Social sailing on Botany Bay...

[khiemtran]

Sailing at the mouth of the Georges River, we notice something unusual over by Pelican Point. Can you see what it is?



Getting closer. We need to four tacks to get there, as we don't want to run around on the sand banks...



The mystery object is a two-masted ketch, apparently washed ashore against the oyster lease.



Here you can see someone else has come to have a sticky-beak...



Curiosity satisfied, we head over to nearby Spit Island, a Ramsar convention bird reserve. Those black and grey dots turn out to be shorebirds.



Unfortunately, the photos didn't turn out well enough to get a good view of them. Landing on the island itself is forbidden, so we have to inspect from a distance.



Exploring done, it's time for a bit of a play. Here we are beating towards Dolls Point and the Georges River sailing club.



After a few runs and gybes on the way back, we catch up with our friend Matthew in his wooden Fresco.



Riding the waves downwind. The Fresco is surprisingly fast downwind, but the Feva is a touch faster.



Back on the beach and the end of an era. The operators of the sailing school are moving back to the UK, so this was our last chance to hire one of their boats. At least I have Shearwater now, to sail on Sydney Harbour.

Comments

[carl-allery.livejournal.com]

Shame they haven't sold the business on to someone else. Nice pics as always. Interesting ones of the wreck.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, at least the last day really encapsulated everything great about their social sailing Sundays: having the freedom to explore the bay and take a look at whatever catches your eye; a nice bit of wind so we could hike out on a close reach or catch the waves on a run; and chasing friends and making new ones... Oh, and standing around afterwards, soaking wet and talking about boats...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Yikes! What's the story behind the capsized boat, do you know?

And yeah, that's *really* lucky that you were able to learn to sail and buy your own boat during the time the rental was operating. Why are they leaving?

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

I still haven't heard the story of how the ketch ended up there. Apparently, it's be there for at least a couple of weeks now, and it's a bit surprising that someone hasn't tried to salvage it. It may be that it broke loose from a mooring and maybe the owners aren't even around.

The sailing school operators were originally from England and it sounds like they're moving back for personal reasons. It's a shame, because the Sunday sessions seem to have really taken off, now that they've done the hard work to build the business.

It has also been a salutary lesson in taking opportunities. I had my first lesson with them the day after you visited Sydney, and was sailing solo a week later. I was really lucky in that, since I was one of their first customers at that site, I ended up getting one-on-one lessons with an elite coach and former UK national champion. In the meantime, I don't know how many people have said they'd be interested in coming out on Botany Bay, but almost all of them never got around to it. And now they've missed their chance, at least until the next opportunity opens up...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Definitely a lesson in taking opportunities. Amazing to think all this has happened since 2013!