The Woolwhich Wharf Express
Friday, 7th March 2008.
I’ve had a couple of solo outings on the boat recently but I can’t really remember the details. I’ve been flat out down at Bundeena with the house building. Last Sunday (02-03-2007) I went onto Vogelsang but just pottered about. Fixed this and that, scrubbed the bottom and took some sails home.
Anyway, today I am picking up Steve, Twinkle and Steve’s parents, Jim and Marion, who are over from the UK for a holiday. Steve has taken them to the Woolwich Pier Hotel for lunch and I am going to pick them all up from Woolwich wharf for an afternoon sail. As you will see from the photos it was a grey and gloomy overcast day. But hey, no one got sunburnt!
I pick everyone up just after 1pm. Steve’s mum seems a bit anxious. I don’t think she has been sailing before. Steve’s dad had a 17 foot sailing boat moored on the River Blackwater in England. The semidiurnal tides there are six metres. This allows for a window of four and a half hours around the high tide for sailing or alternatively, a sail down-river on the ebb tide and return on the flood tide. There must have been quite a bit of current to contend with. I would not like to be sailing on the beat against that current. Port Jackson’s semidiurnal tides, in comparison, are around 1 metre plus or minus half a metre.
I decide that we will motor under the bridge and then put the sails up. As it turns out there is plenty of wind. SE at 15+ knots. So we would have made it down the harbour quite easily under sail.
Jim and Marion. Blues Point and Sydney Harbour Bridge in Background
Tara (Twinkle) and Mark passing Goat Island under motor.
Tara. Garden Island crane and naval ship in background.
There were a lot of ships anchored at Garden Island.
Because of the SE I motored up to the mouth of Woolloomooloo Bay but the wind is funnelling down the bay quite stiffly. We get the sails up. I tangle a couple of the hanks on the foresail and Steve has to go forward and get that sorted out.
Steve goes forward to sort out the headsail
Once we are underway, we sail into Farm Cove to check out the Young Endeavour which is anchored there. Crew members are all over the square rigging. We give a wave and head off down the harbour.
Young Endeavour with crew members up the mast and on the standing rig.
Young Endeavour anchored in Farm Cove. Steve in foreground.
Ian Murray Americas Cup yacht, Spirit of Australia (aka MPI Spirit)
There was a great wind blowing as we sailed down the harbour. If Marion looked a little anxious when she first boarded, the look on her face as we hit the occasional gust and a bit of spray was priceless!
15:30hrs we hit a gust. Note Steve, who is taking the photo, managed to get his foot in shot.
Thank goodness the skipper has a Coopers ale at hand.
Marion loves the high seas!
As we sail into Chowder Bay, pop!, one of the blocks on the main sheet traveller breaks. Steve takes the helm so that I can make an emergency repair and fix the traveller in place.
Steve at the helm.
A nice shot of the cockpit taken from the companion way by Tara.
We tack in Chowder Bay and head over to Watsons Bay on a reach.
Lighthouse off Watson’s Bay.
Watson’s Bay
Mother and Son. Steve and Marion.
We sailed into Watson’s Bay and then tacked and started to head back up the harbour. We pass the Pacific Dawn, which is leaving port, to windward.
The P & O Pacific Dawn, leaving port. Note the ants all lined up on the top deck.
I love passing cruise liner ships. Fellini’s “Amarcord” imprinted a romantic emotional response into me.
Marion was now relaxed enough to take the helm.
Marion at the helm. Heading towards Goat Island.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.
I soon realised that I had been relaxing for too long. Right under my nose, without me even realising what was unfolding, the mutiny was complete. Marion was at the helm and Jim was on the sheets. I had no choice but to go forward and drop the sails and foil the whole charade.
The mutiny! Parramatta River approaching Woolwich.
Marion at the helm. Jim goose-winging the headsail.
Birchgrove in background with goat island and Sydney CBD in distant background.
I managed to wrestle back control of my ship and decided to drop off my mutinous crew back at Woolwich Wharf. Little did I realise, as I was dropping them off, that they had hatched a cunning plan. Jim had left his hat and glasses below deck. I soon got a call on my mobile from Steve. Could I come back to the wharf and drop off Jim’s stuff. Realise that this was after I had warned them, prior to disembarking at the wharf that anything left aboard becomes my loot. Tara is already aware of this as she is still waiting to get back the sunglasses she left aboard on Australia Day. This was obviously an attempt at a rearguard action.
I had just the right tactic to foil this attack and diffuse the whole situation. I motored back to the wharf and approached it at enough speed to be able to hand off Jim’s hat with sunglasses inside but foil any attempt of any boarding and pirating of my vessel.
The hand-off, Woolwich Wharf.
Mark laughs after he successfully foils Jim’s attempt to pirate Vogelsang.
Meanwhile… The Balmain Sailing Club fleet sail along Birchgrove during their Friday Twilight race.
Thanks to Steve and Twinkle for the great photos in this post. There are more on Vogelsang’s photo gallery – link in right column.
