As we were closing in to Sydney, the coast line got wrapped in fog and both the sky and the sea went gray. A slight drizzle came with the wind and slowly soaked everyone in the cockpit. There was no hiding from it, as it was coming horizontally. I felt quite at home, as this looked like a typical sailing day on the west coast of Sweden or Norway. It definitely did not feel like New South Wales!

Behind those thick clouds, the sun was heading for the horizon. Ken was preparing some lamb for dinner and it smelled just divine. I don't know how many times I've said "This is the best lamb I've ever tasted" on board Silver Fern, and Ken was involved each time. So this time too, it was definitely the best this far. Ken just shrugged it off, I guess he's too used to such compliments on his amazing cooking by this time.

Mike, April and Bruce with the best lamb ever, served with roasted sweet potato and green salad. Yum!

Ross took the opportunity to grab the helm and try how the hydraulic steering feels. It's tricky chasing the evasive wind when it changes direction all the time, but he did a good job. He will be doing Sydney to Hobart on Silver Fern, and this passage was a great opportunity for him to start to get to know the boat.

As we were just off Jervis Bay, serious drama unfolded. The VHF was loudly informing us that the "Australian Navy Helicopter" was to conduct military excercise in the vicinity. Apparently, they were dropping missiles into the sea and there was a fishing boat in the way. So they were politely asking them to please get the #@_! out of there. The boat replied something like "no worries". The Navy Helicopter continued informing them on their intent of using missiles. We watched and watched but saw no explosions. And no boat. I guess they were firing too far past the horizon, and the boat had proceeded away. However that gave us the possibility to imagine wild scenes with navy helicopter dropping missiles just off the stern of that poor fishing boat. I hope they are okay.

Crew gathered in the cockpit, approaching Sydney

After just above 4 days at sea, we were now arriving to Sydney. It was already dark as we reached the Heads, and the bay had lit up with all its beautiful lights. The Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney skyline - they were all there in their uplit glory.

Coming into Sydney Harbour by night was an amazing experience

Ken helmed the boat with his steady hand, and was happy to show us Sydney by night. We got so close to the Opera House that we could almost hear the singing. Everyone was glued to their cameras, capturing all this light symphony.

Daniel grabbing some prize shots of the Opera House from the bow of the boat

Finally we docked just in front of Salt Lines, who came in earlier, during daytime. A bit of a shame that they were so fast and missed the beautiful night sail in the bay!

Smiles all around as we sail into Sydney by night

Time for celebration, as both crews did a great job, logging the impressive 674 nautical miles Hobart to Sydney. Sailing stories were shared and drinks were had, all while huge fruit bats danced around in the evening skies on this warm Sydney night.

The next day was spent sightseeing and preparing the boat for the coming passage to Southport. We filled the fuel and the water at the dock just opposite ours.The sun was shining and it was hard to believe that we recently had had our cold weather gear on and huddled in the cold Tasmanian wind. In the afternoon however, the thunderstorm clouds rolled in and took the edge out of that heat. We were to expect more afternoon thunderstorms during the coming days.

Silver Fern docked in Sydney, with the bridge as the backdrop.

James came to visit Silver Fern - he did the last leg, Perth to Melbourne. He kindly let us use his car for provisioning, which saved us heaps of time, that was great!

Crew from both boats having a dinner together, just a stone’s throw from the dock where the boats are.

In the evening, we had a dinner together in Terminus Hotel. One of our crew members, Beth, was leaving us the next morning, to go to her high school graduation. She was gifted an Australia Circumnavigation shirt, and received a round of warm applause for the great sailing mate she's been! We are all looking forward to her graduation photos now, and hope to sail with her again some day.

My favourite photo of Beth together with Sharon, just passing Hell’s Gate.

Ross was leaving too, so we were two crew short - but then we had John from Salt Lines coming to join us! It's great to experience sailing both boats, such a great opportunity to learn more. So we'll be nine crew on the way to Southport.

In the morning of 17/11, we were up early to get everything set for sailing off. As we were having our morning coffee, we saw an enormous cruise ship get towed into the bay stern first. There were two tugs on the sides of the stern, one on the bow, and the Port Authority boat to oversee the whole procedure. It nearly took up the whole sea room before docking. Suddenly, we had three thousand new neighbours! Quick, prepare the dock lines for departure...

Time to head for Southport, as we want to miss the northerly building up in a day or two. Ken gave us The Full Sightseeing Tour on the way out, pointing out every building, beach or rock that was memorable in one way or another (some of the stories were a bit juicier than others).

Bruce taking some more photos on the way out

We passed the very place where the Sydney to Hobart race starts, this time without the spectators. At first I did not understand why we were heading to port at the Heads... just before realising that we're not doing the race, it's still five weeks left.

A selfie on the invisible start line. Soon, it’s time!

As we passed the Heads, we were greeted with a rocky-rolly sea. The waves were about 2,5 meters high but quite steep, and the wind was up to 28-29 knots.

Patrick’s in for some rock’n’roll on the bow. Prepare to hoist staysail!

At last we set the sails up and were off northwards. Dolphins came to play along the boat, speeding past us even as we were making over ten knots surfing off the waves.