Sydney May to July 2026.
G’day from the cold and wet Northern Beaches of Sydney! We trust the extent of summer fires will reduce with the increased soil moisture and new plant growth. Starting off, I would like to show you some of the fantastic murals in Glebe, where Nina lives and when we look after Nina in the inner west, we take her for walks. When she visits us on the northern beaches, we take her to the Mona vale library where they have free activities for the little ones every day of the week.
We will refrain from talking about health issues at our age, as this is always a topic at the pickle ball courts, cycling and sail cruising get togethers. Nobody is interested anyway, as we all have various issues. Grandchildren are the exception, as we all have the most talented and intelligent grandkids and have to share their amazing feats with everyone.
Our last post ended with our cruise to Sydney Harbour over the Easter weekend in April. Since then, we have settled into a routine of Pickle ball games on Wednesdays and Fridays, baby sitting on Mondays and Fridays, cycling at least once a week, or more when the weather allows, with sailing and partying on the weekends.
The annual Salty Cup Games between the Sail Cruising and Power Boat Cruising divisions took place on the 18th April. This year the Power Boat people, (who we believe trained in secret), won both the Finska and Boulle games. Well done! A week later, the SCD met the Timber Boat Division (who we believe trained in secret), at McCarrs Creek. The TBD won!
Annie decided to invest in an electric assisted bike (e-bike) at the end of April and gave her regular bike (called a pushbike in Australia) to Karen, to commute between Glebe and RPA hospital from August onwards. She now keeps up with my 27-speed e-bike on cycling trips. We had a tow bar fitted to the car and bought a bike rack which fits on the tow bar to carry our bikes. We have also entered the 84km MS Gong ride from Sydney to Wollongong on the 1st November.
I was Officer of the day for a cruise to Refuge Bay on the 23/24 May which got rained out, so our group of sailors spent a convivial evening at the Sea Star Chinese restaurant in Warriewood. Jim and Gail Petrie visited Sydney at the end of May and we managed to twice play their favourite game Padel, similar to Pickle ball, but indoors, in Cromer.
At the end of May, Michelle bought a 26ft Wharram catamaran in New Caledonia and had it shipped in a container to Fiji, where it was re-assembled and launched. She keeps the boat in a marina in Nadi, but plans to sail it around to Suva where she lives. The boat will provide a platform for her diving and surfing activities.
Friends Gavin and Francis Smith from Cape Town came to visit their daughter and grandkids in Sydney and we managed to catch up with dinner in Brookvale and music at the Bucketty Brewery. We also introduced them and Graeme and Jenny Smith to Pickle Ball in Mona Vale with coffees at Bay Bites afterwards.
We had an interesting cruise to Dangar Island on the 6-8 June, using Refuge Bay as a base. We did a walk around the island and had lunch at the cafe, with sundowners before and after the event in Refuge Bay, a pleasant time had by all.
On the 18th June we took the B-line bus into the city to attend a concert at the Factory with Karen Andrews and the Family. Ian Moss put in a surprise appearance. We had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in Marrickville with Russell and Helen before the show and poured ourselves onto the B-line bus after the show.
On the 20th June the RMYC celebrated the 100th anniversary of our club with the opening of the new spectacular $10 million extension to the club. The event was attended by many of our 3,000 members and the new facilities were opened by Her Excellency, the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC, KC, the Governor of New South Wales and a Supreme Court Judge.
The last week of June I was back on the tools again. Annie decided the queen size sleeper couch in our spare room was too big and gave it to Karen and Evan. She had spotted a queen size wall bed on the Kogan website which took up less space. I hummed James Taylor’s “I’m your Handyman” whilst assembling this lot.
At the Sail Cruising Division AGM on the 3rd July, I retired from the committee, but will continue to be involved with events on an ad hoc basis. At the AGM Annie and I were awarded with the Wanderer’s Trophy.
The Sail Cruising Division had our winter lunch at the PAC on the 11th July. The Surf and Turf menu was a big success! The food was excellent and the company, good as always. We had 50 of our 100 members attending.
News for all Electric Vehicle enthusiasts: In June, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) achieved a record-breaking 23.5% market share, with 23,646 units sold in Australia. Over 103,700 BEVs were sold in Australia in the first half of 2026. BYD overtook Tesla to become the top-selling BEV brand, delivering 29,192 BEVs in the first half of 2026. We were delighted to hear that our BYD Atto 3 was selected for the Amber Electric/BYD Vehicle to Grid (V2G) trial for the next year, providing us with a free V2G inverter and trading our battery capacity at wholesale electrical prices through the Amber AI algorithm. There is a huge battery storage capacity available in BEV’s to supply the peak electricity demand in Australia.
To sign off, one more photo of Nina to bore you to tears!
Cheers for now
Dirk and Annie