Sydney to Hobart
Dec. 30th, 2006 02:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xenithWhen I was kid, in the days after Christmas, in the space between shows on TV, there were always updates on the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Which are annoying when you're a kid and want your TV to start, but at the same time, wouldn't it be cool one year to see the end of it?
But of course, one doesn't drive all the way down to Hobart just to see some boats come in.
Then I moved to Hobart and I thought now I would get to see it! But no, I'd go up north for Christmas and stay for too long, or I'd have friends visiting. I got to go the aftermath -- Taste of Tasmania, when all the yachts were in -- which was good and fun but... One year, mum and I were listening to the race updates on the radio and the leader was about 3 hours out of Hobart. it occurred to us if we took me home NOW, we might get to see the leader come in. Not quite, we did see the second place come in, in the dark.
Then I came back north and live, and that was that. Although I managed to get down to the Taste the last two years.
So I'm looking at the sailing schedule for the Lady Nelson and there are harbour cruises every day during this week. I notice if I go down Thursday & stay overnight, I can get in a full day of harbour cruises & still catch buses home, as well as go to the Taste and isn't that about the time the yachts finish? They start Boxing Day. How long does it take the super maxis to do the trip? Two days? Three days? Late Thursday afternoon, they're predicting, or Thursday evening. This sounds good. Fingers crossed.
So, I arrive Thursday at noon and head down to the waterfront. The big tent showing updates on the race are predicting Wild Oats, the lead yacht, will arrive at 10.34 pm (a few too many significant there). Late. On the other hand, I do want to get some photos of the carousel at night.
There's also other things to look at.
Taste of Tasmania is the annual food & wine festival in Hobart. It runs from 28th Dec for about 10 days. Launceston has a similar event, Festivale, which over a weekend in February -- local wine & food, street performers, dances, children's entertainment, all in the lovely city park. Whereas, as I once heard someone say, the Taste is just in a tin shed.
And so it is, a very crowded, very noisy tin shed too.
(file photo)
I guess if you think of it as just that, it's not really that interesting.
The outside seating. Looking back towards Constitution Dock, where the focus of the yacht race is.
In between the two, is a stretch of road with, well...
The other difference between Festivale & the Taste is the cost. One is about $8 to get into, and other has no entry fee, so you can come & go as you want, and you don't have to spend a cent. (It's probably fairly obvious which is which :).
Even so, 10 hours is a long time to kill. I did wander around Battery Point for a while too.
At 7 pm, I decided to go back my room and read for a while, although I wasn't really sure when the yacht was supposed to arrive. Between 10 pm and midnight was the final answer I got. By this point, I'm wondering if it's worthwhile, although I do want to try some night photos of the carousel, so I might go down just after 10 to see what is happening.
In the meantime, I lay down for an hour or so. Only to discover, the race organisers have installed a loud speaker to tell people what is happening, that carries quite well to the backpackers two blocks from the dock but not quite enough that I can hear what it's actually saying. Bah. It's going to be a long night :\
Then at 9.40 pm, I hear the speakers quite clearly, at least the bits that say 'Wild Oats', "Sandy Bay', "expected" and "fifteen minutes".
Ha!
Ten minutes later, I'm down at Elizabeth pier, on a dark, chilly summer night, with many, many other people.
Although you can't seem,because it's too dark. In the photo below, what looks like a spiky fence across the front of the tent is lots of people crowded along the edge of the dock.
Waiting.
Out on the harbour there are obviously lots of boats, I can see their red & green lights. The finish line, two yellow floating pyramids is out there.
Waiting.
Will there be anything to see out there?
And it's cold.
Then a tall, white sail appears.
Aha! A cannon sounds, and lots of cheering. Yah!
There's more waiting then, while the sail comes down and whatever happens, happens. In front of me, there's more activity in the marina than I've seen before -- police vessels, a cruise ship with media camera on it -- six or seven vessels zipping around in dark.
Finally, the yacht comes in, to more cheering, of course.
The red dots along the top are its crew.
It's getting late, so I head off, stopping to take some photos on the way of course.
And there's the Taste at night. It runs until 11 pm.
Now I better go to bed, so I can get up for a day of harbour cruises tomorrow. I've done these before, of course, so nothing exciting. Although, I did realise something, which the younger me watching the updates on TV so many years ago, wouldn't have believed.
Next post though.
But of course, one doesn't drive all the way down to Hobart just to see some boats come in.
Then I moved to Hobart and I thought now I would get to see it! But no, I'd go up north for Christmas and stay for too long, or I'd have friends visiting. I got to go the aftermath -- Taste of Tasmania, when all the yachts were in -- which was good and fun but... One year, mum and I were listening to the race updates on the radio and the leader was about 3 hours out of Hobart. it occurred to us if we took me home NOW, we might get to see the leader come in. Not quite, we did see the second place come in, in the dark.
Then I came back north and live, and that was that. Although I managed to get down to the Taste the last two years.
So I'm looking at the sailing schedule for the Lady Nelson and there are harbour cruises every day during this week. I notice if I go down Thursday & stay overnight, I can get in a full day of harbour cruises & still catch buses home, as well as go to the Taste and isn't that about the time the yachts finish? They start Boxing Day. How long does it take the super maxis to do the trip? Two days? Three days? Late Thursday afternoon, they're predicting, or Thursday evening. This sounds good. Fingers crossed.
So, I arrive Thursday at noon and head down to the waterfront. The big tent showing updates on the race are predicting Wild Oats, the lead yacht, will arrive at 10.34 pm (a few too many significant there). Late. On the other hand, I do want to get some photos of the carousel at night.
There's also other things to look at.
Taste of Tasmania is the annual food & wine festival in Hobart. It runs from 28th Dec for about 10 days. Launceston has a similar event, Festivale, which over a weekend in February -- local wine & food, street performers, dances, children's entertainment, all in the lovely city park. Whereas, as I once heard someone say, the Taste is just in a tin shed.
And so it is, a very crowded, very noisy tin shed too.
(file photo)
I guess if you think of it as just that, it's not really that interesting.
The outside seating. Looking back towards Constitution Dock, where the focus of the yacht race is.
In between the two, is a stretch of road with, well...
The other difference between Festivale & the Taste is the cost. One is about $8 to get into, and other has no entry fee, so you can come & go as you want, and you don't have to spend a cent. (It's probably fairly obvious which is which :).
Even so, 10 hours is a long time to kill. I did wander around Battery Point for a while too.
At 7 pm, I decided to go back my room and read for a while, although I wasn't really sure when the yacht was supposed to arrive. Between 10 pm and midnight was the final answer I got. By this point, I'm wondering if it's worthwhile, although I do want to try some night photos of the carousel, so I might go down just after 10 to see what is happening.
In the meantime, I lay down for an hour or so. Only to discover, the race organisers have installed a loud speaker to tell people what is happening, that carries quite well to the backpackers two blocks from the dock but not quite enough that I can hear what it's actually saying. Bah. It's going to be a long night :\
Then at 9.40 pm, I hear the speakers quite clearly, at least the bits that say 'Wild Oats', "Sandy Bay', "expected" and "fifteen minutes".
Ha!
Ten minutes later, I'm down at Elizabeth pier, on a dark, chilly summer night, with many, many other people.
Although you can't seem,because it's too dark. In the photo below, what looks like a spiky fence across the front of the tent is lots of people crowded along the edge of the dock.
Waiting.
Out on the harbour there are obviously lots of boats, I can see their red & green lights. The finish line, two yellow floating pyramids is out there.
Waiting.
Will there be anything to see out there?
And it's cold.
Then a tall, white sail appears.
Aha! A cannon sounds, and lots of cheering. Yah!
There's more waiting then, while the sail comes down and whatever happens, happens. In front of me, there's more activity in the marina than I've seen before -- police vessels, a cruise ship with media camera on it -- six or seven vessels zipping around in dark.
Finally, the yacht comes in, to more cheering, of course.
The red dots along the top are its crew.
It's getting late, so I head off, stopping to take some photos on the way of course.
And there's the Taste at night. It runs until 11 pm.
Now I better go to bed, so I can get up for a day of harbour cruises tomorrow. I've done these before, of course, so nothing exciting. Although, I did realise something, which the younger me watching the updates on TV so many years ago, wouldn't have believed.
Next post though.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-30 11:53 pm (UTC)Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2006-12-30 10:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-30 11:58 pm (UTC)Thanks :) and you should.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-30 11:59 pm (UTC)Sydney - Hobart Carousels
Date: 2008-01-07 04:53 am (UTC)Glad you made it to the end of the Sydney/Hobart....now I'm feeling guilty for not shifting my ass to go see the boats all stream down past Maroubra beach. Even more guilty when someone told me that they stuck close to land this year. Often when I've seen them in the past the maxi's have headed way out to sea and you're looking at a tiny little corner of a handkerchief in the distance representing the massive sail!
Edwina
Re: Sydney - Hobart Carousels
Date: 2008-01-07 07:07 am (UTC)That post is from the 2006/7 summer. I took 30+ photos of the carousel on that visit, plus some in movie mode, then this year (we done there later in the Festival), I had to stop and take some more. Different camera, see, so had to retake them.
I just love looking at it, I love the lights, the horses, the sounds. I don't want to go on it, I think that might spoil it.
As far as I know, most of the horses are original (some are obviously replacements, they look like rocking-horse converts). I think the plaque at the front details its restoration, but it's been years since I read it. Looking at similar carousels e.g. http://www.nca-usa.org/psp/JimmyWilliams/ that do have the original horses, they look similar.
I do have other photos (obviously). They'd make a good post in their own right.