossing, it was so smooth even though we arrived before low tide, so smooth in fact that Susie helmed us in. We picked up a visitors mooring and took Max and the fish ashore. Susie cleaned the fish taking care to remove the very dark meat which tends to have a bitter flavour. It was good eating after lightly sautéing in butter and lemon juice.


Sunday 25th March to Friday 30st March
After walking Max we entered Lake Macquarie after the 8am bridge opening and motored along the channel to the "Drop Off" as the edge of the lake is called. Heading south for an hour we picked up a courtesy mooring at Murrays Beach on the eastern side of the lake. This is a delightful spot as it part of a residential subdivision which has been underway for a few ears judging by the wear and tear but so far very few homes have been built. It's a typical Stockland development with central facilities already established. We were entertained by the music supplied for a wedding which took place in the park during the afternoon.
Our next stop was at Wyee Bay, where we anchored under the lee of the north eastern headland, an extremely quiet spot with a quaint little marina on its western side. We sat out a fresh to strong north easterly, tucked in behind the eastern headland. The following night we picked up another courtesy mooring at Kilaben Bay or Rathmines as the old Catalina flying boat base was known. Extremely quiet place, a jetty with a tap was the cause for some laundry to be done after a short walk to the local shops for supplies. Interesting walking tracks around this area with signboards identifying the remnants of the old base.

We motored to Toronto where I had to visit a bank and sign some papers. There was a Woolies in town, so we took the opportunity to do a small shop before moving to a quiet & more protected anchorage at Kooroora Bay. We are starting to get used to all this flat water! The picture of Max stretched out on the floor shows how relaxed he gets when the anchor is down and all the strange noises of the engine and navigation toys have stopped.
On Thursday, we left Kooroora Bay and motored around to anchor off the marina at Marmong Point, where we met Bruce & Thelma on Tui of Opua. Tui is timber Vertue, designed by Laurent Giles who designed our old boat which we sailed from England. Bruce built Tui himself and it is a truly classical beautiful boat.
We also caught up with another young couple with a sad tale of woe, Janine & Andrew on "Joan E", who have their boat out on the hard with a leaking skin fitting into the foam core of the boat. The appear very stoical considering this is the 4th or 5th time in as many months they have been trying to solve the leak. They have had to move into an apartment and hire a car as they are not allowed to live aboard whilst on the hardstand.
On the point is a delightful restaurant and Art Gallery, so we splashed out on dinner at Awaba House overlooking the lake. The waitress told us about a play to be held the next day just here in the park. So on Friday afternoon we saw Shakespeare's "A Comedy of Errors" by the Tantrum Theatre, very amusing and well done. Actually some of the actors were amazing! Later, Bruce & Thelma cooked a wonderful dinner on board Tui, us plus Max meant it was a bit snug as it is only 26 feet long.

31st March 2012
Susie is off to Melbourne this afternoon, for a Sunday meeting, returning tomorrow evening. Janine ("Joan E") has very kindly offered to take her to the airport. We have booked a taxi to collect Susie at the airport at 9:30pm, it was cheaper than hiring a car and after the Port Stephens incident, we feel more comfortable.