February 22, 2018 (day 3,920)
Quick Fix: 33° 51.5 S / 151° 13.1 E
Conditions:  Wind: 6/NE Sky: Clear

Room With a View
In a few weeks we'll be sailing north to begin our passage from Sydney up the Great Barrier Reef and over the top of Australia to Kupang, Indonesia. We've spent over three months in Sydney Harbour, but we'll still miss it when we've gone. It's our favorite city harbor to explore under sail and, unless you're on a jetski, it allows mariners almost unfettered access to anchorages of every variety, including next to the Opera House - tell me, where else in the world can a cruiser drop the hook right alongside the country's most iconic building with nary a permit, fee or restriction? We stayed in Farm Cove for New Year's Eve last year and returned yesterday for the night. Dream Time is the only boat here, and anchored within the luminous glow of the Opera House, with giant fruit bats soaring over our mast, and a Sydney Harbour Bridge twinkling in red lights to celebrate the Lunar New Year, we had the best view in Sydney.

February 11, 2018 (day 3,909)
Quick Fix: 33° 52.0 S / 151° 15.7 E
Conditions:  Wind: 25/S Sky: Clear

Fun With Ferries
Sunday in Sydney is a great day to travel - on public transportation. With an Opal Transit Card you can ride ferries, buses and trains all day, from Circular Quay to Manly Beach, Bondi way up into the Blue Mountains for just $2.60. And as Catherine has an endearing fascination with ferries, particularly the Manly double-enders ("because they never have to go backwards!"), today we spent close to six hours riding ferries all around Sydney Harbour. From the busy terminal in Circular Quay all the way up the Parramatta River where multimillion dollar shoreline homes gave way to mangrove forests, mud banks and screaming flocks of wild white cockatoos. We rode Freshwater, a double-ender, over to Manly for a Vietnamese lunch followed with yogurt on the beach whilst watching the surf, then steamed back to the Opera House for coffee and a ferry home to Dream Time in Rose Bay. Catherine was beside herself with joy.