Sydney Get Together?

[storm petrel]

I sail through the winter, but happy to visit when ever. See you in Spring if not on the water before.

Mark
Aruba -Phantom 32
(Ex-Hatter)

[Miker]

We were planning for Sunday morning arrival at Refuge, so will still be going anyway. If anyone else is out, call on 16 and we can meet up in Refuge or Basin, or anywhere in between.

[woodsy]

Visited the Sydney boat show yesterday. Enjoyed seeing all the sleek, expensive toys.
The official boat show catalogue included a story by Jamie Mitchell about Top Hat, ''Possibilities''. Mentioned it had visited Africa, Sth. America & Europe.
More interesting for me was a 10 trip up the Hawkesbury. I now know that I CAN reach Windsor in my yacht!

[Dolphin]

Gday Woodsey, my wife son and I did the trip to Windsor in 92 in Felicite. John Lewis has also done it too. You will get some strange looks in a yacht that far up.
Greg

[woodsy]

Hi Greg.
I was going to do the trip in my open trimaran. Faster but not as comfortable. I will be happier doing it in the Toppy.
How long did it take you. Did you ground often?
Cheers.
Larry.

[Dolphin]

Gday Larry,
We did ground a few times. Upstream of the Wisemans Ferry, a couple of reaches before Windsor and a mudbank somewhere in the middle of the river. We cut a corner too close at 5 knots and launched my then 2yo son off the engine cover, oops. Tides are difficult as the delay at Windsor is 7 hours. Powerlines are a worry, the HV lines near the Peats Ferry bridge on the M1 has now got a low clearance of about 8m but they're still the same clearance as when we went through??. Alan Lucas had a write up in an old cruising guide for Sydney Waterways, that's what we used.
We spent 3 nights on the river, Wisemans, Windsor and again at Wisemans.
You can't sail it as the wind blows straight up and down the reaches. If you can run down one reach, when you turn the corner you are headed on the next. The wind is a lot lighter when you get away from the coast. The river is too narrow to tack down. Even a trip to Wisemans Ferry is good.
It was a great trip.
Greg.

[woodsy]

Thanks Greg.
I like to avoid hitting power lines!
Cheers.

[Miker]

Always good to drop into Spencer as well, the 'hub of the universe' and if you're hungry and feeling flush, have a long lazy lunch at Peats Bite at Sunny Corner, which is just near Berowra. They have a flaring pontoon you can tie up at that's deep enough.

Went out to Refuge on Sunday as planned. A very light wind in Pittwater, so motored to Refuge and didn't see any Top Hats until the return trip. It was a white one, with a blue stripe and two aboard from what I could see, but we didn't get close enough. The wind had come up to about 15 knots and they were heading back up from West Head towards Patonga.