The National Rally 21st to 24th March 2008
Two reports, from Dell & Don Bliss and also Owen and Judy Oxley
Report on the Bi-Annual Whittley National Rally – Easter 2008 on Sydney Harbour
Report 1 - By Dell & Don Bliss
The 2008 Whittley Rally was great and certainly exceeded our expectations.
We launched on Thursday at Putney which is on the northern side of the harbour and situated on the Parramatta River. (We spent the 2 days prior checking out launching ramps!) .
From here we motored down to Darling Harbour doing side trips into Hen and Chicken Bay and Iron Cove and around Cockatoo Island. Entering Darling Harbour and mooring at the marina proved to be far less difficult than we expected. Most of the boats arrived on Thursday while a few came in on Friday. In all there were 46 boats taking part. There were the 3 from Queensland, Olivier, Sonata and Greg Nickerson’s unnamed 2800. There were about 6 from Victoria including Neville Whittley's 2800 - call sign" Whittley 1". There was even a boat from SA – (well done!!).
The weather on Good Friday was too windy for boating but there was plenty of entertainment
going on around the harbour. The best in our opinion were the flying musicians - two guitarists and a violinist suspended on ropes which moved every which way while they continued to play accompanied by a drummer on the stage. (see the photos)
On Saturday morning a very informative talk and demonstration on boat handling was given by Leif Albertson – (some of you probably have his DVD about boat handling). I'm sure we all learned a great deal. Don and I certainly did! In the afternoon Ray, one of the NSW members led a flotilla of visiting boats out for a tour of the harbour. We went down under the beautiful Anzac Bridge then back out into the Harbour proper, under the Harbour Bridge, past the Opera House, past Mrs Macquarie's Chair, into the bay beside the Botanic Gardens then into Woolloomooloo Bay, Then across the harbour to the pretty sandy beach of Athol Bay where you can moor if you want to go to the Zoo, then finally working our way back past Kirribilli Point and into the Marina.
At the dinner on Sunday evening we tag-a-longers received a Bravery Award for "facing the perils of Sydney Harbour". Actually we were surprised at how few boats were out on the water over the Easter period. Those old ferries are the main problem, they go as fast as they can and really churn up the water. Crossing their wake provides a very bumpy ride!!
Sunday saw Olivier and Sonata on a tour up the Lane Cove River. What a lovely area. We boated up almost to the end of the navigable part of the river. We had lunch moored in a pretty little cove called Tambourine Bay. There were countless boats moored in the river but very few out and about.
The dinner on Sunday night was held on the South Steyne, an old Sydney harbour ferry which has been beautifully converted into a floating restaurant and permanently moored in Darling Harbour. During the week-end there were lots of lucky ticket draws for items donated by the different companies associated with boating like Yamaha, Mercury, Club Marine etc, etc but the main prize on Sunday evening was an inflatable with an outboard motor, donated by Whittley Marine.
Monday was the day to move out of the marina and boat over to Middle Harbour to raft up for the night in Sugarloaf Bay. So once more under the bridge, past the Opera house and out towards the Heads, then into North Harbour to have a look at the Manly area. We three QLD boats and Whittley 1 lunched in yet another pretty bay near Manly. Collins Beach I think it was called.
Then up middle harbour to Sugarloaf Bay to be amazed by the way the NSW boats raft up. They back up to each other so that the rear of the boats form a floating platform along which you can move to visit at other boats. Great idea!! A very pleasant final night was had with a rather extended "happy hour".
On Tuesday morning we took our boats out at Roseville in the Garigal National Park.
Before going to Sydney we arranged with the Lane Cove Caravan Park in the National Park of the same name, to store our cars and trailers. This they did in a lock up area for $10 per night. Mark, a friend of Owen and Judy was very kind and drove Don and Owen to and from the caravan park to store and then collect the cars and trailers.
If you have a map of the Sydney, you will see that we covered the greater part of the harbour over the week-end. It was certainly a very exciting experience and we are so pleased that we finally decided to go to the Rally.
Report 2 - by Owen and Judy Oxley
The 2008 Whittley Boat Rally was hosted by the NSW Whittley Club in the very beautiful Sydney Harbour. The moorings from Thursday 20th March to Sunday 23rd March were at the public marina in Cockle Bay, Darling Harbour. Most of the boats arrived on Thursday with the remaining few arriving on Friday taking the total number of boats to 46. At 10am on the Friday there was a meet and greet on the pontoon where each boat was given a bundle of goodies. The packs included a back pack, T-shirts, a variety of caps, a Mercruiser door mat, a carry bag, lots of discount vouchers for nearby venues and lots more.
Activities organized by the NSW club included a demonstration on boat handling and how best to raft up, cruising out on the harbour in convoy when weather permitted, a shopping spree by boat to Birkenhead Point, but the main event of the weekend was the dinner on the South Steyne on the Sunday night. Owen had been on this vessel as a child with his dad when she did day cruises out of the heads and up the coast. Several boats were presented with certificates for braving the perils of Sydney Harbour on the cruise on the Saturday and amongst those boats were Sonata and Olivier. There was also some local talent in our midst and at the end of the dinner the remaining guests marched back to the marina lead by the talented bagpiper, one of the N.S.W. club members.
Everyone took advantage of the proximity to the city by being able to do their own thing. A small group of people decided on go to the musical ‘Shout’ playing at a venue only minutes walk from our marina. Others ventured out to China Town for a beautiful banquet at a Chinese restaurant. The market at The Rocks was another draw card not forgetting the Easter Show if that was your pleasure. There were numerous restaurants and nightclubs in the area and for the young a heart there was Skirmish and Jet boat rides.
The entertainment around Cockle Bay during the four days over Easter was fantastic. Everywhere you looked there was some sort of performer or groups of performers, but the highlight was an acrobatic electric orchestra. A four piece band consisting of guitar, bass guitar, violin and drums entertained the crowds by playing their instruments while being hurled into the air suspended by a rope each. At the opposite end of each rope were two guys acting as counterweights climbing up and down the scaffolding which in turn caused the musicians to become air born, except for the drummer of course. Excellent show!
After four days at Cockle Bay marina about half the fleet departed as they had work commitments on Tuesday but the remaining twenty plus boats found their way around to the very quiet Sugarloaf Bay in Middle Harbour. As there was no time frame to meet at Sugarloaf Bay it was a good time to explore parts of Sydney Harbour on the way. As we travelled across from South Head to North Head we were flanked by the Manly Ferry several hundred metres away doing a speed of about 28mph. We arrived at Sugarloaf Bay mid afternoon and were very surprised at the way the boats were rafted up. There were 11 boats rafted up side by side with about every third boat with an anchor out then if you can imagine a mirror image of this at the back of the boats so that there were two rows of boats with their sterns facing each other. In between the two rows of boats there were several inflatables used as a buffer and also to step across to other boats. Very interesting!
Tuesday morning was our departure day so Olivier together with Sonata motored the very short distance to the boat ramp near the Roseville Bridge. As Judy was the one with the fishing licence she had a fish near the boat ramp but without success except for a sand crab that was sucking onto her bait. We saw Don and Dell off and as the rest of the day was free for us to spend fishing or what ever, we ventured back out onto the harbour. Judy had a fish at various spots around the harbour but without success so we decided to motor over to Watsons Bay and have a feed of fresh fish from the famous Doyle’s Takeaway Restaurant. Later that afternoon we retrieved our boat thus ending our wonderful experience on Sydney Harbour and the curtain was drawn on the NSW 2008 Whittley Rally.
