12 midnight – I come on watch and stay on for the rest of the day as we will be reaching landfall by 6am. The AIS system and radar show up to 12 ships waiting for pilots to guide them into the harbor.

 

6am: Sydney Heads as the sun came up a narrow entrance with south flowing current. Arriving by boat in a city is much more enjoyable than by 747. Sydney Bay is narrow with many coves to explore.

 

6:15: Harbor cruise – the Opera House (smaller than I imagined), Kirribilli point, the Prime Ministers residence, Circular Quay, the Royal Botanical Gardens and under the Harbor Bridge. The stewardess is afraid we aren’t going to fit and the mast is going to come down. I tell her to go up the rig with one of the fenders!

 

6:30: We manually let down the bow thruster and attempt to engage it. It starts kicking back up into the hull so we rig a line strapping it in place. We dock at ….. to clear customs, quarantine and immigration.

 

7:00-9:45: Customs, Immigration and Quarantine. Searched by the yellow Customs labs the dogs were cute fitted with little socks so as not to damage anything. The dogs work for 15 minute shift so their attention doesn’t wonder. Up on the dinghy cover, inside the dinghy cover with only their tails showing, down into the chain locker, on the teak and varnished dining room tables etc!

 

9:45am – 6pm: We have a full day of work on the boat cleaning up after the delivery and getting ready for the owners trip.

 

6:00-10:00pm: Dinner at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia where a large pre race (Sydney Hobart) party rages on. I spot a friend who raced on Yeoman with me in the Fastnet. The wind has come up and the Rolex flags flutter off the forestay in the wind. We go for a walk along the docks boat spotting and come across Shogun the IRC46 hull 3. I see many differences to the boat which solve some of the issues we found after our miles on Yeoman.

 

8:00-12 midday: A late wake up for me make the crew a breakfast of English pancakes as we had no lemons for me to make them during the delivery – something I normally do. Rigging chores before going into town – the main halyard needs to be shortened and reloaded on the captive winch.

 

12:45-3pm: Drop the chef and stewardess in town and park in the Domain. Carols in the Park is that night the stage is set, people stream into the park and a little village of tents has sprung up on the grass in front of the stage. It is humid everyone tucks into their picnics I grab an ice cream. Quick walk through the Art Gallery and then onto the Botanical Gardens walking along the water front to the Opera House. Bats are hanging in the trees, many different birds fly around the gardens and there are lots of interesting plant species to look at. It is a Saturday and the gardens are teeming with people. Back in the car around Hyde Park and navigate myself back to the boat 20 minutes out of town.  

3pm: Change into airplane cloths, leaving my uniform onboard, eat yet another beautifully prepared lunch by our chef and off to the airport for a 24 hour flight.

 

4pm: In a very long queue at the airport to check in don’t get to the ticket counter until 10 minutes before the flights scheduled departure of 6pm. The flight is overbooked I am told I am on standby (along with 7 others) not something I want to hear. I find the supervisor and tell her I am happy to go on QF31 via Singapore (overbooked as well). I tell her I have flown standby for 25 years and would love to make it out that night but understand the flight is in an oversold situation. My concern is my ticket says not eligible for denied boarding compensation – not something I want to read I keep silent about this. The check in agent is under pressure one seat and she has to choose who goes everyone stands in front of her listening to her conversation. She picks me saying I deserve to get on after 25 years of standby but says can’t guarantee a good seat. I am happy to sit in the worst seat in the plane I just want to go home. She hands me a ticket – joy of joy it is a business class ticket all the way back to London I run through customs, security and sweating arrive at the gate. We sit on the plane at the waiting for a connecting flight with 40 passengers to land. We take off almost 2 hours late I look out the window (very happily I am seated in business) and am able to spot the yacht I sailed in on at her dock in Balmain – thank you for a safe trip I murmur in her direction. Goodbye Sydney.