Ballina to Sydney December 17 2007

Hi everyone,Well, we've been in Sydney for just under a week. Our trip down wasuneventful except for dodging a million freighters at night. We decided to do astraight shot from Ballina as most of the harbors along the way are inrivers with sand bars in front and you have to cross when the tide is justright. Our choice was to waste a lot of time port hopping waiting for tidesor do a two overnight the 400 miles to Sydney. Fishing here is illegalwithout a license, which we didn't have, so we caught nothing in spite of itbeing great fishing grounds, but we actually had dolphin swimming alongwith us and jumping completely out of the water in front of the boat on our sail. Well, motorreally as the wind was light.So we reached Sydney early in the morning and stopped at one of the rip-offmarinas for fuel as we were getting low. They had an autopay thing, but itwouldn't take my credit card as it was foreign so we had to wait for the guyto get there at 8:30. Got about half a tank in when another guy comes roaringdown the dock and they shut off the fuel. Seems their main tank was leakingall over the place. Okay, no problem; as long as we're out here drivingaround looking for a place to stay, we'll just go to another marina and getfuel. Guess what? There are hardly any places, so we figured half a tankis enough until we get the lay of the land. Had a nice tour of SydneyHarbor in the meantime.The guides really aren't very good, but we had a bit of info on where to go,so we cruised around, and around, and around--you get the idea. Finally, wedecided to try Black Wattle Bay (BWB), which isn't on our charts, unless, wefound out later, you zoom way in. It's inside the modern Anzac Bridge whichisn't called that on any of the charts, but we finally found it. Cruisedaround there awhile to see where we could drop the hook as there are signslimiting where you can go. Fortunately it isn't very big, and, finally, wegot the anchor down around 11. It's the site of the Sydney Fish Marketwhich, while touristy with loads of restaurants and shops, is quite nice.Had a $14 lobster lunch--yes!!!!So BWB is unbelievably cool. An Aussie friend had recommended it inBundaberg. On one side is the fish market, the other a sort of promenadefull of joggers and people just hanging out. As we explored further afield,we found the "light rail", which goes just about everywhere we want to go, isjust outside the fish market. In short walking distance is the casino andDarling Harbor which is the Viaduct type, touristy area for Sydney. Justacross the street here are restaurants, shops, groceries and the allimportant laundry. So, so far we've walked down to Paddy's Market, this huge200 stall flea market kind on place and down to Darling Harbor which has theMaritime museum, aquarium and all sorts of other stuff.Tuesday (today is Thursday, the 6th. Happy b-day Tammy) Joey flew out to NZas he can't get a working visa in country. He'll be there about 10 daysdepending on how long it takes to process the paperwork. Just before heleft we tied up at the free dock at the market and loaded up with water asyou can't make it in here and the watermaker is still acting up althoughwe've got a guy working on repairs. Of course, the moment the little slaveleft, Rose's head packed it up. Took several hours to clear one of thedischarge hoses only to find another clogged. That will wait for hisreturn. Ah, the glory of 4 cabins and heads. So Tuesday night Rose and Ihad a blissfully solitudinous time and sleep, waking about 6:30. A casuallook outside had us in the middle of the bay adrift. Thank God the wind wasright and light or we could have banged into the rocks. Guess we didn't setthe hook properly after getting water. Probably the crews' fault! Anyway,we reanchored and are on really good now, but we'll probably need to hoistand get more water again next week.It's been a bit stormy recently, but earlier this week we took a walk downto Darling Harbor on a mission to find some Sika Primer which, technically,you're supposed to use with the stuff for the hatches we have to redo. Noluck, but someone told us one of the marinas we had been past might have itso off we went in the dinghy. The chandlery was miles away, and we had noluck, but we did discover this giant mall right at the marina with all sortsof outlet stores, etc. Probably could walk there. We'd like to get a car,however, for a few days to go farther afield and find this gunk, and thecars are cheap at about $200/week which is looking better as the US$ hasstrengthened to about $.87. So far, though, the problem is finding parkingfor the car. It looks like parking would be more than the rental, so we'reon another mission to find cheap or free places.Well, it's now the week before Christmas, so I thought I ought to wrap this up. We met up with Rose's cousin who, graciously, is our mail drop here. They were in a rush to meet up with friends but called later and asked us over for Christmas for a few days. That will be a nice break from the boat. They also dropped some mail which included our new stereo, a welcome relief as the old one was really acting up. Also got the last of our LED running lights which save a ton of power which is nice with diesel at $2/liter. Later in the week, Rose's friend Philli dropped by for a visit and invited Rose to spend a few days at her B & B in Bondi. She's returning today or tomorrow after a week of R & R(mainly shopping and sleeping over there). Joey is still hung up in NZ awaiting his working visa, so the poor captain is all alone!!In the meantime, before she left, the harbor police came over and informed us we were 10 feet outside the proper anchoring area(which only happens on a west wind), so we had to move the boat, but the area is very tight. After a few tries, uncertain if the wind blowing the other way would put us on the breakwater, we put out a stern anchor. The cop was a really nice guy and ferried us to shore and then gave us his number for when we were ready to head back to the boat. Also tipped us off to a free parking lot close by. Think we'll get a car for the week of Christmas to go to Tina's and get to a decent boat store for some much needed supplies. Part of my idle time has been spent ferrying jerry jugs of water as it would be a hassle to move and reanchor. And, apparently, this place is jammed for Christmas and New Years so a proper fill up will have to wait as we don't want to lose our spot. I have managed to hit the casino a couple of times, winning big the first night and giving some back--but I'm still ahead--the next time. After several successful forays in Noumea, I'm starting to think I should do a bit more of this. Thank God they have a crap table here, but the rules are a bit off. Still okay though, and they have something called Pontoon which is a modified blackjack. Without boring you with the details, it must be more in favor of the house, but my limited knowledge tells me it's better for the players. Anyway, that saved me from a disastrous 2nd visit, but they do use those damn shuffling machines which pretty much eliminates streaks.Well, that's about it. Christmas shopping, expanding the list of jobs for the crew on his return and even doing a few things myself. Still no word from the mechanic or the watermaker guy so that stuff probably won't get done before the new year.Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all fromTim, Rose & Joe