We set sail from New Zealand on the last day of November 2023.  The forecast looked like it should be fairly good for a crossing of the Tasman Sea, but even with the help of a weather router it was not a great crossing. Endlessly changing wind directions meant very little ‘relaxing’ sailing time. While we did not get hammered by any storms (thanks, Metbob), it was certainly not a comfortable crossing.

We arrived in Sydney, Australia, in early December. Due to the requirements of pre-arrival notifications for Australia, we had sent in the paperwork with an estimated arrival date and then gave a final date and time for arrival at 24 hours off shore.

The Australian Border Force folks were very clear, repeatedly, that our arrival time was to be the arrival time. There was no coming in early allowed, no tying to the dock early and no anchoring to wait for the time.

Alternatively, if we were late for our set time then we may get “bumped” from our slot. We gave ourselves plenty of buffer while approaching Sydney harbour so that we could be at the dock for the agreed upon time.

Approximately three hours before the designated arrival time, ABF emailed to ask if we could come in early as something else had come up and if we could not come early, we would be bumped to a later time. Mad scramble to rush the last way in, but safe to say, we made it on time — for the new, earlier, time.

We had been advised by other cruisers not to check into Australia at Sydney harbour as officials were reportedly overly persnickety. That was not our finding. We were met at the dock by a large contingent of border and biosecurity folks. They were all friendly and easy going and all-in-all the process took approximately an hour.

Fees were relatively small. Biosecurity was the only charge — they charge for their time and various other items. All in, our costs for arrival were approximately $160 Australian dollars. Payable only by credit card.

FYI for other cruisers — we had been advised by friends that biosecurity charged them multiple hundreds of dollars on entry for disposal of non-accepted food items. We recommend researching and reviewing the biosecurity entry requirements prior to arrival so there are no surprises.

These requirements change and there are some head scratchers. For example, at the time of writing, no canned meats of any sort were allowed into the country. This rule included products with any meat at all in the can — so get rid of all your emergency beans and wieners prior to arrival.

Our arrival also coincided with a training day for the drug dogs, leading to three boisterous black labrador trainees surveying the boat — all wearing booties and spreading hair absolutely everywhere.

Afterwards, we chose the designated anchoring area of Blackwattle Bay for our stay in Sydney. For us, Blackwattle made for a fantastic spot. We enjoyed minimal wakes, shelter, close proximity to grocery stores, laundry, fuel and easy transit all over the city. There is a strong cruiser presence in the bay and the others are quickly welcoming of new arrivals.

We found Blackwattle Bay to be a great base to explore city and stayed there much longer than we normally would. We are not city folks and prefer to be in quieter locations. That being said, there was a reason we were hanging around longer than normal…

New Year’s Eve Fireworks!!!

Sydney has one of the best firework shows in the world and the timing was right for us to stay. We knew that one could anchor their boat in Farm Cove, near the Opera House and catch the entire show from the vessel.

We figured this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity and would make the most of it. We had been told that the opera house anchorage gets very full for the fireworks and that it was best to arrive early.

With this in mind, we moved up to the anchorage on December 29. We arrived mid-day and there were already five other cruisers there — mostly catamarans as the anchorage is quite rolly from passing ferry wash. By morning of the 30th, there were 17 boats and early in the morning the exclusion zone boundary was installed by the government so the 17 of us all jockeyed for what we thought were the best viewing positions.

By the night of the 30th, there were 48 boats anchored in the bay and things were getting a bit crowded — little did we know what was to come.

Starting at daylight December 31, the rush of other boats came. By noon, we did not think any more boats could possibly fit. We were so so wrong. They kept coming and all rules of courtesy, good seamanship and general human decency went out the window.

Many day rental boats were present and it was apparent the operating abilities of many were substandard — either due to inexperience or inebriation. We started off trying to be nice as people would drop anchor within 10 feet of our bow and we would say they were too close. Some would move, but the common refrain was “it will be okay”.  No, it won’t be okay. Ultimately the only solution was to be loud and boisterous and this would move most, but not all of the other boats. It was ridiculous and took what should have been a fun evening to a stressful one.

We saw many, many, many boat rubs, anchors dragging, anchors tangled and much chaos. We seemed to be the only ones concerned as it was appeared to be accepted by many to have boats rubbing together with no fenders and little attempts to keep off. It was like bumper cars on water. Only through our hard work to keep people away and put fenders when immediately needed did we escape without a scratch.

The fireworks were outstanding and certainly the best we have seen. The view was amazing and it was a once in a lifetime event. We were in the heart of it, so to speak, with fireworks from the top of the opera house, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Fort Denison and many of the taller office buildings around town. We even found the smaller display of the fireworks at 9pm to rival many cities main fireworks displays.

After the fireworks were over, everyone had to wait in spot until 1 am for the area under the bridge to be deemed safe. If we thought chaos was happening prior to the fireworks, what came after was just as ridiculous.

All the boats pulling anchors and some realizing they were stuck hooked on others. Dead batteries from blaring music and lights all evening were commonplace. It was like a shotgun start with everyone going as fast as they could to get the anchors up and head for home. Only 15 minutes after it started, we were left pretty much alone — except for the few other cruisers who decided to spend the night.

Our thoughts on the fireworks: amazing, incredible and well worth seeing, but if you value your boat and want to enjoy your night, pick a different bay further from the Opera House.

We pulled anchor at daylight January 1, 2024 and have headed out on a new adventure.