By Dorothy Theeboom
Once again members of the Cruising Division set sail for Pittwater to spend the October long weekend or perhaps even longer. Jeremy and Kristen on Buggalugs were the trendsetters leaving Sydney on Wednesday and picking up a mooring in Morning Bay in the late afternoon.
Niclas, Sanna, and Oliver on RaRa were next away, spending Thursday evening on a club mooring in America’s Bay. Saturday saw Bundeena with Frank at the helm together with Nicole and Dot, Sanctum with Kelly, Evan and their trusty companion Max, and John Eastway on Flemingo all head north meeting up with Buggalugs and RaRa in Morning Bay.
Bundeena’s crew with the help of Jeremy put her dinghy into the water and Frank collected Valerie from the Hall’s Beach wharf. Sundowners were aboard Bundeena before everyone departed for their own vessels by kayak or dinghy. RaRa set off for Port Stephens by the light of a full moon. Unfortunately for them, the conditions were a bit too daunting for a first-night sail, so they returned to Morning Bay. Sunday morning dawned a little later than normal as daylight saving came in overnight.
This did not stop the early risers who watched a beautiful sunrise from various vantage spots. Whilst Flemingo set off for home, Jeremy and Kristen were seen paddling their blow-up kayak, and Kelly and Max took the water on a paddleboard.
Of great interest were the electronic wave boards being ridden around the bay.
In the late morning, we headed to Iron Ladder beach which is situated between Box and Little Box Heads. After lunch, we all congregated on Sanctum. The hardy souls from Bundeena swam the short distance. Some were hampered by dry bags
containing essentials such as towels and, in my case, a box of biscuits. Some people took the opportunity to try out kayaking or paddleboarding. Unfortunately, there were several jet skis buzzing in and around the moored boats. This spoilt the ambiance somewhat. Sanctum, Buggalugs, and Bundeena motor-sailed back to Morning Bay. On the way Sanctum’s crew were escorted by dolphins off Palm Beach.
Once back in Morning Bay food and drink were again the order of the day. Whilst we had been lolling about on Sanctum in the afternoon, Frank had gone back to Bundeena and prepared a gourmet feast of rice paper rolls and vegetarian sausage rolls (perhaps a tautology?).
After another peaceful night, the Bundeena crew enjoyed a magnificent vegetarian breakfast whilst others tucked into bacon and eggs or whatever took their fancy. After dropping Valerie back at the ferry wharf it was decided to further explore the bay. At the far end is a mangrove swamp with beautiful sandy beaches.
As Evan is now in possession of a new waterproof leg, (they are now both waterproof. Ed.) he had his first two-legged swim in more than forty years. In the meantime, RaRa was exploring the reaches of the Hawkesbury including Dangar Island. The prize for the bravest and adventurous exercise of the weekend must go to Sanna who was hauled up the mast to try and fix a non-functioning anchor light. Finally, Buggalugs, Sanctum, and Bundeena headed back to Middle Harbour. It seems that Buggalugs had the best of the wind and managed to sail all the way. Sanctum and Bundeena motored to Barrenjoey before hoisting sail. Unfortunately, the wind died down as we neared the Heads. However, in Bundeena’s case, we were hit by 25-30 knot winds as we rounded North Head necessitating a quick reefing of the main to the third reef, something that had not been done before. Thanks, Frank for your excellent instruction. Finally, back at Middle Harbour we tied up and went home to our beds or, in some cases to our bunks.
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