Sydney Harbor Cruise



Southern Princess Approaching Harbor Bridge

Our second day in Sydney was just fantastic!  It began with John, our friend Dorrit's family friend (AKA big brother), who picked us up at our hotel and drove us to his gorgeous home across the Harbor Bridge.  We met Irene, John's wife, and surprised them with 5 boxes of Betty Crocker Angel Food Cake Mix that Dorrit asked us to bring from Punta Gorda as it is unavailable in Australia.  Irene was thrilled that the cake mixes made it here as previously, when they tried to obtain the treasured mixes, Customs had a problem with the egg whites contained in them!

In the 1960's when John was working at the United Nations, he met Dorrit's family and sailed many weekends with her father.  The families remained close friends through the years.  We are incredibly fortunate to have friends like Dorrit & Bruce who arranged a day for us on Sydney Harbor on with them on John's sailboat,  a 57 ft Beneteau called Southern Princess. 

We boarded Southern Princess, berthed at a small pictursque marina, a short car ride from John and Irene's home.  We were awed as we sailed up Middle Harbour, through Spit Bridge and down around to Sydney. After picking up a little diesel fuel, we sailed under the famous Harbor Bridge , passed the breathtaking Sydney Opera House, dipped into Darling Harbour, traveled under Madona's Bra Bridge (click on to discover why it is called this name) and anchored off the fish market in Blacksmith Bay.  A dinghy ride to the dock allowed us to purchase FRESH extra large prawns (shrimp) and oysters for lunch.   What a feast we had -  complete with Australian chardonnay, sourdough bread, fresh fruit and cheeses.  YUM !

After a fun-filled day of great conversation, sights and food,  in late afternoon, John and Irene dropped us off at the foot of the Harbor Bridge afterwhich we walked back through the city to our hotel.  WOW!  What a unforgettable day! And, an added bonus, Irene and John invited us over for dinner next Tuesday.  We will look forward to even more time with these wonderful hosts.


Photos