Sculpture by the Sea, again!

Sue & I had our second sailing lesson on Saturday and the day was sunny and warm again after a cold week. We did more of the same on the yacht and the wind was stronger than last week, which made it more exciting and challenging, plus there were plenty of yachts out on the water due to a competition going on, so we did our best to try to avoid them!

On Sunday we had a early start and headed down to Bondi with Rebecca to see the annual Sculpture by the Sea event on the coastal path. This is the third time we've been and decided to go early to avoid the traffic and try to get a parking slot, but the narrow streets up from the beaches were already busy by the time we got there, so a longer walk was required.

We started at Tamarama beach and walked around the headland to Bondi. The crowds weren't too bad at this time of day but it was already getting busy as the sun was out and it was getting warm. There was also lots of activity on the beach as it was Sunday morning and all the 'nippers' were out doing their beach activities.

There are some photos from this year's walk here. By the end of the walk we didn't think the exhibits were as good this year, but maybe we're getting more familiar with the event. There were some striking ones, as usual, but the overall impact of the event was not as impressive this year for some reason. However, it still made an interesting scenic walk with a sense of anticipation, so no doubt we'll be back again.

Learning to sail

Everybody in Sydney sails. Well, to us it seems the case. Every time we meet a new ‘local’, they’ve just come back from, or are just off to, their boat for a spot of R&R. And what better way could there be to pass the time, when the sun’s shining brightly in a blue sky and the sea’s sparkling. So, it was really only a matter of time before we had a go ourselves...

We’d experienced a day on the water last April, on a free ‘Try Sailing’ day at the Royal Prince Albert Yacht Club on Pittwater, and so a few weeks ago we signed up for a ‘Sailing for Beginners’ course at the same place – unfortunately not free this time.

Saturday dawned sunny and hot, so we couldn’t have been luckier. Venturing out onto grey waters in the rain doesn’t appeal quite as much! We arrived at 1.30pm and met our fellow learners – a motley bunch, but then that’s no doubt what they thought of us too! We were split into two groups and Clive and I went off with Laura, our instructor, who was about 20 but who assured us she had been sailing for 10 years! There were 2 other ladies in our group and we stood around the yacht while Laura proceeded to baffle us with nautical terminology, all the while saying she wouldn’t give us too many new things to remember!

We then had to rig the boat, under her watchful eye. We shackled the jib halyard to the head of the jib and hoisted it, and then attached the main sail to the boom and slotted it into the mast ready for raising in open water. Yes, I was confused too! Why is the jib not called ‘the smaller sail’ and why are the main ropes called ‘sheets’ and not just ‘longer ropes’? Anyway, we eventually got the small yacht rigged and sailed gently out into Pittwater, past some much larger and very expensive vessels!

Once clear of any other boats, Laura told us how to hoist the main sail and we picked up speed. She took charge of the tiller and talked us through what we were doing. After tacking across the harbour with us watching and doing the necessary rope work with each 'tack', she passed the tiller to each of us to have a go.

The first lady took a while to get the hang of it, but then cracked it. The second lady was a natural. Then it was Clive’s turn – he too picked it up quickly and we didn’t crash into Scotland Island as it loomed closer to the bow! Then it was my turn and apart from forgetting to duck low enough on the first turn and having my cap knocked off by the boom (at least it wasn’t my head!), I was fine. We were all starting to feel like old hands, controlling the ropes, keeping an eye on nearby traffic, adjusting the jib, having a turn on the tiller and beginning to relax when we had to head for home.

This was a more challenging time as the wind had changed direction – Laura seemed a little nervous as she shouted instructions at us and we tacked (or were we gybing?) up the narrow channel, missing million dollar hulls by inches. Thankfully, we arrived back safely, main sail still up. Our fellow beginners had lowered their main sail to be on the safe side, but then had to paddle their yacht back home, so I think we had the easier, if more tense, option!

We thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon on the water. We've got two more sessions over the next few weekends but I’m not quite sure we’ll be ready to tackle the Sydney to Hobart yacht race this year - maybe 2010?

The whales return

Sue and I went on another bike ride on Sunday - just the two of us this time and a shorter ride up to North Head. This included cycling along the seafront track at Manly which was very busy on a sunny morning and with lots of 'nippers' activity going on (young kids clubs where they are trained in sea skills and lifesaving) so there were some areas where bikes and pedestrians merged!

Up on North Head (which has the best view in Sydney*) there was a lady stationed at the far point who was whale watching as part of some research for Macquarie University - she was tracking a 'pod' of 3 whales heading back south after their northerly migration in the winter. We spent some time talking to her and watching the whales through her binoculars which gave a great view. Then it was back into Manly and the long climb back up to Allambie.

*This is me blocking the view...

St Albans bike ride

A couple of months ago, I met a lady through my Monday morning tennis group who is a keen cyclist. I mentioned this to Clive and before you knew it, the two of us had agreed to join the Northern Beaches Bikers on a 45km ride alongside the MacDonald River, north west of Sydney. Given I had never ridden a bike further than about 20km in my life, this was causing me a little concern. However, the fact that photos of the group indicated that they were all ‘in the prime years of life’ gave me some hope for survival – surely they couldn’t be that much fitter than me?

The forecast wasn’t good. After a few hot days, Sydney had produced the expected thunder storms and Sunday’s weather was due to be ‘cool and showery’. We didn’t sleep well the night before, not helped by the fact that the clocks were going forwards. At 7am, the last thing I felt like was going for a bike ride, but we hauled ourselves out of bed and I pulled on my new cycling trousers (I thought I’d better look the part and, more to the point, not have any excuses for whinging). We packed our waterproof jackets, left the sunscreen at home and set off through the drizzle.

It took an hour and a half to reach Wisemans Ferry, our meeting point. The area’s name comes from the convict Solomon Wiseman who was granted 200 acres there in 1817. It doesn’t consist of much – a pub, a few touristy shops and two access points for the ferry which transports cars, bikes and people across the Hawkesbury. Soon after we’d said ‘hello’ to our fellow cyclists, the heavens opened and we took shelter where we could. At this point, I would have gone home (a couple of people did) but being our first ride, we didn’t feel we could exercise that privilege! Luckily, after a few minutes of rain the weather cleared and stayed dry for the rest of the day, which was great – not too hot, not too cold, perfect cycling weather.

There were 12 of us altogether and they were a very friendly bunch. Clive and I were almost the youngest, but certainly not the fittest! Despite my lady friend telling me they ‘didn’t race’, I found I had to pedal at full speed the whole time just to keep up! (I blame my bike of course!)
After crossing the river by the ferry, the route followed a quiet lane along the river valley, passing fields of vines, a few crops and some cattle. The peace of the area was total - few cars, no planes, a few birds and apart from that, silence.

We stopped for the odd breather and reached the second-oldest pub in NSW by about midday, nestling in the small settlement of St. Albans. Not totally incident-free though – one lady had come a cropper riding over a cable and had a nasty cut face, arm and knees. She was half-way round though, so had little choice but to continue with us, poor thing. We’d also had to contend with around 20 loose dogs and a herd of goats, but luckily, these didn’t cause any accidents!

The pub is called the Settlers Arms Inn and is just like an old English pub - not surprisingly really, as it was built by some of the first convicts in the area. We had a drink there and then went just down the road for lunch in a restaurant called ‘The Fickle Wombat’.

After that, it was back on the bikes for the home stretch. Houses were few and far between and there were no amenities – had to imagine who would be really happy living in such an isolated community, but it was certainly beautiful, even on a dull day.

We came across a small, old cemetery with some very interesting tombstones, one of which was for Peter Hibbs who was born in 1757 and who travelled to Australia with Captain Cook in 1770 and Captain Phillip in 1788. Unfortunately, somehow, we missed his tombstone - we’ll just have to go back one day!

We crossed the river again, cycled the last few metres up the hill to the pub and downed a great-tasting beer before heading for home to watch the NRL Grand Final (rugby league) match between 'our' local team, Manly Sea Eagles, and Melbourne Storm. The two teams had met for the final last year and Manly had lost badly, but this time, they thrashed Melbourne 40-0 in front of 80,000 fans! What a comeback and very entertaining!

We really enjoyed the day - the distance wasn’t as bad as I’d expected (although left to my own devices, I’d have taken an hour longer to get round!) and we think we’ll give the bikers another go! Oh, and the padded trousers worked a treat!