Sailing Away and the Sydney to Hobart

After living on one of the world's great harbors watching the boats sail by for almost a year, I (Chris here) couldn't resist the temptation any longer.  From 'twilight' racing with work colleagues in Melbourne to races in Sydney Harbor to following the lead up to the Sydney to Hobart race (more on that below), I've fallen for sailing hook, line, and sinker (is it okay to mix fishing analogies with sailing?).  The kids have happily followed suit with Jessica Watson (youngest girl to sail around the world solo) especially being Mia's inspiration with her book and with seeing her sailing around in her pink boat during racing practice.

After finding an enthusiastic sailing co-conspirator in another Chapel Hill expat (who actually had sailing experience, unlike me), we have now adding sailing to our list of weekend and holiday activities.

This area is called Pittwater which is around 20 miles north of Sydney and where the boat is for December and January

In true Aussie style that is a propane barbie on the back of the boat

Boxing Day (December 26th) is the biggest day on the Aussie sailing calendar with the start of one of the world's most famous sailboat races, the Sydney to Hobart.  Hobart, Tasmania is 628 miles almost due south of Sydney on a route which often subjects the boats to 40+ knot winds whipping up from the Southern Ocean .  Thanks to a generous invitation from our neighbors, we got to watch the race start from a great restaurant right above the starting line.

The Tea Room at Gunners' Barracks is a posh restaurant inside the 1872 stone building where the gunners protecting
Sydney Harbour lived.  Sam loved wandering through the tunnels connecting this to the gun placements

The massive 100 foot boat in front is Wild Oats XI which is the first to Hobart most years. It has a crew of twenty.
The pink and gray boat just behind it is Jessica Watson's 38 foot boat with the youngest Hobart crew ever (average age 19)

Investec Loyal is Wild Oats's top competitor (it's also about 100 feet long)

There are two start lines with the largest 35 boats in front (they're faster) and the smaller 53 boats a few hundred meters behind.  They race the same distance because the big boats go farther before turning out of the harbor

Wild Oats XI and Loyal were on a collision course in the first hundred meters with WOXI having to turn again to avoid it

That enabled Loyal to get an early lead here but Wild Oats XI passed her within half a mile

Jessica Watson's boat, Ella Bache Another Challenge

As the boats rounded South Head (southern side of entrance to Sydney Harbour), WOXI was in front

That's North Head in the distance

Once the boats reached the Pacific and turned south, they all put up their massive spinnaker sails.
This is Wild Oats XI. Notice how small the helicopter looks compared to the sail

The wind was about 18 knots (19 miles per hour) in these pictures coming from the north.  Just after dark
the boats got hit by 35 knot winds coming from the south in one Sydney's crazy southerlies

Merry Chrissy!

   Yep, they really say that here.   We've gotten fairly used to the Aussie tendency to shorten and add different endings to words, but some still make us laugh.  Merry Chrissy.  Can't say that with a straight face.

   We've had a hard time getting our brains wrapped around Christmas being in summer.  We really wanted it to feel like summer, yet it hasn't.  Sydney's unusually cool and rainy weather has continued all month.  Christmas Eve and Christmas, however, have been beautiful and so we spent lots of time down at the beach.  Mia was eager to surf on Christmas but a cyclone across the "Top End" of Australia caused dangerous surf conditions down the east coast. 

Stockings were hung by the kitchen with care.

Native Australian banksia

The kids' favorite "wobble" game on the paddleboard.

Christmas is exhausting for everyone.

A few snaps of the beach on Chrissy - 

Hoping the stunning weather continues!

Back To Melbourne

     This week we all tagged along with Chris to Melbourne.  While he worked, the kids and I played.  As with our last trip, we had a great time exploring new sights in Melbourne.

    We're having a hard time wrapping our brains around summer as Christmas time, but all the decorations in Melbourne helped - sorta. 

There was a real guy inside this "Stone Santa."  Great costume!

Melbourne is known for its trams. 

Sam was not too keen on walking across this "Mistletoe Bridge."  He was not subjected to any kissing.

Nutcracker scenes were projected on the State Library of Victoria.

     Melbourne is known for its volatile weather and we got a taste of it while at the St.Kilda Pier.  We had bright sunshine but the light effects from storms across the CBD were wild to watch.

     

Sunlight bouncing off the Eureka Tower.

    The stone breakwater attached to the St.Kilda Pier is home to a colony of about 1300 Fairy Penguins.  These little guys are the smallest penguins and even live as far north as Sydney.  Most of them swim all day eating and then return home to their burrows at sunset.  Their arrival home is noisy and amusing.  Some got so excited they tumbled back into the water.  Unlike at Phillip Island, here you are able to photograph them as long as you don't use a flash.  You're also able to get very close to them without hundreds of other folks around or paying lots of money.  Great way to view them! 

    We also saw these rakalis, or water rats, swimming around the same area.  One wildlife volunteer insisted they "are not rats, they're indigenous rodents!"  Another one kept calling them water rats repeatedly.  The sign called them water rats.  Looks like a rat to us!

     One of Chris's coworkers, also his sail racing skipper, was nice enough to take us out on a sail around Port Phillip.  We didn't have much wind but loved getting a water view of Melbourne.

Sam had a ball steering, although his skill with the tiller was a bit unnerving.  "Sam, are you heading in the right direction?"  "I will be."

    Lastly, we stopped by Brighton Beach to see the colorful Bathing Boxes.  It's hard to believe these shacks can sell for $150,000!  Some have electricity, but really.  Great for photographs though.

   If Chris keeps working in Melbourne, maybe we'll head back again.