Our last day in Sydney Harbour/Port Jackson ... a bit of a geographical catch-all, was to have been in Manley. The weather lords had other plans for us. We initially headed out from our courtesy mooring at Sugar Loaf Bay to be ready for the 10:15 raising of the Spit Bridge. We were one of 3 yachts mustering for release from the Middle Harbour. Mid-week and so early, there was no-one seeking entry, only to escape.
Smarty Pants boat name.
We headed round the headland avoiding the Manley ferries to explore the mooring possibilities in the coves around Manley. We made a rapid tour, assessing anchoring possibilities with the SW swell gushing headlong into the bay. We considered the only viable option if we were to go ashore to do some laundry and shopping, was to collect one of 5 pink public moorings near the ferry terminal. Not really ideal, but in the scheme of things they didn't look like providing the trampolining experience that Kiama had offered us. Alas, the 2 vacant moorings were vacant for a reason: the lines were chewed - probably propeller strike.
No room in this Manley line-up.
Manley locals take salt water pools to a new level.
What the heck, we'd become accustomed to going up and down the channels in the Harbour, we'd have a look at Rose Bay. We had always intended to drop anchor there in homage to our crazy golfing days and the 7th hole at RSGC where we'd made our counter-offer to purchase Zofia. On approach, we didn't like the look of Rose Bay either and opted for somewhere still further upstream that might be rolly but sheltered from a freshening SW wind and somewhat iconic - Farm Cove.
The iconic sails of the Opera House.
The holding was excellent and the outlook as full of interest as one could script. Waves of people in different pursuits depending on the time of day. Lunch time corporate boot camp. A Wedding in the botanic garden. Black headed tour groups from SE Asia. Ambling tourists. Photographers snapping away at the twin marvels of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. Lovers. We had ringside seats to all this splendour and through the kaleidoscope of, at first, a glorious blue winter sky, through sunset and then the glitz of neon and LED illumination (see Part 2).
When the AMP Lines up with the Intercontinental
- we know we haven't dragged anchor!
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