Australia
February 2011
G’day Mates from Down Under!
Blaze is anchored in a small bay in Sydney Harbor. It is odd to be aboard the boat and have a city all around us. Our previous anchorages have been calm turquoise water with sand beaches, volcanic mountains, coral reefs or uninhabited motus. Now Blaze is surrounded by a cosmopolitan metropolis.... city sophistication. The Harbor is frenetic activity with ferry boats, water taxis, recreational craft, tourist excursion boats, and sailboats. There are sailing regattas, for every shape and size of boat occurring every evening of the week. At night the skyline is glowing with lights from the Opera House, Sydney Bridge, downtown skyscrapers and the Harbor. 
We hit a “Bucket List” item when we sailed Blaze past the Opera House and under the beautiful Sydney Bridge. Definitely a thrill for any sailor. We spent our next few days just wandering the harbor and the waterways all around . There is so much energy here. Next off to Manly. A small beach town with beautiful hiking out to the heads. It is a challenge to kayak here. You dodge the ferry boats and power boats then try to ‘ surf’ ‘ their wakes
We are up early and moving out the headlands which seem to ‘guard’ Sydney Harbor. We head north towards Pittwater. A sailing destination much like the San Juans. As we head north the wind is blowing 15-20 from the west. Sun is shining and the breeze is warm.
We have the Genoa and main sail catching the breeze and Blaze is moving through the seas at 5-7knts. I am a happy sailor. It is a good ride. An hour later the wind is up to a steady 25knts. Gusts punch through 30+. This happy sailor is not enjoying the 10-12knts as much. Time to reef the main! Our mainsail is about 1,200 sq ft . Our Mast is 82 feet from the deck and the boom is 26ft long. With the wind blowing it is like trying to contain a charging elephant!
After a refreshing sail we drop anchor in Lovett Bay. The next days were spent gunkholing around Hawkesbury River. So many bays and coves along with miles of hiking trails. (the ones that actually have signs and distance markers!) On one of our hikes we came upon a road sign with a large kangaroo figure on it. I took a picture of the sign. Just as I did a Kangaroo jumped out on the road ahead of us! We both froze. He stared at us not moving. We know they are relatively harmless…but the surprise and size kept us cautious. Peter took a quick picture of the “Joey” (as they call them ) and off he went bounding into the bush. Yesterday we went to a small shop and rented some of the long boards. They look a like a long surfboard.You stand on it and use a long paddle to move around. Peter took off while I was still listening to the explanation on how to do this. I was cautious to keep my balance to avoid the big splash. I was managing great.I had good focus, kept my weight evenly distributed so the board stayed flat etc. Peter called back to 
me. "Hey Molly look down into the water!" I did only to find my board seemed to be sitting on a huge white cloud. Actually there were hundreds of fist sized jelly fish all around me! Now the notion of falling was terrifying. I was trying to decide if they were 'good' jellyfish or 'bad' ones. But it really didnt matter. Either way I did not want to find out. With my legs shaking and a death grip on the paddle I slowly worked my way out of the mob of jellyfish. Once into clear water I looked for Peter. Time to flip his board! Tomorrow we head out to the Tasman Sea and then south towards Sydney. Its hard to believe it is 2011! Our time aboard Blaze is swiftly Blazing By............Captain Molly
& First Mate Peter.