Sydney

I was born here. I learnt to sail here. I never envisaged myself sailing my own yacht in through Sydney Heads, but it has happened now.

The  first plan was head  straight around into Store Beach, drop the pick and have a snooze after the last 78 hours.
Hmmm!
Rethink required. Although it was only 0900 on a Saturday morning Store Beach already appeared to be a) quite popular, b) there were no go areas designated by buoys, c) a  much smaller bay than I remembered it being 53 years ago!

Time to refer to some updated information. RMS NSW (Roads + Maritime Services NSW) have some excellent information available in both electronic chartlets and apps.They also have lovely pink visitor moorings all over Sydney Harbour, which until now I knew nothing about. They provide the moorings in sensitive areas for seabed protection so that a gazillion anchors are not chewing up the sea grass etc.
As we quickly discovered the buoys are in excellent condition and in some very handy spots. They have a limit of 24 hours per visit.

Being not the peak season we were as it turns out, easily able to find a mooring each night for the next week in a variety of different locations,whilst we waited for the next weather window  Thankyou RMS, I always sleep better when on a well maintained  buoy than on the pick.

Sydney at night from Athol Bay 

Although I grew up  in Sydney , there is still much of the harbour I had never sailed in or even seen from the water.
We made our way a short way up the Parramatta River, visited some old haunts like Mort Bay, Balmain, and spent many evenings with prime viewing positions of the departing passenger vessels.

Also managed to catch up with my longest term girlfriend (we started kindergarten on the same day, just a few summers ago now), and her sons , her husband being away unfortunately. They have just returned to Sydney after some years away overseas, and although the weather was somewhat ordinary that particular day it was still a fun day on  Sydney Harbour.

My brother and his partner had been away for several months overseas and with  amazingly  fortuitous timing flew into Sydney. Nicely jetlagged the day after their flight we managed to pick them up from Rozelle and go for a bit of a jaunt around the harbour.Although K'Gari is now 3 and half years old, they have never had a chance to see her , let alone sail on her.

Before we left Sydney I had a chance to check out 'what lies below'.The anodes were looking fine and no growth build up other than a light fuzz, so I could foresee no issue with K'Gari taking unwanted passengers into the National Park wilderness areas of  Tasmania we were planning to visit.

Other than catching up with friends and family I think the most interesting time was visiting the Quarantine Station located just inside North Head.

Just couldn't lose the light bulb! Overview of Q Station .Flagstaff Point in foreground and top left the wee beach is Store Beach- which seems to have shrunk over the last  50 years!

As kids free ranging around North Harbour in our dinghy,Quarantine Beach was off limits to us. We had a defined area in which we could sail during the holidays. An imaginary line from Flagstaff Point to the now iconic white building (Smedley Tower) which anybody who has ever been to Manly by ferry has seen, was the eastern limit of our play area. From Flagstaff Point to Dobroyd Point , was the southern extremity. That left all of North Harbour to not try to drown ourselves in - obviously we managed quite successfully!
Now the Quarantine Station has been disbanded from its original use and is a heritage listed national park containing a  hotel/resort/ wedding venue/conference centre in the old buildings , but the best part for me is the buildings have been preserved and the small museum/visitor station down at the landing point  was fascinating. The history and time line all outlined . The 'graffiti' carved into  the sand stone rock face from the ships and crews who spent time there- the RMS Lusitania , probably being the most well known vessel, was brilliant to see, still there and still perfectly legible from July 1895.
Having opened in 1832, it was shut as a Quarantine Station in 1984. During my lifetime  it housed people from Darwin whose homes were destroyed with Cyclone Tracey and was used in Operation Baby Lift when 2000-2500 Vietnamese orphans were airlifted just after the fall of Saigon .

K'Gari off Quarantine Beach. Dobroyd Point is obscured by the  sea fog which moved up the harbour during the morning.
Smedly Tower to the right and Flagstaff Point to the left.Q beach was out of bounds when we were kids.

Looking down into Quarantine Bay from a building in the former second class precinct