A typical sailing view, near Bradley’s Head.
So, instead of the beach, I headed for the Snowy Mountains this January for my summer holiday. It proved a wise choice - Sydney was sweltering in 42 degrees celcius, while the daytime maximums in the mountains were only 25!
Here are a few of my favourite pictures from the trip - you can click-through for larger versions.
Main Range Track and the head of the Snowy River.
Snow Gums, Charlotte Pass.
Main Range, from the track from Thredbo to Mount Kosciouszko.
Snow Gums at Charlotte Pass.
Fields of flowers at lower altitudes.
Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal Springs - constant 23C - perfect in summer and winter!
I’m absolutely stoked - about to have my first holiday (of any description) in 3 years, and my first summer holiday since about 1997!
Two and a half weeks of sleeping, eating and swimming. There might be a few bush walks, several different beach visits, and certainly some live music to be enjoyed.
Life! So much better when you don’t sell your soul to a corporate behemoth!
Bondi Beach
A fantastic day today on Tigger, the Flying Tiger 10m yacht.
It started in very light winds yet by the end the fleet was battling over 30 knots of breeze. Chaos everywhere - boats snapping their masts off at deck level, others becoming closely acquainted with a new medium. Land.
We were hot. Everyone worked hard, the team work was excellent and we scorched our competition around the course - almost certainly we would have won.
I say ‘would have’ because heading upwind with only two legs left our brand new, beautiful number 4 headsail (a smaller headsail designed for heavier winds) decided that it didn’t want to be attached to the rigging any more and tried to leave. Believe it or not, the sail attaches to the forestay using velcro tabs. Velcro!
There was one particular puff of pressure, they all let go simultaneously and that was that. We recovered the sail but our race was over - they were simply not capable of holding the sail on in winds of that strength. After a (politely) abusive phone call to the sailmaker, and an early return to the bar, the sail will be back next week with traditional, spring-loaded brass hanks (clips).
We got some great photos of our competitors earlier in the race, before the winds hit, which I’ll post up shortly. On thing we didn’t get a photo of was a fellow Flying Tiger, Shere Khan, being driven onto the rocks of Point Piper. She survived but has been badly damaged.
For us however it was a bitchin’ day!
Just the rainfall image you want to see when planning a pleasant evening sailing!
Finally, after weeks of trying, we achieved a placing in our Saturday race!
The Super 30 Series is one of the most competitive series on Sydney Harbour, managed by the Sydney Amateur Sailing Club but drawing 30 foot yachts from most clubs on the harbour.
After a string of average results we all turned up early last Saturday for a two hour practice before the race start. After a number of rapid-fire start drills, mark roundings and spinnaker sets, gybes and drops, we had to draw deep to do as much work again in the actual race… but it paid off!
Three from the Art Gallery of NSW.
The Canaletto reminds me of Venice as only he can. The Pissaro is just beautiful. And Tom Robert’s painting is the one I’d have on my wall in a flash. He understood a Sydney summer - that heady mix of water, bush and sun - perfectly.
The Piazza San Marco, Venice. Canaletto, 1742-46
